# Which auger?



## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

Looks like a good time of year to buy ice fishing stuff as theyre on clearance everywhere and I can still get a few uses this year. I bought the clam drill adapter in DEcember, which works great. It works ok with my ridgid drill, but gets really hot. I looked up the specs and the new brushless drill has 1,300 in/lbs of torque vs teh standard brush motors at 700. So new drill on the way. I should have just gotten the whole clam assembly, but I figured I would just keep my eskimo hand auger, but having no center chisel point is a bit annoying, I see the new eskimo pistol bit also doesnt have a center point.
I would like to say money is no consideration, just value at this point,but I wouldnt mind dropping a little more coin for the right unit. K drill, stikemaster Lazer, Nils are all in the field of options. What do you guys like and why? is the center point a big deal? It just drives me crazy having it walk all over getting it started unless I put a lot of weight on it. Thanks in advance!


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

While we are at it, the old ice fishing sonar crapped out, but cant say I used it that much. Is it really worth having one? Knowing they are there, but not biting makes you move or just better target the correct depth?? I have a Garmin in my boat, I suppose I could just get the transducer and battery kit?


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## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

I just built a PVC frame for a portable fish finder with a standard transducer a family gave me. Works fine without having to buy anything new. Helps understand fish depth but hasn't radically changed my strategy. 

PVC, inline fuse and 9ah battery only set me back $30 and I can use it for open water fishing.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

A) Ion Auger. There are no downsides thus far. I love mine


B) Sonar no... underwater camera? Oh yea. Like you said, knowing they are there but not biting is useless. SEEING both that they are there and how they are reacting to your lure, invaluable.


I just bought another Cabelas underwater camera off ebay for $5, it has a non-functioning LCD. I bought a replacement 7" LCD for $25 or so off Amazon. Going to wire it all up later this afternoon.



-DallanC


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

Can't help you out with the Auger side, sorry. But, I know that a sonar helps out a bunch! 


I disagree with Dallan on the camera. I know guys that HAVE had them and used it for that season only. They said it actually scares the fish. They said the fish will come over to it and check it out though. In my opinion, if you want to see fish swim around in the water, head to Cabela's, they have tank you can watch them in. 


I use a Vexlar flasher and love it! You can see your jig and see the fish swim up off the bottom and take it. It's almost like playing a video game.


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## Packout (Nov 20, 2007)

I have always liked the eskimo augers. I still have one and an Ion. Sharp blades make all the difference- so I don't think the center point is important. One thing is a proper auger doesn't need a lot of pressure put on it to drill. The blade slope digs and drills- not necessarily the pressure from the top.

I use a regular fish finder with a rechargeable 12v battery and I made a pvc pipe holder for the transducer.



taxidermist said:


> I disagree with Dallan on the camera. I know guys that HAVE had them and used it for that season only. They said it actually scares the fish. They said the fish will come over to it and check it out though. In my opinion, if you want to see fish swim around in the water, head to Cabela's, they have tank you can watch them in.


Spoken like someone who has never used a camera. The times I have used a camera have been a blast. Watching fish- big and small -swim in to hit your jig. Watching fish put the jig in their mouth and not move the strike indicator. Cameras are a lot of fun and increase entertainment and success.


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

Packout said:


> I have always liked the eskimo augers. I still have one and an Ion. Sharp blades make all the difference- so I don't think the center point is important. One thing is a proper auger doesn't need a lot of pressure put on it to drill. The blade slope digs and drills- not necessarily the pressure from the top.
> 
> I use a regular fish finder with a rechargeable 12v battery and I made a pvc pipe holder for the transducer.
> 
> Spoken like someone who has never used a camera. The times I have used a camera have been a blast. Watching fish- big and small -swim in to hit your jig. Watching fish put the jig in their mouth and not move the strike indicator. Cameras are a lot of fun and increase entertainment and success.


Your absolutely correct! I've never used a camera, and never will. The only line I want in the water is the one attached to my rod and reel. Don't need fishing line tangled around a camera line.

I mostly fish Flaming Gorge, and I don't think the camera cable is 100' long. I don't know how long they are to tell ya the truth. When you have a big laker on the hook you have enough to be worrying about and IMO don't need to be fiddling around with pulling the camera up to the hard deck.


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## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

The camera vs a fishfinder is a neverending debate. Some anglers love their cameras, others get them and have them for sale by the end of the ice season. There are pros and cons to each. There are similar debates about a flasher vs lcd fishfinders. I personally use a lcd fishfinder. 

That said, having either makes a significant difference in success once you know how to operate them and act upon the information given.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

taxidermist said:


> I disagree with Dallan on the camera. I know guys that HAVE had them and used it for that season only. They said it actually scares the fish. They said the fish will come over to it and check it out though. In my opinion, if you want to see fish swim around in the water, head to Cabela's, they have tank you can watch them in.


NEVER seen fish scared off from a stationary cam. Quite often they come up and head butt or tail slap the camera. Its something "different" in their world and they get really curious about them.

We have both IR and normal LED lighted cameras. Initially I thought the white light would scare fish off... NADA. if anything it works better as it illuminates your jig making it visible to them from a much greater distance.

Last trip out couple weeks ago, we'd be yanking up the lure when the smaller fish would come rolling in, and frantically dropping it back down for the bigger ones. It was a hoot.

I learned more about ice fishing lure presentation with a camera in half an hour than the previous decade combined.

-DallanC


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

taxidermist said:


> Your absolutely correct! I've never used a camera, and never will. The only line I want in the water is the one attached to my rod and reel. Don't need fishing line tangled around a camera line.


You dont fish the same hole the camera is in... but it is a valid point. Over the years and I dont know how many trips out, it has happened a handful of times. IIRC, we never lost a fish... just brought up the camera slowly and the fish came out that hole.



> I mostly fish Flaming Gorge, and I don't think the camera cable is 100' long. I don't know how long they are to tell ya the truth. When you have a big laker on the hook you have enough to be worrying about and IMO don't need to be fiddling around with pulling the camera up to the hard deck.


Most are 50ft, you can get them 100 or even 150ft. But that sounds like alot of work. Generally I fish in 15-25ft of water ice fishing.

-DallanC


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

I've been ice fishing with a camera for 6 years now, and I'll never do it without one again if I can avoid it. My Vexilar FishPhone broke last month after 6 years, and it doesn't seem like they make them anymore (shame as I loved connecting multiple smart devices to it so everybody can watch). I replaced it with a Moocor camera that has a built on 4" screen and weighs maybe 1lbs. The field of view, picture quality, and IR black and white are incredible on this thing! 

Nils cordless drill augers all the way. No need for the plate conversion kit, and they cut ice like butter. In Utah, unless you are going after lake trout regularly the 4.5" auger is awesome and can cut more ice than you ever will need in a day with a good drill and battery. The 6" and 8" are really good too. I'm running 6 years and tens of thousands of inches of ice cut without ever having felt the need to get my blades services.


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## NH Hunter (Feb 4, 2008)

I just bought a 6" Kdrill and love it. I use it with a 18V Ryobi 1/2" brushless drill with 700+ in-lbs and it goes through the ice pretty quick. I bought a couple of bigger 4 aH LiIon batteries since we have a ton of different Ryobi tools that take the same 18V batteries. Everything from 8" tree limb pole chain saws, backpack weed sprayers, sawzalls, circular saws and on and on. I bought the cheapest Aquaview camera last year and it saves me a bunch of time fishing a dead hole. I drill a bunch or holes in a good area, drop the camera down, take a quick look around and move to the next hole. The fish don't always show on a depth finder if they're in the weeds or tight to the bottom but you can always see them on the camera. I use a Humminbird 859 DI unit with an iceducer set to 2D with the real time scan window. Looks just like a vertical flasher. One thing you'll notice with a camera is that fish aren't normally coming up from the below to check out your bait. They're coming in from the side. It only looks like they're coming up from the bottom because of the cone shaped field of "view" of the transducer. All you can tell from the display is that they are coming from farther away to closer to your bait. Think about it. All you can tell is that they're getting closer to the transducer and bait, whether from the side or from the bottom. The other thing I like about using the graph is I have my lake mapped and waypoints marked that I found in the summer. Weed clumps, drop offs, points, etc. There is no published map of my lake but I have a detailed 1 ft contour one inside my graph. I walk around on the ice and I know exactly what's under me. On a good day, there's even a few fish. :smile:


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## gdog (Sep 13, 2007)

I have flasher and camera. Always use the flasher and find it much more helpful. End up spending too much time screwing around with the camera then fishing. Was out at the Gorge yesterday and THE difference in catching fish was having a flasher. I caught 6 pups while the guy 15 yards away without flasher caught 0. He wasn't able to read what the fish were doing and react accordingly. Camera wouldn't have helped as the fish were up and down the water column.

Electric auger is on the list. Some more options available too like the StrikeMaster which is getting good reviews.


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## bowdude (Aug 11, 2019)

I am an avid ice fisherman and have been for many, many years. I can give you my take on it all as I have had and have them all. Bought an adapter for my Laser auger. Worked well except as noted by others, it wanders until you get the hole started. Not a deal killer, but annoying. Bought the K-drill. It cuts quickly and doesn't wander. I take both augers when I go fishing, but the Laser doesn't get taken out of the box... ever. Not sure why I take them both other than like having a backup.

I have a camera. Fun to watch if I can find the fish. Disadvantage is you only see what is in front of the camera lens. I am always repositioning it to get a view of what is going on. Like others have said, 30 feet of cord is a problem with line tangling. I run the camera in a separate hole, but depending on water clarity, sometimes it is too far away to see anything. I take the camera on all my trips, but don't get it out and use it much. 

Fish finder - I too have a Vexilar. Top of the line piece of equipment and will never leave home without it. I generally out fish those who fish blind at least 10 to 1. You can see everything in the water column from top of ice to bottom of lake. My Vex will pickup anything 1/4 inch or larger. It gives me the exact depth the fish is at. I generally like sitting down towards the bottom and when a fish enters the column above me, I reel up to it and generally catch it, or drop down to it if it is below me. The great advantage of it for me is knowing what depth to drop the lure to. Those that say a fish finder isn't worth the trouble have never used a quality finder. Go with someone who has a top of the line piece of equipment and you will be instantly converted.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Snowmobiled in today to our favorite remote lake, KILLED it with big rainbows and some super Whitefish (been several years since we've caught any in that lake).

Biggest fish we brought home was 19.5" 

Couple things we do when setting up our cameras: Drill a hole 3-5ft beside the hole you are fishing in, distance depends on water clarity and how good your camera is... further is better to avoid fish tangling with the camera line. Next, i drop a white rope down the fishing hole with a metal washer on it to get it to sink. That lets me quickly find the right direction towards the hole i will be fishing on, as the rope is super easy to spot on the camera. I have a piece of wood with a slot cut halfway through it the camera cord goes through, and attach a cheap spring clamp to the cord when I get to the proper depth. To change camera direction just rotate the clamp a few degrees at a time and let the camera finish its swing. Usually only takes a minute or two to get the camera setup and its fine for the rest of the day unless the fish start attacking it and moving it around (happens more than you would think lol).

Rarely we get a fish tangled around the camera line, oddly its been a dozen or so trips out since it's happened but it happened twice today LOL. Just lighten the drag on your pole and slowly bring up the camera, there is usually enough "give" in the cable to buffer any hard shocks and you can slowly bring the fish up through the camera hole. I've never lost a fish thats gotten tangled with the camera, knock on wood.

If you are fishing on sloped terrain, put the camera in the deeper hole, and fish the shallower hole. That will give you better contrast for fish as the camera will face the bottom instead of out into deeper water, and will appear lighter.

Certainly this wont apply to some forms of ice fishing... like fishing deep at the gorge. Usually we are in fairly shallow water, today it was 17.5. I dont in anyway disparage those using flashers, and honestly if they were cheaper I'd have one too. But I find the camera as invaluable as the auger when it comes to my gear I bring.

On a side note, I bought this gimmicky thing for my pontoon this past summer, I didn't really plan to trust it as a fish finder but I wanted to map the bottom depths for ice fishing in the winter. It seemed to work well for that purpose.

Today, I threw it in my gear for giggles and set it in my fishing hole. I was amazed to see it would go off with the fish alarm and moments later a fish would cruise past the camera. Time and time again, it was actually really accurate. As good as a flasher? Heck no, but for bring along in your pocket to test depths under a hole, fantastic for the price. Plan on burning up a set of batteries for a days fishing through:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MZ6BWI5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

-DallanC


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## bowdude (Aug 11, 2019)

You know... the electronics that are available for ice fishing are amazing. With the right electronics, you can go for years without ever getting skunked. i went several years maybe 9 or more), took some scouts out and spent more time helping them than fishing and got skunked, went another 5 years, went out with more scouts this past January and caught the big skunk, but am on a roll again. My son and I just got back from night fishing at Strawberry. We fished from 7:00 pm until 9:30 pm and then called it quits, the fish were there, they just had lock jaw. We were fishing in 29 feet of water and had fish all over up and down the water column. They were coming in at 5 feet below the ice, 13 feet, 20, 25 but most were at 29. I hooked them at all depths. Would never have known they were there if we didn't have the flashers. We never got bored raising and lowering the hook chasing after the fish. We fished 2.5 hours and hooked many, lost most of them and only landed 12 onto the ice. Not bad for a couple of hours fishing. My son hooked one that snapped his pole in half about 6 inches above the reel. It was an Ugly stick that he just bought and it was on its maiden fishing trip. Musta been a monster. I think they are warrantied against breaking. I did not lower the camera. Too dark and I doubt I could have seen anything. The camera does have a light on it. Maybe it would have attracted fish. Anywho... we had a lot of fun. Temp was 25 degrees, no moon or stars. We got lost coming back on the snowmobile. It was a dark night. We stoked up the 15,000 btu heater and had to strip down to a sweat shirt to get comfortable. Thank goodness for tents, the wind chill from the night breeze was terribly cold.


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

I wound up at Al's in Orem a few weeks ago and the only augers they had are teh Eskimos, but all on clearance, so I got the8" pistol bit. I wanted just the 6", but it didnt have the centering point...it works great. I got the Ridgid 1,300 ft/lbs drill with 6ah battery and it pops holes in 20" of ice in about 15 seconds, works great. I really wanted the Kdrill, but I couldnt see paying an extra $100 for it and it was still full price in mid February. 
speaking of cameras I tried out our 10 year old Cabelas camera and the view is always really narrow such that I have never seen anything but the jig and the bottom. Is that just a crappy one? I went to SCofield 4 Saturdays in a row and landed about 20 fish each day in about 3 hours in our group, so not bad, but still lost a lot of them.


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## pollo70 (Aug 15, 2016)

Purchased a Eskimo stingray 8" this year and so far so good starts on the first pull and drills threw the ice like butter 13" at strawberry last week and started up good with the higher elevation.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

pollo70 said:


> Purchased a Eskimo stingray 8" this year and so far so good starts on the first pull and drills threw the ice like butter 13" at strawberry last week and started up good with the higher elevation.


Only use Blue gas in it (ethanol eats rubber), then run it dry each spring before storing it and it will last a very long time.

-DallanC


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## pollo70 (Aug 15, 2016)

DallanC said:


> Only use Blue gas in it (ethanol eats rubber), then run it dry each spring before storing it and it will last a very long time.
> 
> -DallanC


 That's all I run threw my small engines and 4 wheelers.. good looking out though DallanC. thanks


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