Reply by: HeavyC      Posted: 11/4/2009 6:21:59 PM     Points: 1211    

Good for a work out! Last time I ever went out on the ice I was the one lucky enough to bore through 24 inches of the hard stuff at Cowdrey!!! Never again that thick! Heck, the auger barely reached through to the water!

Those are the days that you definately stick to one spot and not drill all over the place!

HC Out!

 Reply by: crazypickles      Posted: 11/4/2009 6:26:30 PM     Points: 487    

is there an hand auger that you would recommend?

 Reply by: Raskal      Posted: 11/4/2009 6:34:06 PM     Points: 128    

I have a 6" StrikeMaster Mora Swedish Ice Drill and I love it ... it'll cut through 12 inches of ice with little or no effort in less than 2 minutes... .and it's reasonably priced ... watch Ebay.

 Reply by: brookieflyfisher      Posted: 11/4/2009 6:34:44 PM     Points: 1832    

BUY A NILSMASTER. Fastest augers ever, I have the 6" (with some skill, you can pull anything through a 6 inch hole) and I can easily outdrill many gas augers. The blades bite immediately and cut like a dream. If you ever want a gas or electric auger, they sell powerheads made for these augers.

It may be an average of 40 dollars more, but trust me, buy a nils. I owned a 8 inch mora for a while, and it was awful. The main thing was that it took forever to bite. A nils bites immediately and cuts faster than anything on the planet due to the chromium blades.

I can cut through 18 inches of ice in twenty seconds. No problem.

That's my recommendation.

 Reply by: crazypickles      Posted: 11/4/2009 6:35:55 PM     Points: 487    

do they make a nils in an 8inch

 Reply by: brookieflyfisher      Posted: 11/4/2009 6:42:04 PM     Points: 1832    

An eight inch is available, yes. I don't think they sell a ten inch, but an 8 inch is more than enough, anyway.

 Reply by: crazypickles      Posted: 11/4/2009 6:46:23 PM     Points: 487    

two last questions, i drive a front wheel drive compact car, will they keep up on plowing the roads to elevenmile and antero this winter?

Will the hand crank auger fit into an average trunk?

 Reply by: brookieflyfisher      Posted: 11/4/2009 6:49:27 PM     Points: 1832    

The nils breaks down a little, so it should fit in any normal car. To my knowledge, unless it is during a snowstorm, they do plow the roads to Antero, Elevenmile, and Tarryall. They don't get a ton of snow in that area anyhow.

 Reply by: crazypickles      Posted: 11/4/2009 6:52:37 PM     Points: 487    

i dont plan on going to taryall but really hope to pull my biggest trout and a pike of any respectable size threw the ice, 25inches and bigger, along with some lake trout!

 Reply by: crazypickles      Posted: 11/4/2009 6:54:08 PM     Points: 487    

and havent gotten into perch yet, maybe this winter at the mile

 Reply by: WYO      Posted: 11/4/2009 6:56:30 PM     Points: 222    

I bought an 8" Strikemaster last year and it was sweet at the beginning, but it quickly got knocked out of alignment, probably by me bearing down on it so much. I borrowed my bro's 6" Mora auger at 11 Mile last year and crushed it through the ice easily every time. I will not use my 8" auger any more. I'm going to by the $40 auger and punch holes all over.

Pickles: you'll be able to get to the Mile fine all winter, unless it really dumps big time. I got there every time no prob in a 2 wheel drive.

 Reply by: bluecreek      Posted: 11/4/2009 6:59:07 PM     Points: 107    

A hand auger is GREAT for first ice,..lightweight, and if the blades are sharp, will cut up to 18 inches of ice, no prob. I even used one (Mora), at WF with 2 feet of ice, and went thru in a little over a minute. (huffing and puffing, lol), Save up your money, and eventually buy a gas auger for later, thicker ice. Have a great ice season.

 Reply by: crazypickles      Posted: 11/4/2009 7:02:43 PM     Points: 487    

where in denver or boulder can i get one of these 8 inch hand cranks? bass pro?

 Reply by: Walleyeone      Posted: 11/4/2009 7:41:15 PM     Points: 396    

I think the biggest factor for hand augers is the sharpness of the blades. If you keep them sharp you will cut much faster and with less effort. Some people sharpen their own blades. I usually just replace them when they get dull. I mostly use the power auger now but I used hand augers for many years and still do if the ice isn't to thick or I'm not taking my house or sled.
JD

 Reply by: Raskal      Posted: 11/4/2009 9:07:04 PM     Points: 128    

BassPro carries the Mora -- I'd call first to be sure they have the 8 ".

 Reply by: Fishinbud      Posted: 11/4/2009 9:25:14 PM     Points: 509    

I'd go with Brookieflyfisher's reccomendation. I have a Strikemaster Lazer 8" hand and power augers. The hand one is alright and the powered one is awesome. I use the hand auger early in the year when I don't want to haul the extra weight or mess around with gas. I have the hand auger in the truck most of the time as a back up, just in case the power auger has any issues. The Nils hand augers are probably the gold standard and that's probably the way to go for the best quality but on a budget when just getting into ice fishing the Lazer's will serve you well, at a lower cost. That said, the Lazer is much better than the Mora. If you buy the Mora, you'll be kicking yourself and likely buying something to replace it later. Save yourself some time, effort and money and buy a decent one from the get go.

 Reply by: crazypickles      Posted: 11/4/2009 9:55:37 PM     Points: 487    

ill most likely be going with the nils master, thank you guys for all the opinions and advice i really appreciate it, no when you see me out at antero this winter stop by and say hello, maybe share some information to a newbie to the ice, bring on the ice!!

 Reply by: fish      Posted: 11/5/2009 4:07:42 AM     Points: 1961    

6 inch strike master Mora Swedish double blade work great. 6 inch is best way to go with hand auger. takes less to cut holes the bigger the auger the harder.

 Reply by: Harleyrider05      Posted: 11/5/2009 6:56:20 AM     Points: 157    

I have a Mora 6 inch, cuts 14" of ice in less than a minute and a half, but I can only do that for a few holes then break time, any thicker then that and it wears me down.

 Reply by: Ingakick      Posted: 11/5/2009 9:19:04 AM     Points: 38    

Mora or Nils hands down the best hand augers. as many others say, 6 inch is plenty, your basically doing unneeded work to cut an 8 inch hole... unless your fishing for orca's (the black and white ones) I have had to cut another hole next to my original one to get fish out but thats few and far far between

again....the almighty craigslist.org

 Reply by: oscar      Posted: 11/5/2009 4:33:01 PM     Points: 134    

Go with the Nils master. I have used a mora strikemaster 8" and it does well. I used a friends nils master 6" and it went very fast. A six inch hole is all thats needed. If I had to buy my hand auger again it would be a 6" nils.

 Reply by: The Kid      Posted: 11/5/2009 4:46:58 PM     Points: 112    

does anyone know if they make hand augers small enough to fit in a backpacking back pack? cause i'd love to snowshoe up to some backcountry lakes and ice fish but not sure how to go about doing it... ?

 Reply by: _Colorado      Posted: 11/5/2009 5:08:23 PM     Points: 1    

To The Kid

I'm in the process of buying a used hand auger with a small diameter blade just for this purpose. I plan to cut it down to about 18", and then just make a T handle to crank. I can't imagine backpacking in and fishing high lakes in anything but early ice - otherwise there's too much snow and the ice is too thick.

Something to think about - let me know if you want to hear how it goes.

_colorado

 Reply by: Good Sam      Posted: 11/5/2009 7:21:53 PM     Points: 457    

I have an 8" Eskimo that has always performed well for me in the past. Last year I bought a 10" Strike King gas auger and didn't use it, but I think I will get it out for early Ice.

_Colorado, most hand augers break down fairly compactly anyway. The 2 halves of mine are around 24". The hard part of packing one into a remote location would be more in the diameter of the lower half.


Steve

 Reply by: JIMMYX2X2      Posted: 11/7/2009 3:09:37 AM     Points: 40    

DEPENDING ON THICKNESS OF ICE, SHARPNESS OF BLADE IT CAN BE A WORK OUT! TAKE A SHAPING STONE, IF THE WIND BLOWS DIRT,SAND GETS INTO THE ICE, DULLS EVEN THE BEST OF BLADES.