5.1" auger

[Alex Chenko]

I see many people buy 8" or 10" augers. I'm looking at 5" right now and not sure why spend money on bigger auger, unless I don't understand something. I know that with every inch of increase in diameter it's 60% more work or money spend. Can anybody help me understand the reasoning behind buying auger that is more then 5" ?? My friend been using 4.5" for about 20 years and never had problems.

[RickC]

Obviously your friend doesn't catch fish big enough to NOT fit through a 4.5" hole

[Smitty5313]

If I was targeting trophy pike and drilled 5” holes, I’d be in trouble.

[BaitBucket]

If I was targeting trophy pike and drilled 5” holes, I’d be in trouble.

Bingo!

It all depends on what you are fishing for. Personally I use a 6in and have never had any issues.

[SalmonAndStriper Stalker]

once you run into a "i cant fit my fish through the hole" scenario, you will understand. go with a 8 for all around general purpose imo but if you are an avid pike fisherman then I would step to a 10

[BaitBucket]

Are you planning on running it on a drill setup? If so, do you all ready own the drill?

[Seamonkey84]

Heck, I’ve caught crappie and sunfish that prob wouldn’t fit up a 4” hole. I wouldn’t go any smaller than a 6”. I got a 7” hand auger for my first setup, though quickly mounted a drill and clam plate to it once the ice got more than 16”.

[stinkyfingers]

Alex.. You don't show where you're from but it may be sunfish country where you're just not chasing big fish. In that case, by all means use a 5" auger. Sounds like cost and effort spent drilling would be factors also. HT sells a dandy little 5" hand auger called the Mini Nero. Made in Russia, Smooth as silk and the best bang for the buck out there.

[BaitBucket]

Some of the walleye we catch on Saginaw Bay would laugh at an 8in. hole as it went by, lol!  And, you can also hook a 30lb+ Laker, or 20lb.+Steelhead, Northern, catfish, etc. etc..  And, a few Sturgeon have been caught, although I've never caught one.  Could you get any of them through an 8in. hole? Maybe, if all the stars were aligned and you were a fish whisperer!  Yes, usually an 8 in. hole would be sufficient, and a lot of walleye have been landed through them.  But, most would be sick to need a bigger hole and not have it!

Pssst.. This is the Massachusetts forum.

Double PS.. The walleye in my avatar came thru a 6in hole.

[teamtip-up]

The small holes ice over infinitely faster.   
 We use 8”  for general purposes and 10” pike fishing on thick ice. 

[BaitBucket]

The small holes ice over infinitely faster.   
 We use 8”  for general purposes and 10” pike fishing on thick ice.

Hole covers work great to prevent holes from icing up. You can see in my vid above where the cover is stuck to the ice, but the hole is still open water. I believe it was single digit temps that night.

[bogtrotter]

I'd say a 4" auger is more than adequate for virtually any fish your likely to catch in most spots in MA.

(I've seen some surprising big fish taken through some surprisingly small holes in the past). 

If you ever hook a truly huge fish that requires a bigger hole, I would suggest having your buddy (assuming you're not alone) drill a second hole adjacent to the one you're playing the fish on - - which should add an element of drama to the whole battle.

(OK, that last line was partly tongue in cheek, but in principle I think it would work).

[V Menzone]

I like to have enough room in the hole for the fish and my hand pike are grabbed by gill and bass by mouth is my rule of thumb so 10inch holes plenty of room smaller your playing with fire

[Rangerboats391]

i would rather have a few extra inches and not need it, than not having enough to pull a fish through, part of the excitement to fishing is you never know when the big might bite 

[Phishing.Hacker]

ive gotten 5 pound bass, 11 pound and 8 pound pike up 6 inch holes in the past.

[SHaRPS]

ive gotten 5 pound bass, 11 pound and 8 pound pike up 6 inch holes in the past.

How about a 7lb bass and 3lb crappie? Thats why I use an 8" hole.

[pmaloney86]

8 inches is the perfect size.  Anything smaller and you run the risk of losing a big fish at the hole.  Anything bigger and it becomes a hazard on the ice.  I was jogging to a flag a few years back and stepped in a ten inch hole.  My size 9 boot fit right in the hole and I smashed my shin on the ice.  I walked away with a nice bruise but it could have been much worse.  I've only had one fish I couldn't get through an 8 inch hole and that was more so due to where I hooked the fish and not the size of the hole.

[SkunkLuvver]

When I bought my auger the 10” model was cheaper than the 8 so went with that. The 10” holes ended up taking significantly longer to drill and ended up being inconvenient / hazardous. Turns out my flasher first through it perfectly 

Last year I bought an 8” shaft and am using that exclusively.
Anyone want a good deal on a 10” Eskimo shaft let me know. Kept it thinking I’d use it on occasion but don’t think I will.

Had a regular person walk up to say hi once and her foot went right through one of my holes. Her bad for not looking down but I still felt like a dik.

[Rangerboats391]

8 inches is the perfect size.  Anything smaller and you run the risk of losing a big fish at the hole.  Anything bigger and it becomes a hazard on the ice.  I was jogging to a flag a few years back and stepped in a ten inch hole.  My size 9 boot fit right in the hole and I smashed my shin on the ice.  I walked away with a nice bruise but it could have been much worse.  I've only had one fish I couldn't get through an 8 inch hole and that was more so due to where I hooked the fish and not the size of the hole.

this is why a 8 in is just right, I got a 7lb 12oz bass and it barely fit belly to back, had to steer her head a couple of times to get the right angle to nose her up

[Seamonkey84]

Trout, perch and pike are long but slender, while crappie can be very tall. This guy touched both sides of my 7” hole. it was my very first crappie, I don’t think it would of come up a 6” hole.

[SalmonAndStriper Stalker]

How about a 7lb bass and 3lb crappie? Thats why I use an 8" hole.

I actually encourage people to use 6in and under holes. leaves more trophy fish left for you and me mike

[BaitBucket]

The circumference of an 8in hole is ~25". A 28" bass (current state record) with a 25" girth would weigh roughly 16lbs and would still fit (tightly) thru an 8in hole.

There was a video a few years back of a couple guys who got a nice pike thru a 6in hole. Not saying you should go monster hunting with a 6in hole. Its all preference. But do the math and go with what you are comfortable with.

Heres the clip:

[SalmonAndStriper Stalker]

The circumference of an 8in hole is ~25". A 28" bass (current state record) with a 25" girth would weigh roughly 16lbs and would still fit (tightly) thru an 8in hole.

There was a video a few years back of a couple guys who got a nice pike thru a 6in hole

Heres the clip:

will they fit technically yes. but the problem comes when you are playing a fish at the hole trying to get its head up a smaller hole and the hook pops out when you could of more easily got the head up a bigger hole quicker.

[BaitBucket]

will they fit technically yes. but the problem comes when you are playing a fish at the hole trying to get its head up a smaller hole and the hook pops out when you could of more easily got the head up a bigger hole quicker.

You are correct, bigger holes make turning into the hole easier. But the OPs questions seemed more related to fish fitting up the hole.

[pmaloney86]

You are correct, bigger holes make turning into the hole easier. But the OPs questions seemed more related to fish fitting up the hole.

Thats the only way I've lost a fish.  I couldn't steer the nose of the pike into the hole because I had it hooked right at the corner of the mouth.  Therefore, from the corner of its mouth to the nose was at least 8 inches.  Def the one the got away.  Would have been back to back weekends of breaking my PB.  In hindsight i should have drilled an overlapping hole but in the moment its hard to think of these things.

[lowaccord66]

There is no perfect solution to any fishing scenario.  Some people could use 20" holes and still bomb every fish they hook.

[fishermantim]

It all depends on what fish you are targeting, what size you "expect" top catch, and how much energy (or money) you are willing to spend to get the holes cut.

I have a 6", 8" and a 10" auger.
I haven't used the 10" one in quite some time. Why? Because the added weight of the auger and power head makes hand-hauling my sled a pain in the ass.

That's why I stick with the 6" and 8" hand augers.

For the record, the ice thickness limit for the 6" is around 2' and the 8" is around 2.5' of ice.

Nothing like a little workout before you fish....

[V Menzone]

There is no perfect solution to any fishing scenario.  Some people could use 20" holes and still bomb every fish they hook.

I know that guy his name is Eric😂

[lowaccord66]

I know that guy his name is Eric😂

Haha!

[Jig4perch]

Hi Team,  agree with the commentary on go bigger than 6.

I have jigged in 4, 6, 8, 10 and larger holes... but consider the 8 inch ideal compromise for ease and speed of drilling and delivers on these three too ... 

1 improved visibility when sighting fish
2 reduce number of tangled fish in transducer line ,,, no need to remove transducer in most cases
3 less skimming required