interesting day

[WILLYTROUT]

went to eastern ct, yesterday. saw a lot of open water but where i went was safe. 2" of white ice on top of 4"
of hard black ice. i had the whole place to myself. started off slicing my finger on my auger, not bad but it would't stop bleeding. managed a few bass on traps and jigged up a 17" brookie on a pimple.
went back to jigging and got a flag about twenty feet away. small bass. when i turned around to get the bait bucket i saw my pole sliding into the hole. i had left my pole on the ice and something hit the pimple and dragged it in. don't know what is was but he's draggin it around the bottom of the lake. that was it, packed up and left. all in all a good day.

wt

[Dave N.]

"not bad but it wouldn't stop bleeding"=no good ur a tough cookie willy....perhaps next time it goes something like"i drilled right through my foot but just packed it in snow...no worries...kept on jigging"...seriously though...those blades are no joke...can turn a fun day bad; quick, fast and in a hurry!!! glad ur ok

[WILLYTROUT]

just a small slice but it was in the meaty part of my finger. i was setting up so it was dripping all over the ice every time i tried to do anything. looked like  a slaughter house around the holes. as soon as i was set up and sat drawn i got it to stop. a little cut is not enough to make me get off the ice.

wt

[gadabout]

auger cuts can be serious, glad yours wasn't.

[bugchazer]

Did you get cut playing with the blade cover?

[WILLYTROUT]

Of course. stupid move . i know better. just wasn't paying attention. i m more worried  about losing the ice rod and whatever was on the other end of it.

[KUBES90]

When i was  younger my dad came home drunk and with his knee cap exposed because he slipped and fell. Mom was p'd off. I think of it every time i go fishing. The ones that come with moras can be a pain in the neck. And the one on my strikemaster isnt much better. Saw one of these thinking bout getting one

http://www.cabelas.com/product/EXPEDITION-COLD-SNAP-AUGER-COVERS/2132272.uts?productVariantId=4255047&srccode=cii_17588969&cpncode=40-148942306-2&WT.tsrc=CSE&WT.mc_id=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=04220181&rid=20

[bugchazer]

I just got a cold snap for the ion ,love it. Fingers never get near the blade. Going to get one for the hand auger next. Not that expensive

[KUBES90]

Nice. I just sold my strikemaster but i have a 1970s power auger from my grandpa thats still puttin holes in ice like no ones business. Hopefully a cold snap will fit it

[JohnnyJigger]

I just got a cold snap for the ion ,love it. Fingers never get near the blade. Going to get one for the hand auger next. Not that expensive

Hey Bug, do those fit on nils also? The nils covers are a PIA. I have never seen one in a bait shop I am guessing you ordered it online?

[bugchazer]

They have one for the nils , Im going to get one next. Hate those stock covers never stay on and my fingers cringe everytime I use them.

[eiderz]

I have both the Nils and the Ion ColdSnap covers. The Ion version is great, the Nils works far better than the OEM version but you have to line it up just right for it to engage. Not difficult, just takes a couple of practice attempts.

[Goshenite]

Where can I get the cold snaps for 8 inch nils?

[bugchazer]

On line at cold snap website. Haven't seen any around here . Maybe someone else has seen them .

[JohnnyJigger]

Thanks for the info going to have to check them out.

[androux]

Electric tape has saved many a day of cuts that won't clot up. A lot of blood flows to the hands, and when ice fishing generally they are exposed. The body sends more blood (dilated capillaries) to the hands to warm them up, so it is more difficult to get a clot due to increased blood flow. That, or the blood thinning properties of alcohol, but that might be more my problem. Slap some electric tape (colored works the best, doesn't leave black gunk behind), leave it on until you are back at home or in a warm place and gently peel it off and dab some new skin on it. Wha-lah, you're practically a paramedic.

[NorthEastFisherman]

Electric tape has saved many a day of cuts that won't clot up. A lot of blood flows to the hands, and when ice fishing generally they are exposed. The body sends more blood (dilated capillaries) to the hands to warm them up, so it is more difficult to get a clot due to increased blood flow. That, or the blood thinning properties of alcohol, but that might be more my problem. Slap some electric tape (colored works the best, doesn't leave black gunk behind), leave it on until you are back at home or in a warm place and gently peel it off and dab some new skin on it. Wha-lah, you're practically a paramedic.

Stitch with fishing lines and barbless hooks too!! 

[WILLYTROUT]

superglue would have worked to. but i didn't have any. i thought i had duct tape in my car but i didn't. it really wasn't that bad. every time i drilled a hole it would drip on the ice. looked worse than it was. i barely touched the blade. they are so sharp i didn't even feel it. i now have bandaids in my car.

[THE JIGGER]

superglue would have worked to. but i didn't have any. i thought i had duct tape in my car but i didn't. it really wasn't that bad. every time i drilled a hole it would drip on the ice. looked worse than it was. i barely touched the blade. they are so sharp i didn't even feel it. i now have bandaids in my car.

Ice water or snow should of helped it slow down

[MartyMarPlv]

Electric tape has saved many a day of cuts that won't clot up. A lot of blood flows to the hands, and when ice fishing generally they are exposed. The body sends more blood (dilated capillaries) to the hands to warm them up, so it is more difficult to get a clot due to increased blood flow. That, or the blood thinning properties of alcohol, but that might be more my problem. Slap some electric tape (colored works the best, doesn't leave black gunk behind), leave it on until you are back at home or in a warm place and gently peel it off and dab some new skin on it. Wha-lah, you're practically a paramedic.

X2 - just don't wrap it too tight on the fingers. Don't want them turning blue!

[icechaser]

yeah- I always put the cap right back on the auger as soon as I cut my holes-always figured someones' kid or dog may end up messing w/ it- but good practice for all-safety is a good thing& yeah-one time my bro left my nice new jig combo I let him use on the ice w/ a minnow on a spoon-flag up-only took a minute but when we turned around-pole gone-I'd tell him again+again to reel up to the hole every time you leave your jig rod- but nooo- even this weekend on dog-I made sure to reel up my jig pole every time a flag went up-I find when I'm not crazily meticulous it bites me in the behind.

[fishville]

If your too cheap to by a cold snap cover. Try gluing magnets into  the cover that came with auger. I heard about it on the MI Ice Guys podcast, tried it. It has worked good so far for me, cover has stayed on traveling on ice and bouncing around in truck.

[mungo544]

That happened to me two years in a row and I got my pole back both times. Here is how: unless the fish is huge the pole will drop directly to the bottom. I fashioned a grappling hook out of a couple of large weighted  treble hooks and bounced it off the bottom with a jigging rod till i snagged the pole. Both times it was in 12-16 feet of water and the second time it happened there was a 20 inch pickerel on the line. Hard to believe but I have witnesses for both times and a photo of the pickerel on the end of the tangled mess. This year I was retrieving a small pike  on a tipup and my line got hopelessly tangled so I proceeded to cut the line with my steel bodied utility knife. I dropped the knife down the hole into 10 feet of water and retrieved it the next day with a telescoping tool magnet taped to the end of
 my pool vac pole. I have a witness to that also, just in case you think this is just another fish story.