Finbore III Auger or other, what size?

[GerGa]

Hi, Me and my buddy are new to ice fishing and went twice but only have a spud bar.  We want to get an auger. 
Ive been doing some research and like the Normark Finbore III because it is somewhat economical and has offset handles and comes with swedish blades, but it only comes in 4.5, 6, or 8 inch from fish307.  I'm not sure if I want 6 or 8.  6 seems small but heard an 8 inch is much tougher to drill.  I'm thinking I could get a 7" Lazer for a compromise between sizes, but no offset handle.  Also do the Lazers still come with crappy blades from factory? 
The ice 2 weeks ago was 8" inches at Bantam lake in CT which is a pretty big lake.  Not sure how thick the ice usually gets here in CT.
Any advice & experience is appreciated.
Thanks

[ducati]

I have a 8" Nils and a 6" Fin Bore, the 8" cuts well but there is a reason I decided to get a 6"... .  I will use the 8" for Lake Trout and setting tip ups for Pike.  For a hand auger I think the 6" is perfect but if you don't drill a bunch of holes through 24-30" of ice like we have in the mountain lakes in Colorado the 8" would serve you well.  As far as the 7" Strikemaster goes, I have no experience with them but they seem to get excellent reviews.

[ducktape6]

I own a 6 and 8in Fin Bore and have used a 7in Laser. I would recommend the 8in Fin Bore over a 7in Laser. You should be good with the 6in for most fish.

[OldCaveman]

   I have the 8" Finbore and love it. I also like the 8' hole better than the 6 but have fished out of 6" holes and never had a problem. I don't think you will be unhappy with either size. Good luck

[PUNISHER]

Depends on what your mainly fishing for.
Perch and other panfish, the 6" will be the one to get.
If your fishing for big fish like lake trout, pike, walleye etc, with tip ups then get the 8".

I have both a 6" and 8" finbore, love them both.
The 6" is easier to drill holes with and will work for fishing with tip ups.
But it is easier to bring pike and bigger fish thru an 8" hole.

The 8" is noticeably heavier than the 6" if that matters to you.

Either way you can't go wrong with a finbore, I highly recommend them.

[GerGa]

I usually set up like 6 tipups and a couple jigging hole.  Maybe move once or again. 
Went to cabelas yesterday just to look at their augers and they only had a 4.5 nils.  The guy there said he has a 6" nils and says for what we catch in our area, the 6" hasn't been a problem.  He was adamant that an 8" is too big in a hand auger, even a nils.  He says ice 8-12 inchs would be a pain.  Not sure if I should listen to him.

Is the 8" finbore quick cutting or is it that must tougher than 6?  I'm worried an 8 will seem to get a lot harder once the blades are not as sharp.

[Raquettedacker]

I have a 6" FB3 and love it..  Blades are 4 years old and still like new....

[ducati]

With that info I would get the 8" Fin-Bore or Nils without a second thought.  Limited holes, thinner ice, tip ups, transducers for electronics the 8" is going to be your best bang for the buck IMO.  Also IMO get the Fin-Bore, cheaper up front price, don't need a spare head (another $80) while the other head has been sent off for sharpening after hitting dirty ice and it cuts just as well as the Nils.  This is just my .02.  As far as the 8" being a pain, it won't be for what your intentions are with a quality auger.  Fish 307 has the Fin-Bores in stock for a good price.

[Raquettedacker]

   Fish 307 has the Fin-Bores in stock for a good price.

    That's where I ordered mine...  

[PUNISHER]

I concur with ducati.
8" is going to be the one you want then.
8-12" of ice isn't going to be a problem at all.
Once you get the hang of it you should be thru that much ice in less than a minute per hole, unless you have a injury or shoulder/arm problem that hampers you.
The difference between the 6" and 8" in that thickness of ice isn't going to be that much.
Effort to turn the auger isn't going to be much different between the two. 
The difference will be that it will probably take about an additional 15-25 turns of the auger using the 8" rather than the 6".
Doesn't seem like much, but if your popping 10-20 holes at a time it adds up.

When drilling with the finbore you use very little down force, just set it on the ice and start spinning, it will pretty much start pulling itself down.
Keeping the rpm's up makes it easier once you have a hole started.
The only real time that it gets harder and you start feeling resistance is when you are about to punch thru the bottom.

If you take care of you blades they will last you many years before needing to be replaced.
I typically get at LEAST 4-5 years out of a set.
Blade care:
1. NEVER bang the blades straight down (or sideways) on the ice
2. watch out for dirty ice (wind blown dirt or sand, branches, rocks or debris frozen in the ice)
3. don't try chipping ice off the blades with metal scooper (etc)
4. don't believe that you can just touch them up to make them sharper (it never works), just replace them.
5. blade guard only comes off when your ready to drill you holes and goes back on when your done, they will cut wide and deep anything that gets close to them.
6. don't let someone borrow your auger that doesn't know the above rules
7. spray them down with WD40 (or your preferred oil) at the end of the season to keep the rust off over the summer. 

IMHO - get the 8" finbore and start popping holes.

[GerGa]

Went ahead with the 8".  Thanks for the tips everyone.  8 should be fine, can't regret it.

[PUNISHER]

Your welcome GerGa, lets us know how you like it.
After having too spud holes open, I'm betting your going to enjoy that new auger.

[eyesfishing]

I concur with ducati.
8" is going to be the one you want then.
8-12" of ice isn't going to be a problem at all.
Once you get the hang of it you should be thru that much ice in less than a minute per hole, unless you have a injury or shoulder/arm problem that hampers you.
The difference between the 6" and 8" in that thickness of ice isn't going to be that much.
Effort to turn the auger isn't going to be much different between the two. 
The difference will be that it will probably take about an additional 15-25 turns of the auger using the 8" rather than the 6".
Doesn't seem like much, but if your popping 10-20 holes at a time it adds up.

When drilling with the finbore you use very little down force, just set it on the ice and start spinning, it will pretty much start pulling itself down.
Keeping the rpm's up makes it easier once you have a hole started.
The only real time that it gets harder and you start feeling resistance is when you are about to punch thru the bottom.

If you take care of you blades they will last you many years before needing to be replaced.
I typically get at LEAST 4-5 years out of a set.
Blade care:
1. NEVER bang the blades straight down (or sideways) on the ice
2. watch out for dirty ice (wind blown dirt or sand, branches, rocks or debris frozen in the ice)
3. don't try chipping ice off the blades with metal scooper (etc)
4. don't believe that you can just touch them up to make them sharper (it never works), just replace them.
5. blade guard only comes off when your ready to drill you holes and goes back on when your done, they will cut wide and deep anything that gets close to them.
6. don't let someone borrow your auger that doesn't know the above rules
7. spray them down with WD40 (or your preferred oil) at the end of the season to keep the rust off over the summer. 

IMHO - get the 8" finbore and start popping holes.

The difference actually is that you'll be drilling through almost twice the amount of material with an 8" auger as you would with a 6".
If you do the math, 1 inch of ice with a 6" diameter has about 28.3 cubic inches of ice, compared to 50.3 cubic inches with an 8". Just how the area of a circle works.

OP said they have about 8" of ice right now. We have about 8-12 in northern NY depending on where you are. I know it's going to get to about 24" towards the end of the season, and likely close to that in CT. Either way, the difference in the amount of material you're removing through 8" of ice would be 226.4cu. in. with a 6" auger vs. 402.4 with an 8".

In terms of OP's interests, if he just drills 2 holes and sets up over them for the day then even a 12" would be alright. However, with the kind of fishing that I do, where I have to drill 5 holes for my tip ups plus another 5 for a friend + countless holes for jigging, every inch counts.

[PUNISHER]

ok troll.....try another thread.....no bites here.......thanks for nothing.....good contribution to the thread....

[eyesfishing]

My contribution is based on facts and math. Your contribution is subjective and misleading.