Electric auger bit question

Hey all, for those who run the electric drill setup ( like myself) do you use the 6” bit for walleye fishing as well? Mostly fish panfish but fish walleyes and some pike every so often. I use a 6” lazer hand auger on a clam plate and works well. Can fit a lot of big fish through a 6” hole but for the added stress and less Battery life on the drill is it worth using the 8” or for the most part can a guy get by with the 6”? I never really seem to catch any hog pike or walleye when I go out. Thanks

For me it’s never been a question of “if” a fish will fit through a 6″ hole. I can’t remember the last time I caught a pike or walleye (in MN) that wouldn’t fit thru. For me, I like the added space for my transducer and making it a heck a lot easier. problem with pike is their big heads don’t turn. In deep ice, you need to stick your arms down to straighten the fish out before it’ll slide up the hole.

But these fish are few and far between. If you are concerned and drill a TON of holes, no issues with 6″ IMO…but honestly, My KDrill, Milwaukee, and 2-4 batteries will drill more holes then most people would ever need in a weekend.

I fish mostly panfish, some walleyes, and now and then northerns.

I have a 6″ Nils bit that I bought as a hand auger years ago and last year adapted into drill use. But this year I bought an 8″ Lite Flite. I do often like the bigger hole as I get my line wrapped around the transducer less, and if I’m fishing gamefish just makes it easier to get them into the hole.

So far I’ve drilled out pretty big basin areas and then extra holes for following schooling crappies in about 10 inches of ice and haven’t drained a single 5AH Milwaukee battery. If I was on a strict panfish mission where I was going to drill a hundred holes and wasn’t likely to run into big fish I might still chuck up my 6 inch drill, but overall I’ve been happy with the performance and convenience of that 8 inch.

If you have a 6 and it works well for you though, no problem sticking with it.

Tucker

I’ve found a 7″ to be the happy medium.

Easier on the drill, more holes, multi-species capable.

I’d love to see Strikemaster come out with a 7″ Lite Flite

I never fished a 6″ hole until I was on Devils Lake earlier this month. You can get bigger fish than what you think through one. They do things differently out there because (at least the guide we were with) intends to keep everything caught. We were catching walleyes in 47 to 50 feet of water. When he seen we weren’t horsing them up from that depth he asked us what the heck we were doing get those thing up through the hole!!

But they don’t have slots to deal with like we do so they don’t care what damage is done to the fish coming through the hole or otherwise because everything is a keeper out there.

I’ll stick to my 8″ auger.

The circumference of a 6 inch hole is about 18 inches, almost 19. That’s a pretty big fish in most icefishing situations. However, that’s assuming that you can get the nose and head into the hole and the fish basically oriented vertically.

An 8 inch hole gives a 25 inch circumference. I fish muskies and have measured a 21 inch girth and caught another very fat fish I estimate at 23 or 24 inches. If oriented correctly even those 48 and 49 inch muskies would have fit through an 8 inch hole without too much trouble.

That’s kind of going to the extreme. If the 6 inch hole works for you, yes it will be easier on your drill and drill more holes on a charge. If you prefer the convenience a bigger hole can provide with space for transducer and getting fish started up the hole, then your tradeoff is battery and possibly drill life. Plus a little extra weight too for the bigger auger bit.

curleytail wrote:

that’s assuming that you can get the nose and head into the hole and the fish basically oriented vertically.

Another way to look at it, if you can get the head in a 6″ hole a ways, any decent fish is pretty much forced to swim up the hole, hooked or not.

A 6” kdrill will cut overlapping holes to open up a 6×10 hole. Add a third hole and you could land anything you will find in the upper Midwest.

Similar thread on iceshanty.com. No concensus.

Iv caught some nice ones I’d have to say its more of a struggle to get them started up a smaller hole, so like my 8″ or bigger for that reason