Why???

I recently purchased a new power auger. While I was trying to decide if I wanted an 8″, or a 10″, I looked closely at the 10′ augers thinking that this is the way to go. I very quickly decided that the 8″ was more that enough, and got to wondering WHY in the world would anyone need a 10″ hole in the ice. Can someone please enlighten me. I can’t think of a single fish that I could get through an 8″ hole.

I was asking the same question this weekend. Two things were brought up from Blue Fleck.

1. Commercial fishing
2. If it’s a clear lake, you can see better.

Not that I feel they should be outlawed (too many laws anyway), but they are very hard on the ankles and bones.

Sounds like a lame reason for spening the extra $200 bucks.

I thought I had fishing fever bad. WOW!!!

Fishinbuddy,

I thought the same thing awhile back when I realized (too late) that my set screw holding my auger onto the drive shaft was loose and dropped the 8″ auger part down the hole.
After a little hmming and hahing, I decided to buy the 10″ auger to try it. I can honestly say that fishing out of a 10″ hole is alot of fun. Yes, 8″ hole is more than enough but the room the hole offered away from your transducer was unbelievable. Now I am spoiled with a 10″ auger.

That’s what I was looking for. Having the vexilar in the 10′ hole, would make it a bit easier. Makes a little more sense now. Did you ever get the auger back? Thanks for the reminder though. I will check my set screw as soon as I get home.

I recently decided to go down to a 6″ hole for a number of reasons. Do you know how fast a 6″ hole goes through the ice! WOW! Plus, fish have a harder time turning around in them when the release early. Also, I can drill a separate hole for my transducer VERY close to my fishing hole, conserving space in the shack. I can then set my FL-8 over the hole, further conserving space, and seeing my lure exceptionally well. Plus, they stay sharper longer than the larger units. I ordered the Lazer lower unit online for $100.
Tuck

Anyone who fishes Lake of The Woods as well as other walleye lakes on a regular basis knows that that strain of walleyes in LOW are footballs. I have found that it is easier to get the head of of a 25″+ walleye in the hole with a 10″ versus an 8″ and our catch rate has improved. It seemes the 8″ holes are more prone to the fish laying across the bottom of the hole.

As I heard Dave Genz say once “If your catching fish that won’t fit through a six inch hole, I want to fish with you!”. 10″ holes are nice but I am a portable kind of guy and 10″ just means more weight, more bulk, more gas.

I know its been said before, but I had my 3 year old out with me and 8″ holes present a bit of a risk but a 10″ he could fall straight through. I know watch my kid…I do very closely but you know 3 year olds. Curious and gone is 2 seconds.
Not condemning a 10″ but 8″ seems fine to me.

Got to have a 10″ hole for pike fishing, especially when the pike can go big……….

4 years ago on Waubay lake in NE South Dakota, we were hammering pike in the 5 to 15 pound range. It was -4 degrees outside. The hole were freezing up. If we would have had a 6″ auger…….we would have never pulled a fish out…….The holes were freezing up too fast, even with 10″ holes and black covers for the tip-ups. Everytime we got a flag, two guys had to go to the hole to get the fish, one to pull in the fish, the other to chop out the ice buildup.

Last year, on Lake Sarah, I caught a 15lb pike throug the ice. It was 10 degrees outside. Didn’t have a cover on the tipup. The hole froze shut. After kicking out the ice of the 10″ hole, to where I thought I had enough to pull a “typical 5lb fish” through, I set the hook on the fish and quickly realized I had a bigger than normal metro pike. When I pulled the fish through the “now 6 inch” frozen up hole”, the fish got stuck in the hole half way out. I got her out of the hole without hurting her, but I was very thankful I had a 10″ hole to start with…….

Yep, for ice pannies or even walleye through the ice in a portable shelter, a 6″ hole will work, but I prefer the big holes just for “comfort and simplicity”.

For iceing pike, there is no option, but to use the 10″ holes………

8 inch or 10 inch? Thats why they make a 9 inch auger. Not to big and not to small just right. If you use a Vexilar it is nice to have a bigger hole. If you fish out of a flip over portable like me, I do not crank the heat up because it melts the floor and makes it slick and I do not like to put my feet in standing water, so I keep the temp low. Now because of this the holes freez up a little over time. The 8 inch hole can get to 6 or 7 over a days fishing. Plus if the fish gets the line cought behind the fins, you can not lift the head right up and a bigger hole helps.

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Got to have a 10″ hole for pike fishing, especially when the pike can go big……….

We have bigger augers for bigger fish if that is what we are after. Most walleye will fit through a 6″ hole. Remember the old days with the hand crank saucer augers? I only remember one time when I could not get a fish through that hole. It was a large channel cat that refused to retract his side spines!

Tuck

A couple of other thoughts:

If you fish out of a portable, a couple of 8 inch holes use up less space inside the shack than 10 inch holes.

And if you’re concerned about turning a big fish up an 8 inch hole, then take a spud with you and break off the bottom edge of the hole. In other words, make the hole cone shaped. I’ve seen plenty of double-digit pike come through 8 inch holes with no problem, as long as they were “coned”

Rootski

Have you guys heard this line….”I had a 10″ hole and had a pike on that wouldn’t even begin to fit in the hole….” That still ceases to amaze me. Not trying to brag (well maybe a little), but I pulled a 46″ 26 lb tiger muskie through a 8″ hole with relative ease with 4 lb test a few years back. Now I know that 26 lbs isn’t huge, but it’s not a very common pike anyway. I would love to see a fish that absoultely wouldn’t fit in a 10″ hole! Those stories still crack me up. On a side note. There are augers out there that have a blade that allows you to “cone” your hole from the bottom up to assist in getting a fish started up the hole.

Geesh I guess I’ll be the only one to join you Gary and say I like a 10″ for pike too. The price was similar to the 8″ years ago when I bought it and I like it. A 3hp Jiffy even! Lots of room for the transducer and your arm if you need to make a quick grab. Yeah there are some negatives…. My son got several soakers when he was smaller. Several of my rod holders have gone kersplash. Never liked them anyway. For panfish I’ve got a 6″ hand auger. Us big guys are a minority but never doubt the big 10inch.

WEll if you want to run some really simple math a fish would have to be over 24inches of girth, to not fit though a 8 inch hole, and I gotta think even if it went 25 inches of girthyou could probably make due and a 10 inch hole could get almost a 32 inch girth fish…. Not to say a bigger hole probably wouldn’t easier to work a fish with, btu not fitting, I don’t think I’d buy that story from many people… Me? I’ll take a 7″ auger.

No to discount any of gary’s reasons all of which were very good.

i use a 10″ to have more room for the transducer. your not pulling it out with every fish. it’s also nice laketrout fishing. a little extra room to turn their heads up. BIGCRAPPIE, sounds like you are using a heater/cooker type heater, or one that sits down on the ice. try getting the heater up off of the ice, say on top of a 20lb tank. i don’t shovel all the snow down to the ice, just the ice chips from your holes. also if you build a custom bench seat accross the back of your unit, you can sit with your feet inside the tub. works for me…..tom f.

I just went from a 7″ to a 8″ and now finally a 10″ jiffy stealth and i love having a 10″ hole so much easier bringing in fish,espicially big pike,plus its just nice having the room for the fish and transducer and hand..