What tip-up do you guys who use a 10″ auger use? I have been debating between a 8″ blade and a 10″ blade. I pretty much run all Frabill Pro-Therms for tip-ups and was wondering if they will still work on a 10″ hole? I have always fished through 8″ holes so never had this concern. While we are at it, what are your favorite tip-ups and why?
They should work fine. If I am thinking of the correct one, they will sit in the hole and float just fine.
Personally I use Beaver Dam Tip-Ups pretty much exclusively. They are the smoothest I have found and I just can’t seem to use much else anymore……
Tim
I am with Tim 
The Beaver Dams are the smoothest tip up I have used. When the T bar on the top becomes a little pitted take some steel wool and shine it up keeping it so the flag trips easily and smooth.
They will trip easy enough to even keep the finickiest of crappies from dropping a bait which makes for a good way to spread out while fishing deep holes for the cruising paper mouths 
Here is my take on this, get a 8 inch auger and any tip-up will work fine. I use my 10 inch auger only in my permanent house. I believe 10 inch holes are dangerous and overkill for any type of fish.
All the filming we do on ice is done with either a 7 or 8 inch hole and that is plenty for all fish in cold water. I spend a lot of time on the ice and 10 inch holes are like landmines 
The worst time is coming in March when they don’t freeze overnight and the wind blows them full of snow…not a good situation.
I respectfully disagree that an 8″ is plenty all of the time. My main target in the past has been lake trout. Getting a 15# plus trout turned into an 8″ hole is a real chore – especially if they are hooked in the side of the mouth. A 10″ hole makes it way easier. Once I got used to fishing out of a 10, an 8″ seems like a pinhole……
If trout are not on order, an 8″ will work great for most everything, but if you do a little canadian exploring and start getting into the occasional 15lb plus laker, you’ll regret the 8″ and wish it were a 10.
As Scott said, though, the 10″ holes are a landmine in any type of community setting…….especially when kids could be involved……
Tim
Timmy, you missed my point. Getting any fish into a 10 inch hole is easier obviously. My point is an 8 inch works fine and it adds to the thrill of the fight, especially on big lakers
I’ve had more than 1 round tip up freeze into a 10 inch hole and there is nothing you can do to get them out without destroying them and yes I check them frequently. The shaft is too short to allow you to pull the tip up up enough to get in there with a chisel to break the ice free. Beaver dams are the only way to go if you are after walleyes since the seem to have zero resistance on the spool. If you’re fishing for pike all the time, you can get away with cheaper ones since a little resistance on the spool doesn’t seem to bother em much…As far as the auger size goes, if you are targeting trophy pike go with the 10..We get some monsters down here on the Madison Chain. The last year I religously fished em, I had a 38″ average going. As you can imagine, a 10″ hole is a necessity. Walleyes and average sized pike, you can easily get away with the 8
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Timmy, you missed my point. Getting any fish into a 10 inch hole is easier obviously. My point is an 8 inch works fine and it adds to the thrill of the fight, especially on big lakers
I must agree…..that would add to the excitement a lot! I have personally gaffed fish up to 24.5 lbs in Canada for friends – and we had a heck of a time turning those hawgs in a 10″ hole. We gaffed the 24.5 under the ice and turned it with the gaff. Yes, we could have done it with an 8″, but I don’t think I am ready for that much excitement yet! Like i said, after years and years of looking down a 10″ hole, that 8″ hole now looks tiny to me…..
Tim
You would laugh at my 5 inch auger then! 
I have gotten some large northerns through a 5 inch hole and I personally hate 10 inch holes since I got a little wet more than once. Just my 2 cents but when I saw a guy with a 12 incher all I could do was shake my head and ask WHY?
Used to do a lot of tip up fishing for Pike on Minnetonka. We used 8 inch holes, and we also used a spud to knock the bottom edge off the hole. That made the hole cone shaped: 8 inches on top but 10 or 12 inches across the botttom. That made a huge difference in getting fish started up the hole. We succesfully landed fish in the 15 pound class and never had a problem with them hanging up on the bottom of the hole. It only took a few seconds to “cone the hole” and it was well worth the effort when that rare big one was on.
One day I was fishing Lake Sarah (in Hennepin County) after an all-night snow fall. As I walked across the lake I managed to drop my foot right smack-dab into the center of a 10 inch hole. The next 5 seconds aged me 10 years right on the spot and then I managed to stop my self before passing the hole and breaking my shin bone. I was thinking very bad thoughts about 10 inch auger holes that are drifted over and don’t have a stick or something in them…..So it can happen!
Rootski
Get a Strikemaster 9″ then you will not have to worry.. 
I was waiting for that one!! The only reason I would buy a 10″ is if I found a used one a good price(which seems to be the case over 8″). I plan on buying a Strikemaster to keep it local! What are the thoughts on the Lazer vs. Mag models? I see that the blades are different, are the Lazer blades that much better? Thanks Again
I have a 10 inch 4 blade and it cuts as easy as my 7 inch Lazer Mag. I only use it in my permanent house, but those 4 blades cut like a dream. The best all around auger in my opinion is the 224 in 8 inch. We use one of those for filming and they are fast and effortless
In my fishing, a 10 inch auger would be horific to carry around. Speed is everything to me. And versatility is next. I exclusively use a 7 inch bit which has to cut 25% less ice to get through the hole. A 10 inch auger will cut over twice as much ice to get to the bottom.
A seven inch LazerMag Express carries like a broom stick and cuts holes like a torch
But for a guy that is just going to pop holes for the house in a day and sit in one spot,..A ten inch is nice. But it would be nice if they would wrap them with orange caution tape when they leave. Scott and I have both been up to our zippers in ten inchers 
One thing I would like to add is that my ten inch auger is mainly used where there is little foot traffic. I don’t go punching holes willy nilly all over a community hole – where the chance of a little kid(or a big kid) stepping in one is high. I generally am fishing areas that see little in the way of people…..so the odds of a bad encounter are pretty low.
We did, however, have a bad event happen a few years ago when up chasing lake trout. We fished an area on a lake that really produced – we were 3 lakes from the road. It was a bitterly cold weekend with high winds. The 2nd morning, we decided to head right back to the hotspot instead of the normal approach of hitting new water. The -25 degree temps and wind had us wanting to take the sure bet instead of having to search at all. Well, wouldn’t you know it, my partner went to his point and the winds had blew everything level……you could not see where he had been fishing at all. He got off his sled, took two steps, and went right up to his knee in the hole. Ouch. Spent the rest of the day drying out his stuff……..
Tim
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He got off his sled, took two steps, and went right up to his knee in the hole. Ouch.
That is what we call a landmine Snow covered 10 inch hole.
the next pair of boots you guys buy you should get them 2 sizes big and then your foot is likely to hit a “landmine”
oh yeh and wags i would recomend an 8″ and i would also recomend getting an eskimo they are also a nice auger
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