Sodus 1-30 Report

[Finders Keepers]

Got on the ice just after daylight with my buddy Skinner to fish the Bayside Tourny and set-up in my usual honeyhole. I was looking forward to not having to drill holes today as I had my friend's power auger. However the darn thing wouldn't start! So it ended up taking me 2.5 hours to get the full 10 tip-up spread set! Needless to say I got quite the workout today! There was a good 12"+ of hard, clear ice to drill through. Ended the day at 12:20 and had iced 8 pike (4 to 8.5 lbs) and around 15 decent perch. The pike hit in pairs today - always either had two flags go at the same time or one would go while I was fighting another. Kinda weird how that happened. Well, we didn't win the tourny, but it was a banner day on the ice - although it was C-C-C-OLD!!!!!!

Hoping to get back out next Saturday...

[BlueEye]

Nice going Tim! Thanks for the report and better luck next time with the power auger. I was exhausted the other day after drilling three holes through 8" of ice with my hand auger so I know your pain

[daker1979]

You guys need to buy Nils hand or power augers.....

I have a 5" Nils hand auger and never found a need for power. Just turn the handle no pressure...... cuts like hot knife threw butter

[Finders Keepers]

The issue is that I like an 8" hole for the toothy critters (especially those over 12 lbs), which requires a bit of work, even with new blades. I upgraded my 6" manual auger last year after losing a couple large pike at the hole. That 6" auger cut through a lot easier simply because of the size difference. I will probably look into a power unit for next year...

[Cheers]

8 inch Nihls for me, worth every penny

[daker1979]

Tim they make a 8" also....... hand or power and they are interchangable:

http://www.nilsmaster.com/index.html

[JR]

They look pretty nice, and i like the fact that if the motor won't start you can just attach the hand crank instead of walking back to the truck to get the hand auger .

[Finders Keepers]

They do look sweet. How much do they typically run?

[Gator]

Tim

Lots. They're one of the most expensive units out there, upwards of $500. I know some guys swear by Nils, but you can dull the cutting unit by putting too much downward pressure on them when drilling, and the replacements are ~$80-90. Lots of de niro for a blade. Like most augers, the Nils excels with a small hole diameter.

My advice before buying is to hook up with some guys off this forum or Shanty and try the different drills. I have both a Strikemaster 2-stroke and a Jiffy Stealth STX with the chipper blade. You're welcome to check them out; we fish I-bay and Sodus regularly. Just pm me and we'll hook up and fish.

Gator

[JR]

if you have a Nils and need to get it sharpen here is a site for you

http://www.hotspotoutdoors.com/forum/ub ... /1219226/1

[33canuck]

I bought a Eskimo mako this season and so far that thing is bad A$#, cut's like your going through butter and starts great

[hemlockman]

Tim, I have an 8 inch Strikemaster for about 15 years, great machine blades around $30.00. I wouldn't part with it.

[Finders Keepers]

I gave the "boat anchor" back to my buddy yesterday, and apparently when he got home, it started right up after two pulls. I guess it just needs the right mojo to get going or something. So he's going to show me how he starts it next time to see what I was doing wrong. Any of you guys planning on fishing the Sodus Point Polar Ice Fishing Tourny? I just hope there's still ice left in March... Hey Gator, where on Sodus do you typically fish?

[Gator]

Hi Tim,

We've fished all over the bay, depending on where's hot. Usually the front side of Newark or out of Third Creek for the deep water bite, Conneleys Cove late season ice, South end off Spiegel/Grassy was good a week ago (sucked for us this past weekend). I've never hit up your honey hole; I'm assuming you take a 4-wheeler out to access there? I'm working on biped power, lugging a Trap behind me, so if there's much LES, then I'm either fishing close to the parking or somewhere around over-40 heart attack central.

Gator

[Finders Keepers]

Hey Gator,

No wheels for me, I make the walk with my shanty and gear. It's actually not that bad (unless there's a lot of LES), about the same as walking out in front of Third Creek. So far the perch really haven't shown up in teh "honey hole" yet, but the pike are plentiful! However, the pike have all been average-sized with nothing over 10 lbs., so I am contemplating trying some other waters in search of bigger fish. It's hard to move elsewhere when you're slammin' fish...

Are going to fish the Sodus Tourny in a few weeks?

[JR]

Hey Tim I will be fishing around there on sat myself so when ya see someone wearing a coat like the one I'm wearing in this pic it will be me, see ya out there

[L&M]

That back ground looks vaguely familiar.

[muskybob]

I was thinking the same thing He wore his lure catching sneakers that weekend.

[JR]

Bob Shhhhhhh your going to give away my secret

[Finders Keepers]

Hey JR, Woody & I will keep an eye out for ya if we target the Islands. I've been contemplating trying some new waters in search of bigger gators, but we'll see. Woody's going out tomorrow, so we'll have to see how he makes out... I wear an all-blue outfit and sport a Frabill shanty. Just look for two guys running back and forth between tip-ups pulling gators and slob perch on the ice!