Hard water can come anytime

[EsoxAC3]

They are a nice setup... Great value for the money and roomy. I looked at them closely when i bought my last shack. Bet u will really like it.

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[steelie21]

I had an Otter Cabin I just sold on here. Too heavy for me to drag. I even built a Smitty Sled but found it daunting especially in snow.

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[geoice]

Yeah those are the cats ass but ur right they are heavy as hell and for guys like us that drag our stuff...not practical

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[Rich s]

I have 4 flip overs and 2 pop ups as well as fish with many friends that have various others .

My favorite flip that I own is a shappell fx 100 for ease of transport , space and price . My Eskimo quick flip 1 flip over is JUNK .

Shappell fx 150 is super heavy and rarely used .

Friends clam 2 person flips are again super heavy and over priced IMO .

My pop ups are made by kill zone ( ice ) and great value as well as dual purpose for hunting .

Eskimo and clam turned me off

Edited August 24, 2016 by Rich s

[geoice]

Can't find those shappells anymore..been looking for that one myself, and I agree with ya on the "over" priced big names...cheap Chinese metal tubing and some canvas doesn't cost 400 all the way up to 800 for the otters

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[Rich s]

Shappell were USA made . They have since sold out to eagle claw so I don't know the status .

[wishinfishin]

wanted to get an ice auger, what do you guys think 6 or 8 inch.

going to fish in Pa for crappies and bluegills , and st lawrence for

walleye perch and pike, and hit some other lakes as well in the dacks

for walleye perch and pike  with the possibility of lake trout.

wanted to try a nils hand auger with thje attachment for cordless drill.

Any thoughts?

[wishinfishin]

I guess im getting excited

[geoice]

I didn't know that, well eagle claw is slowly making better products...hopefully they can hold up the shappell

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[geoice]

Nils are bad ass augers...if ur gonna go for all the species u referred to I would just go with a 8" that way u have all your bases covered and u would be surprised how easy it is to cut with a nails auger, u might not ever use a drill

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[EsoxAC3]

I have a 6 man shappell pop up i bought last year... LOVE IT!! Great quality for price. All the room in the world for 2-3 guys and super light to transport. Huge floor space to fish.... Think its 60sqft

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Edited August 25, 2016 by EsoxAC3

[wishinfishin]

Geoice, i hear they are good , i know sharpening the head is something that has to be sent away , and looking at some videos i may not need to bring the drills, less stuff to bring is always better

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[wishinfishin]

Bought an insulated polar bird ice shelter,4 man, havenot used it yet only set it up in the yard.

The poles are guaranteed ,sets up pretty easy, came with a floor mat

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[Chowdaire]

One thing on the nils. If you buy the one made for a drill it has a lower attack angle than the normal hand version. Makes sense to reduce torque on the drill. The problem is when you try to use it by hand it takes about a thousand turns (give or take) to go thru 6" of ice. I had the 8" in both the normal hand model and drill. I returned the drill model. Too much work if you had to convert it. The normal hand model cuts like butter.

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[wishinfishin]

Yes good point chowdaire, i did read about that somewhere and the orange model is the drill model with the lower attack blade i believe. I was leaning towards the blue colored hand model and would try it with a drill to see how it works but might be two aggressive for the drill.

Saw a you tube vid if i remember correctly the guy drilled two holes in 55 seconds in 18" of ice, wow!

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[rbonnell1]

wanted to get an ice auger, what do you guys think 6 or 8 inch.

going to fish in Pa for crappies and bluegills , and st lawrence for

walleye perch and pike, and hit some other lakes as well in the dacks

for walleye perch and pike with the possibility of lake trout.

wanted to try a nils hand auger with thje attachment for cordless drill.

Any thoughts?

I can't chime in about the cordless drill attachment but I use an 8 inch auger it's a good all around auger and you don't have to have two when you are going to go after the bigger fish

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[Silver Fox]

8" nil's is all I use now. I haven't had the gas auger out the 2 years I've had the nil's. Cuts like butter in any ice thickness.

Lake Ontario salmon fishing charters

[EsoxAC3]

I fish with guys that use the cordless drill setup.... I plan to purchase the setup this year. So much lighter and quieter to operate!!! Amazing. They own and use both 5"/6" and 8" drills depending on species. When crappie or perch fishing the smaller diameter yields about 30%-40%more holes which is required when moving around to find fish. Larger diameter is used for northern and walleye and typically works well because less hole drilling is required. If you choose the larger blade only, my recommendation is get an extra battery to bring with. We would sometimes only get 12-15 holes on a full charge depending on temp and ice thickness. Good luck and tight lines!!

Also, one buddy uses eskimo drills the other nils.... Both seem to cut well with the drill. By hand its no contest.

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Edited August 25, 2016 by EsoxAC3

[Sk8man]

You'll get more out of battery life the smaller you go (depending on what you fish for). The heavy duty lithium ion batteries are the way to go and a half inch at least 18Volt Bosch hammerdrill or Dewalt drill. These drills are not created equal and it makes a huge difference which one you use. I tried the Makita, Ryiobi, Black and Decker before finding the right one.  I can drill over 50 holes in 6 inch ice without taking out the Lithion battery on my Bosch and it came with two of them. I use a 7 inch Lazer auger but the Nils is a great blade too. I've been using my setup for over 7 years and the batteries are still strong.  gave away my gas auger years ago

Edited August 25, 2016 by Sk8man

[wishinfishin]

Thanks Les, understood.

I have bosch 18 volts i use for work so that parts easy for me. And in case people are not aware , companies are increasing the amps on these lithium ion batteries which make yuge difference. Of course they are more money , but something to think about when the batteries finally give out that came with the drill and its time to upgrade.

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[Sk8man]

Yeah the heavy duty Lithion batteries are about $90 each Also for those unfamiliar with this stuff make sure you use the high torque setting on the drill NOT the high speed drill setting

Edited August 25, 2016 by Sk8man

[Rich s]

I had the old jiffy 30 for a long time . It was a bear to lug around , darn thing wore me out . I bought a nils 6" hand auger about 7 years ago and it's the cats meow .

So 2 years ago I buy a replacement head , not that mine was dull but figured it was time .Put it on and don't you know the first time out I hit some sumerged wood . Totally ruined the head and wouldn't cut butter so back on went the original head which I'm still using going on season 8.

My brother in law buys an 8" nils and wouldn't cut from the get go . He suffered through the season and spent $80.00 on a replacement head and still wouldn't cut butter. I think the shaft was defective . Threw the whole thing away and bought an Eskimo 45 cc 8" gas auger and loves it . He also got a 6" fin bore which is the same concept ( offset handle ) but with much cheaper easily replaceable blades .

I love my nils but the heads ore pricy and can be hard to get as nils only makes X amount per year and when they are gone , they are gone .

I would check out a fin bore.

As for size , I can and have pulled 40" pike and 30" lake trout through my 6" hole .

The downside with a 6" hole is running tip-ups and the hole getting smaller if you don't keep them clear often . An 8" is a little more forgiving when they start freezing fast .

The upside with a 6" is it requires less effort to cut and sometimes thick ice is chore with an 8" auger .

Personally I would avoid the electric drill model . I have been with friends that carry 2 batteries , have burned out their drills and trashed them in the snow. It's just an extra piece of gear to carry as well as expense IMO . If I were to go that route I would just get a lightweight gas auger . Avoid the propane models as well, I have seen them ice up and not run as well as carrying extra propane . The electric Ion augers are heavy and I'd pass on them as well.

Good luck and happy fishing . I'm already buying more gear I don't really need but hey it's fun to try and buy more gear then my wife does shoes

Rich

[Sk8man]

I hate to say it but I strongly disagree...(unless you are talking about the newer large battery type augers) The auger I am talking about is very light and much lighter and more portable and compact  than  a gas auger. Gas augers are a pain in the azz. They spook everything for miles and whenever I see one on the ice I locate as far as I can away from it. They sometimes leak fuel and fumes in your vehicle if not in the back of a pickup (I use an Expedition) as well as a gas smell your hands and clothing (which may not help your catch rate either). The only place I would have one is way up north where the ice gets over a foot and a half or two (or more). I mainly fish for species other than pike these days so I move around a lot and travel light instead of using my Clam shelter. The drill auger is perfect for this. With a heavy gas auger I'd probably travel less and drill fewer holes. I think that the guys you saw that needed to carry extras and had to use them had the wrong drills and batteries. I can get 50 holes easily out of my heavy duty Lithium battery (single). I have only once used my back up battery and that was when the ice was over a foot and I drilled a large bunch of holes. A 7 inch auger is just right for about everything and uses less juice than an 8 inch. Those guys must have been using crap drills with 8 inch augers as everyone I know that uses good ones loves them and I feel that my Bosch hammer drill is one of the best investments I have ever made and it owes me nothing at this point. No matter what ice auger you use it has the be kept sharp and one of the ways to do this is to keep the cover on the blades when not in use. It is also wise from a safety standpoint. Even a slight bend in the shaft of the auger can keep it from functioning properly and cutting well (wobbling keeps the blades from having necessary cutting contact.)

Edited August 25, 2016 by Sk8man

[Rich s]

Yes I was not talking about a portable cordless hand drill but a big ION auger when I said weight .

As for the cordless hand drill attachment , we fish northern Adirondack lakes and yes the ice is 1 +' thick .

2 seasons ago it was over 2' . 50 holes when jigging and trying to locate lake trout sometimes is not uncommon , running 6 traps and various jig holes took a tool on their cordless drills . Honestly I don't remember the models but I knew they broke out the hand attachment that was a bit more difficult to use then the standard nils.

As for scaring the fish , well I have seen both sides . On clear ice I watched pike stay 3-6' ahead of me as I walked along . In shallow water I can see trying to remain as quiet as possible for spooky fish such as pike .

On the other side , when fishing deep water from 40-100' for lakers , yes we jig in 100 fow, it makes no difference and lakers are curious fish .

Also I will fish for perch and gills in 20fow using my nils hand auger and if things slow down I drill another hole which does make noise no matter what , push ice down and it seems the panfish are also curious and the bite picks up again .

Gas augers , I agree. There are cons such as the gas and fumes and I personally got rid of mine but I don't mind when my brother in law brings his along and punches a few holes for me in thick ice

It's all good , it just becomes a matter of preference and how, where you fish .

Rich

Ps.

How long is that shaft ? I think it would be almost bottomed out , lol

Edited August 25, 2016 by Rich s

[wishinfishin]

Thanks for all the input guys, I do believe I cant go wrong with a Nils , Lazer or Fin Bor.

maybe a ford ,chevy thing

Hey Les ,Have you ever tried your lazer next to the other two augers I just mentioned ,curious  is all,

maybe some other guys around you had them when you were ice fishing.?