Getting back into ice fishing

ND1SHOT · Dec 19, 2018

I've been out of the ice fishing picture for the last 3-4 years, and have decent equipment in regards to rods, reels, tackle and ice house, but I'm in need for a couple of changes....

I am looking at changing to a new auger; my old Eskimo Barracuda's fuel system has fallen victim to shitty gasoline and I don't want the mess anymore. Any thoughts or ideas for a good replacement?

I am also interested in finding a good affordable ice fishing floatation bib and jacket set. Any thoughts or ideas for these?

Thanks for the help

fj40 · Dec 19, 2018

Check out the ice auger thread.

gone_fishing · Dec 19, 2018

If you have a cordless powerdrill I would look getting either a K-drill or Eskimo pistol bit.

I believe most of Striker Ice's bibs and jackets will float.

Meelosh · Dec 19, 2018

That Eskimo pistol bit looks like a pain in the ass to attach after I saw a comparison video.

DirtyMike · Dec 19, 2018

ran a 40v lithium strikemaster last weekend. That'll be my next purchase

Duckslayer100 · Dec 19, 2018

ND1SHOT said:
I've been out of the ice fishing picture for the last 3-4 years, and have decent equipment in regards to rods, reels, tackle and ice house, but I'm in need for a couple of changes....

I am looking at changing to a new auger; my old Eskimo Barracuda's fuel system has fallen victim to shitty gasoline and I don't want the mess anymore. Any thoughts or ideas for a good replacement?

I am also interested in finding a good affordable ice fishing floatation bib and jacket set. Any thoughts or ideas for these?

Thanks for the help

I have an older Strikemaster Lazer that has yet to fail me, but it's heavy and requires bringing a small fuel canister for longer trips. Not a big deal, but a hinderance to some.

I got my dad a K-Drill because his back is shot and the 40 pound Eskimo he lugged around was a bit too much. He's only cut two holes (for testing purposes) and he absolutely loves it. I think the whole works including drill and battery weighs around 11 pounds? He's currently just using is 1/2 bit Ryobi with 18v lithum batteries (not recommended, but he already had the drill) and it cut through a foot of ice like butter.

He's apt to drill 6 holes max in a given day, and I doubt he'll burn up drills with that frequency. So we're not too worried. Plus if he does burn up a drill, hey, an excuse to buy a new drill! Win-win!!

ndfinfan · Dec 19, 2018

Picked up the SM 40V Lithium this year...aside from fouling the blades 2nd time out...love it! Not much lighter tho than most gas augers...but cuts like butter...with sharp blades!

RustyTackleBox · Dec 19, 2018

strike master 40v is tbh the way to go... i have nearly 1000 holes on mine so far and most battery I've used in a day is 1/2... buddy of mine got the 10" and I have the 8" it is a noticable difference using them, if you are a portable person go 8 if you setup in a hard house and don't move all day go 10... as far as clothing, striker ice, climate > preditor > hardwater, imo is the best, clam is decent too

Jigaman · Dec 19, 2018

Are these SM 40v going to get the job done in March up on lake winnipeg? how many batteries do they come with?

Fisherman25 · Dec 19, 2018

They have two battery packages. I’d do that for sure. It’s going to take some prep to make them fly up there. Late ice when there’s 40 inches. You’ll probably get 20 holes with a battery and a 8” auger. So 40 holes? That’ll get me by. We usually have three or four augers along so we’d be fine anyways. Depends on how much you like to move.

RustyTackleBox · Dec 20, 2018

i think the sm will work up there... i am keeping my Eskimo hc40 as a back up if 2 batteries are not enough for me... so far every time I have been out my buddy with a sm honda walks over and borrows mine because he likes it over his and he hates my hc40... i am honestly blown away by how well it performs... i got it because my hc 40 blew out the bottom seal and i didn't know how long it was going to be for Eskimo to repair it (ended up 2.5 weeks) and they just replaced it with a whole new head unit... i haven't even started the new Eskimo up since getting it back because its so much easier to grab the sm

- - - Updated - - -

package says 100 holes through 18" of ice... so 1800" of ice on a charge for the 8" (roughly because if you clean your hole with it too that is that much less cutting" 40" of ice is 45 holes i would give it probably 35 per battery

Captain Ahab · Dec 20, 2018

RustyTackleBox said:
i think the sm will work up there... i am keeping my Eskimo hc40 as a back up if 2 batteries are not enough for me... so far every time I have been out my buddy with a sm honda walks over and borrows mine because he likes it over his and he hates my hc40... i am honestly blown away by how well it performs... i got it because my hc 40 blew out the bottom seal and i didn't know how long it was going to be for Eskimo to repair it (ended up 2.5 weeks) and they just replaced it with a whole new head unit... i haven't even started the new Eskimo up since getting it back because its so much easier to grab the sm

- - - Updated - - -

package says 100 holes through 18" of ice... so 1800" of ice on a charge for the 8" (roughly because if you clean your hole with it too that is that much less cutting" 40" of ice is 45 holes i would give it probably 35 per battery

I cut around 25 holes through ~45” of ice on one battery last March on LOW.

Kentucky Windage · Dec 21, 2018

ndfinfan said:
Picked up the SM 40V Lithium this year...aside from fouling the blades 2nd time out...love it! Not much lighter tho than most gas augers...but cuts like butter...with sharp blades!

Simlar weight to a gas auger and blades that crap out easily. What were the positives again?

Getting back into ice fishing

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