-
If you enjoy the forum please consider supporting it by signing up for a NES Membership The benefits pay for the membership many times over.
any guys ice fish ?
- Thread starter Bruins508
- Start date
bigpick
NES Member
Spent a couple hours out there but nothing big to show for it. Tried to cover from 8 fow to 16 fow. Plow guy was coming to plow in front of the boat ramp so figured it was best to wrap up.You set up the same way I do. A line of tips from shallow to deep.......if I start getting flags at a certain depth I move some tips to that depth.
Is that an electric auger? How do you like it?
I used a Nils hand auger for 20 years then finally last year bought an Eskimo gas auger. Used it once last year and loved it.....fired up on one pull last Saturday and ran great in the single digits weather so.....so far it gets a two thumbs up.
bigpick
NES Member
I really like it, it’s lightweight and drills a lot faster than I expected. Had 10+ inches and cut through just as fast as my jiffy does. Overall worth the money imo. I have two Nils hand augers one being the trekker with the hand drill attachment that works well too. I need to start weening out my gear, got too much that I don’t ever use. Yup if they start biting I’ll start moving to those depths unfortunately not much of a bite yesterday.
I bought my eskimo gas auger last year on an "impulse buy" last season right before the Winnie derby. I had never been up there for it and I decided to go last minute with my brother and took a trip to kittery trading post the night before. I'm not as young as I once was LOL......and have to say that my nils brand hand auger is awesome......but drilling by hand is getting old after many years! I'm glad I bought it......makes setting up much more enjoyable and changing my sets to a new area is easier........with the hand auger I tended to set up and not move at all even when I was getting no flags.
But a tip for the new guys getting into ice fishing......if you are on a budget and can't afford a gas auger.....spend the $100 on a nils brand hand auger vs $40 on any other hand auger. The extra few dollars is well worth it. The nils hand augers are AMAZING and cut very fast. The cheaper ones will wear you out quick!
EDIT......looks like the price is about $160 for the nils augers these days. I got mine decades ago for $100 LOL. You'll note in the pic on the amazon link that the handle is offset like an old fashioned wood drill......you can get both hands working the drill. The cheaper ones have a knob on the top and only one handle to spin the drill so you push down with your top hand and spin with the other and it gets tiring fast. Also the blade on the nils is cup shaped not flat......so it cuts much faster.
I'll also add get an 8 inch drill or 10 inch drill. There are 6 inch ones available.....my brother has one and if you are fishing in cold weather the 6 inch holes freeze in too fast.
https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&k...argid=kwd-499599592992&ref=pd_sl_75r074ttvr_e
Last edited:
bigpick
NES Member
I have two of the 8” Nils, I figured I could send one head to be sharpened and still have the other to use. I like the 8” trekker I have but I need to upgrade my battery to the 5.0x for my cordless drill. They’re easy to cut with and you don’t need to use force for them to cut. When they go dull though you know it.
Years ago my brother borrowed my Nils and drilled a hole where he thought was 3 feet of water (he was after rainbow trout). Turned out he was on less than a foot of water and touched bottom with the blade when he broke through the ice......instant useless auger. Had to send it for sharpening. They are good but don't take to any abuse at all.
This is another tip for new guys reading this thread.....NEVER tap your blades on the ice when you set it down to drill. Gently set it on the ice then start drilling. Too much tapping hard when setting them down bends the edges and your f***ed.
Now to really stir the pot on this thread.
Brands and types of tipups!
For the guys interested in getting started I'll say THEY ALL WORK AND THEY ALL CATCH FISH.
Some lend themselves better to different types of fishing though. To get started out the "polar style" tip ups are the best price generally. Polar style are the flat ones with a t shaped spinning head on the shaft. the orange ones you see everywhere are good....usually about $10 to $15 each. I started my ice fishing with these. The pros on these are they are small and pack easily, they are easy to set up, they can be set for dead bait with a light trip or for live bait with a heavier trip setting. They are better for trout due to the light trip setting and can be set in very shallow water because they don't have a long shaft going down into the ice hole. Another plus is you can see the t shaped head spinning when you approach the trap when you have a flag.........you know right away if you have something on the line. Even on the heavier trip setting on these......the shiner alone tends to set the flag off.....you chase a lot of "shiner flags" using polar style tips and fishing with larger shiners. Also they are very hard to see when there is more than 3 inches of snow in the lake. VERY hard to see.
The stick type tip ups are better when there is snow in the lake because the flags are higher and you can see them in deep snow. Most have a "drag" setting to keep a little tension on the line when a fish takes the bait. This is better for bigger less finiky fish like bass, pike, and pickerel and when you are using large shiners increasing the drag keeps the shiner from setting off the flag. One negative is you can't see the spinning head like you can on polars so you have to look into the hole when you get to to a flag to see if there is a running fish. You'll hear banter back and forth from the avid ice anglers about brand on these......generally jacktraps vs heritage lakers. I use heritage lakers 90% of the time and have 12 of them currently. They work great.....cost about $25 each. jack traps......these are literally the Cadillac of tip ups. The material used is like fine furniture.....and they show it in the price. $40 and up per tip up is the going rate on those. I just never wanted to spend that much on gear is the only reason I never went with jacktraps. there are other stick type ones out there at under $20 each and they work fine as well but I find the heritage lakers to be a good compromise between cost and quality.
These days I keep my old polar tips rigged for trout.....small hooks and light leaders and only take them when I am targeting trout. The rest of the time when I'm after pike and bass I take the heritage laker stick type.
to get out there though and get started........the orange polar type at $10 to $15 each will get the job done and then some.
Brands and types of tipups!
For the guys interested in getting started I'll say THEY ALL WORK AND THEY ALL CATCH FISH.
Some lend themselves better to different types of fishing though. To get started out the "polar style" tip ups are the best price generally. Polar style are the flat ones with a t shaped spinning head on the shaft. the orange ones you see everywhere are good....usually about $10 to $15 each. I started my ice fishing with these. The pros on these are they are small and pack easily, they are easy to set up, they can be set for dead bait with a light trip or for live bait with a heavier trip setting. They are better for trout due to the light trip setting and can be set in very shallow water because they don't have a long shaft going down into the ice hole. Another plus is you can see the t shaped head spinning when you approach the trap when you have a flag.........you know right away if you have something on the line. Even on the heavier trip setting on these......the shiner alone tends to set the flag off.....you chase a lot of "shiner flags" using polar style tips and fishing with larger shiners. Also they are very hard to see when there is more than 3 inches of snow in the lake. VERY hard to see.
The stick type tip ups are better when there is snow in the lake because the flags are higher and you can see them in deep snow. Most have a "drag" setting to keep a little tension on the line when a fish takes the bait. This is better for bigger less finiky fish like bass, pike, and pickerel and when you are using large shiners increasing the drag keeps the shiner from setting off the flag. One negative is you can't see the spinning head like you can on polars so you have to look into the hole when you get to to a flag to see if there is a running fish. You'll hear banter back and forth from the avid ice anglers about brand on these......generally jacktraps vs heritage lakers. I use heritage lakers 90% of the time and have 12 of them currently. They work great.....cost about $25 each. jack traps......these are literally the Cadillac of tip ups. The material used is like fine furniture.....and they show it in the price. $40 and up per tip up is the going rate on those. I just never wanted to spend that much on gear is the only reason I never went with jacktraps. there are other stick type ones out there at under $20 each and they work fine as well but I find the heritage lakers to be a good compromise between cost and quality.
These days I keep my old polar tips rigged for trout.....small hooks and light leaders and only take them when I am targeting trout. The rest of the time when I'm after pike and bass I take the heritage laker stick type.
to get out there though and get started........the orange polar type at $10 to $15 each will get the job done and then some.
Last edited:
PL-52
NES Member
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2016
- Messages
- 5,410
- Likes
- 7,144
From Georgetown Fish and Game Assoc....
With the past few weeks of extreme cold, and more on the way, it appears that we will have enough ice to host an Ice Fishing Event this winter. Mark your calendars for Sunday February 11th and thumb your nose at the cold and catch some fish!
Below please find the details we know as of this email. Expect more to come in the next few weeks.
Date: Sunday February 11th
Where: Pentucket Pond, Georgetown, MA
What: Family Ice Fishing event
Who: Open to all members, their family, friends, and the general public
Time: Start time is 8AM. No power augers or other power equipment to be used prior to 7AM. We want to respect our neighbors living on the lake.
Prizes: To be announced within the next two weeks.
Come join us and get out of the house and enjoy a day outside with family and fellow members and friends! Who knows, maybe you will even win a prize!!!
With the past few weeks of extreme cold, and more on the way, it appears that we will have enough ice to host an Ice Fishing Event this winter. Mark your calendars for Sunday February 11th and thumb your nose at the cold and catch some fish!
Below please find the details we know as of this email. Expect more to come in the next few weeks.
Date: Sunday February 11th
Where: Pentucket Pond, Georgetown, MA
What: Family Ice Fishing event
Who: Open to all members, their family, friends, and the general public
Time: Start time is 8AM. No power augers or other power equipment to be used prior to 7AM. We want to respect our neighbors living on the lake.
Prizes: To be announced within the next two weeks.
Come join us and get out of the house and enjoy a day outside with family and fellow members and friends! Who knows, maybe you will even win a prize!!!
bigpick
NES Member
I’ll be there
bigpick
NES Member
I use heritage Lakers for tip ups. If you want to order some traps Indian hill traps they are great and made local to how you want them. My brother got some years back and they’re equally as good or better than jack traps which are excellent. All tip ups will work so if just starting out get some 40 ups or something like that. Take care of them and they’ll last a long time. I keep a couple of Heart of Maine traps with me for back ups but I have no clue where to get them anymore, out of business I’m sure but it looks like a small 26” jack trap and since they’re made in Maine who knows maybe before jack traps and then was taken over. Like mentioned all traps will work if you don’t have he extra funds. A good set of cleats and auger is more important.
bigpick
NES Member
It’s actually quite easy to do we do it all the time during tournaments. The key is to make sure once you see some water don’t drill anymore then put the auger so it covers half the ice and nothing on the other side and repeat. Just make sure the auger can catch each time and you’re good to go.
bigpick
NES Member
Excellent karma and the old heritage with metal spools right? Great traps, the winner of the karma will be happy with those for years to come.
Yes, they’re Heritage Lakers with aluminum spools.
Plenty of ice in mass. I got out on new years day for the first time in years. Heading out now. Have to admit I pussed out today.....-6 degrees.....said nah.....I'll check the afternoon bite when it will be 10 to 15 degrees. No wind so should be comfortable out there.
Sunday afternoon was a great day. No wind and 15 degrees. Plenty comfortable out there. Flags galore. Landed one pickerel 24 inches and got another crappie 14.5 inches. Lots of decent pickerel but not a single bass Funny getting crappie in that size range on a lake I've never caught a crappie in before. Looks like it's going to be a good ice fishing season.
MP-In-The-Wind
NES Member
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2010
- Messages
- 1,657
- Likes
- 687
bigpick
NES Member
You drop a sounder in to get the weight just to win.....jk good job out there looks like a great time.I was out today with MRS-MP-In-The-Wind.... We each caught 2 bass....her largest fish was 2lb 8oz... while my fish was 2lb 10oz (hee...hee...)
Nice day to be out...I'll be out again tomorrow afternoon!
MP-In-The-Wind
NES Member
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2010
- Messages
- 1,657
- Likes
- 687
HEY! Don't tell her!
MP-In-The-Wind
NES Member
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2010
- Messages
- 1,657
- Likes
- 687
