[Rockfish9]

I've used many different methods in the 50 years I have been icefishng ( my dad started me @ 5)... an axe and home made spud fashoned from a rake handle.. hose clamps and a tire iron being the first.... I've used chain saws ( mainly when netting bait)... I had a wonderfull spud tha I made by welding a section of truck spring to a solid length of iron pipe.. it was heavy but took little effort to cut as long as it was kept sharp.. I've had the old cup type augers... a 10" "T" handle" "man killer" hand auger and an old 8" Mora hand auger.. all have been passed along to the junk man or some one younger and stronger...

I bought my first power Auger when I turned 40... it was a 3 hp jiffy ..it was a loud, heavy lumbering beast that could blast a 10" hole through 30" of ice in just a few short minutes... after a little more than a decade of dragging that 33lb hulk onto the ice ( along with 100lb of other gear) I decided that I needed to once agian go lighter... I bought a 21lb 2 HP model that hogs out an 8" hole... more than enough for just about anything I ( or most people ) will catch through the ice.. If I lived in Vermont,and still fished Champlain regualrly I'd opt for the 10" 3 HP... around here .. it's more auger than I'll eve need and it's QUIET....

I also own a mills lac ( made by Jiffy) spud.. seeing as my beautiful home made one ended up on the bottom of the exeter river during a smelt shack rescue mission...

I curruntly own two hand augers... two piece strike master that lives in the deep snow basket... and i recently bought a Nils master.. both are 8"... I heard all kinds of good things about the nils... truthfully it isnt much eaiser than the strike master.. and it's alot more money... I just happend to buy mine at a reduced price that will never be offered again...the blades on the strike master are replaceable and can be sharpened or bought localy... you have to ship the Nils away to get it sharpend..

pictured with them are a pair of slush scoops.. both have an ice chipping devise on the ends.. very handy for clearing ice from the rims of the hole on very cold days... also pictured is a small plastic shovel... i find this a great aid in clearing around the hole to keep frozen slush and snow form possible snagging a line and costing me a fish..

I'l get into terminal tackel tomorrow night... it's time to hit the rack..... if I was bass fishing..I'd be thinking one more drift....it's only November and I've allready turned into a wuss!