2016 gear

[blue gill hunter]

Has anyone heard what the hot items are for this year?  Also, I am looking at going conversion kit this year. What do you guys recommend for a drill?  How large of a battery should I go with?

[Jack mn]

The Clam 6"hand auger is ideal for the plate,I used this all last year tournament fishing and loved it.The  blades stay sharp all year and when they are ready to be changed the replacement blades are less expensive.As far as drill or battery I used a dewalt twenty volt with 3 amp battery,4 amp would be better

Edited November 11, 2015 by Jack mn

[monstermoose78]

This what I got for mine.

Check out the XL Mino from Maki Plastics. If it works as well as the 1 inch one it will be amazing.

[blue gill hunter]

Thanks for the tips. Can't wait to get out on the ice. 

[monstermoose78]

2 hours ago, blue gill hunter said:

Thanks for the tips. Can't wait to get out on the ice. 

Me too. I just bought new line today and will be loading up the ice rods this weekend.

[papadarv]

Agree, can't wait, cooler temps coming next week.

I got a 4" and 7" Swedish augers, the one's that use the threaded shaft, very easy to interchange on the Drill Plate. I have a 18V DeWalt with 4 batteries. Many post's indicate it will work and the extra batteries should give me ample power for the day. Also have a 10" Eskimo gas for all day in the Wheel House.

Replacing and rigging line/lures last and this week along with razor re-sharpen all the blades I have.

[clayton08]

So for anyone using the clam plate your gonna wanna remember these things. The lazer type augers are what your gonna want also the K-drill, nils work as well might need adapters with those tho. I personally run a 6" lazer auger with a DeWalt brushless hammerdrill model 995. I use to run the 985 (non brushless) but I fried that one by absolutely pushing it to the limit this means drilling about 100 holes back to back thru 4 batteries on a memorial tounrmament racing augers btw I was winning when she fried out. But then I bought a brushless and not only do they run smoother I have found out you get about 2-3 more holes per battery. Also a big thing to remeber is that not all batteries are the same. When you buy a kit make sure your batteries are at least 4.0 ah. I have 6 batteries it might sound like a lot but for tourneys you have to remeber we drill alot of holes. With the larger batteries you get alot more holes, with the standard batteries you will be lucky to drill 5 holes thru the think ice. WIth the 5.0 ah batteries I get about 20 holes thru 3 ft of ice. I also store all my batteries when on the ice in a cooler with toe warmers taped to the bottom of them, with a zippo hand warmer in the cooler just to keep them warm thru the tourney. If im in my truck i have inverters in there charging up the batteries. Also dont go cheap on the drills spend the money get a good drill with big batteries and I promise you will take your gas auger and more less retire it. The only gas auger I use is a strikemaster with a chipper blade thats for re opening holes in the wheeel house. Any questions fire away but I think i covered most of them. ALso when drilling with the clam plate make sure to clean the hole of ice shavings once per foot roughly otherwise she kinda is tough on the drill and willl alter battery life.

Edited November 16, 2015 by clayton08

[JuanArellano]

1 more big thing you want to have, is the extension... It is a must, unless you are like 4 foot tall.

 

[papadarv]

Finished making my adapter for the threaded vintage StrikeMaster auger. Ended up with an 13" extension which was good.

Also added the Vexilar FP100 fish phone to my gear on Black Friday.

[clayton08]

I dont think you will have the best luck with that setup. I tried that drill personally and its gonna stuggle. Also the Mora style augers which is what you have dont cut the best. Not trying to be an ass but I dont think that she is gonna work very well.

The mora is pretty slow when compared to lazer. It might work but performance will be an issue. The newer lithium ion batteries and the powerful drills are much more advanced than the older models making them perform much better. Heres a pick of one of my drills.

[papadarv]

14 hours ago, clayton08 said:

I dont think you will have the best luck with that setup. I tried that drill personally and its gonna stuggle. Also the Mora style augers which is what you have dont cut the best. Not trying to be an ass but I dont think that she is gonna work very well.

I agree the Mora hand auger would struggle. I failed to mention my auger is somewhat modified. I added a center point, modified the blades with groves every 5/8" much like the lazier, Eskimo blades. And the most important part of ice cutting is razor sharp blades. I use 2 stone grades followed with a leather strop pumice stone polish. When they shave hair they are almost sharp enough.

[monstermoose78]

I just hope we get some more ice so I can get out fishing. 

[monstermoose78]

Anyone else get anything new for the ice season this year? I know we do not have much if any ice around but I need to stay out of the stores. I keep picking up a few more jigs, plastics, and rods. Waiting for ice is costing me a lot of money. I found some cool jigs at a bait shop in St. Cloud they looki like a huge pug bug and I bought 3 of them to use with XL Maki Mino. I think this will be killer on Lakes that have bigger crappies and walleyes.

[papadarv]

Got the Vexilar FishPhone. Puts the camera image on a smart phone, iPad or tablet via built in WiFi. Much like the SonarPhone. Just need a bit more ice to try it out.

[papadarv]

On ‎12‎/‎1‎/‎2015 at 9:32 PM, clayton08 said:

I dont think you will have the best luck with that setup. I tried that drill personally and its gonna stuggle. Also the Mora style augers which is what you have dont cut the best. Not trying to be an ass but I dont think that she is gonna work very well.

The mora is pretty slow when compared to lazer. It might work but performance will be an issue.

 

Thanks for the advice clayton - Here is my modified Vintage Mora. Added a chisel point welded to a 3/8" bolt, tapped in the shaft for sharpening removal. Than made the blades Chisel Cut adding the relief groves every 5/8". Also added some relief on back side of blades removing ridge. I also bring my handle along in the rare event all my batteries die. When sharpening the blades and chisel, keep fingers out of the way, you may need a band aid.