Size hole ice fishing

[taz1977]

Just wondering what size holes you guys drill for ice fishing northern pike and walleye

[CNP]

Guys are drilling 6, 8 and 10 inch holes lol. Any jackfish or walleye you catch will come through a 8 inch hole.

[cube]

Originally Posted by taz1977

Just wondering what size holes you guys drill for ice fishing northern pike and walleye

Used to use 8" and occasionally double or triple 8's. Now my auger has a 10 inch so use that.

Like CNP stated all walleye and pike will come through an 8 inch hole. I just find that sight fishing is better through 10 inch, or double 8 inch holes. The doubles also leave the transducer out of the way but come at a cost. First double holes take much longer to clean and both the doubles and 10 inch holes leaver the fish enough room to turn around and swim away if they manage to loose the hook while in the hole. With single 8 or smaller the fish usually can't turn around in the hole so even if they get off you just have to reach down and grab them.
I know of a number of Whitefish guys who refuse to fish doubles or 10 inch holes for this reason.

[taz1977]

So 8 sounds to be the better hole

[Sooner]

As mentioned, almost all fish will get through a 8 inch hole quite easily. 10 inch is sure nice to look down but they are a heavier beast to haul around the ice. 8 is my go to auger. If I was knowingly going to be going after bigger fish, i would take the 10 inch out of the shed.

[guru fisher]

9 is the perfect size

[Stinky Buffalo]

For the fish I catch, ten inches is the minimum size I need to get them to fit through the hole.



But seriously, eight inches is great. Although I caught tons of fish through 6-inch holes drilled with a T-handled auger... I was much younger then.

[Dean2]

8" will get the job done but 10" works way better, especially if you are running a sounder in the same hole.

[swampy45]

I have 6, 8, and 10 inch augers. Most of the time the 6" will come for early season trips and perch fishing. The 10" is almost too big unless you are sight fishing whites.

[The Spank]

I have a 6” and 8” hand augers and 10” in a power auger. You’d be amazed how large of a fish you can pull through a 6” hole. That being said I use my 10” almost exclusively as I like the extra on very cold days when the holes are freezing over/in. Plus it’s nice to jig without line getting hung up on the edge of the hole continually when using a slow dropping fluttering spoon like a Williams Whitefish.

[cube]

Originally Posted by taz1977

Just wondering what size holes you guys drill for ice fishing northern pike and walleye

These are always nice to ice from from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYq6-h8o3gM