smallmouth's Full Review: Eskimo 8 in 2 Piece Ice Fishing Hand Ice Auger
The Eskimo company has been making quality, durable, reliable ice augers for many years now. I have been ice fishing now for more years than I would like to admit. I have found that the colder it gets and the harsher the conditions get, the more I rely on my equipment to work and function properly. Perhaps the most important piece of equipment is the auger. You have to get from the surface to the fish somehow. There are many reasons why you should buy a power auger but I have even more reasons why I bought the Eskimo hand auger. The eight inch hole is a great standard size for ice fishing. Most fish only require a 4-6 inch hole and the eight gives the fisherman a little bit more uh-oh room .
----------- Ease of Use ------------
This auger is extremely easy to use. It is simply a larger version of the ancient brace and bit drill. Not many people probably know what that is so I wall call it the original power drill . One hand holds the auger straight up and down from the top applying pressure as needed for quicker drilling, while the other hand turns the drill. Both handles are large black plastic and spin on the metal frame very nicely. You can even keep your gloves or mittens on when drilling your hole if you prefer . I have found that there is one small area of the actual rotation that is a little bit tougher when your hand is getting closer to your body and almost completing a full rotation. It is just about the point where the arm transfers from pulling to pushing. It didn’t take long to figure out that with an ice fishing buddy, rather then we both drill our own holes, it is much easier and quicker if we drill them together, why not double the horsepower ! So when applicable we stand directly across from each other and both muckle on and turn it. When one is pushing the other is pulling and the hole is drilled that much quicker and with less energy exerted by both fishermen.
You really don’t need two people to run this auger and I have drilled many a hole alone. I find the toughest part is the initial burrow and the final break through. The in between is easy , you just keep the auger spinning. The initial cut grabs a little bit and takes a little bit more force then you will need while drilling the hole. You will feel more resistance as it breaks through the bottom of the ice and I like to speed up the rotation at this point. I have found it cuts cleaner and quicker.
It takes much less skimming of the ice particles if you lift the auger up and down a couple of times in the hole, just make sure you don’t get your boots wet. I lift it up a couple of times before I break through to get much of the ice and shavings out of the holes before burrowing through.
-------------- Reasons for the Eskimo ------------- ------------- Hand power vs. Gas power ----------
Lightweight: If your transportation is not powered by a snowmobile, four wheeler, or you are just crazy enough to drive your vehicle out on the ice, then you are probably sledding or sledging it. This is one of my favorite ways to fish when I am not going more than a couple of miles up any given lake. Parking is always available at boat launches and I simply walk to the area I want to fish, pulling my supplies in a Jet sled behind me. With so much gear; traps, bait, thermos of coffee, lunch, tackle, skimmer, maybe a radio and some extra clothes, and something to sit on, the sled sure does get weighed down. Even the lightest power augers weigh in at over 30 pounds, a significant weight added to the necessities. When I am pulling a sled or heading out on thinner ice I prefer my hand auger to any power auger for its light weight. While I don’t recommend fishing on thin ice sometimes you just feel the need to get out there after a long recess from hunting season or open water fishing. If the ice is very thin I take a lightweight chisel and just tap a hole through but anything more than four inches I like to bring my hand auger. Obviously you see the advantage of a lightweight piece of equipment here.
Easy to pack: I already mentioned all of the gear I take along on a day out on the ice so you can see the sled gets pretty full. I put my head down and trudge across the ice pulling the full sled behind. A power auger takes up a lot of space in the sled making the other equipment more prone to fall out or not have a space at all. They are heavy and much larger than this hand auger in length and circumference. Perhaps the best feature of this auger is that it breaks down into two pieces by a couple of twists on the large wing nut. This makes transporting it and packing a breeze.
Fuel efficient: This isn’t really the best reason because power augers use very little gas but it is slightly humorous. A full season on a power auger would call for about 2-5 gallons of gas. With higher fuel prices rising the $5-$20 still shouldn’t really effect whether you use a power auger or this hand auger but think of the new lures or traps you can buy with all of that savings.
It is Quiet: With the Eskimo, you can actually carry on a conversation while you are drilling the hole, it is that quiet. One could argue whether a power auger scares fish away or makes them curious enough to come check out the commotion, I think it depends on what type of fish you are fishing for. I have found brook trout, salmon, and other trout to be incredibly wary of noise almost to the point of giving them lock jaw. I have also caught pickerel, bass, pike, and brown trout within a minute of drilling a hole with a power auger. The Eskimo will not scare any fish away unless you drill the hole right on top of their dorsal fins. The nice thing about being quiet is that it doesn’t tell every other fisherman on the lake where you are if you are fishing in a cove, behind an island or around a point like a power auger would. It also is less intrusive to nature around you and might give you a look at some wild animals near the lake.
Healthy Exercise: This is a good way to tone up your arms and upper body. While it is not difficult to drill the hole, you can make it as difficult as you want to increasing the tension by pushing down with your top hand or leaning into the auger. Sometimes my fishing buddies and I race to see who can bore through the ice the fastest, what can I say, we always have to be competitive. The competition is a great work out. It is not a good idea to work up a sweat at the beginning of the ice fishing day. After all, it is usually freezing or dang close to it out there and sweat is no good. A nice easy pace will suffice in getting from the surface to the fish.
It Always Starts: I have never had my hand auger not start up like I have had many power augers do to me. Many times I have been left there scratching my head wondering why the dang thing won’t start in minus 10 degree weather . You can’t bust the pull cord, run out of gas, break a throttle spring or any other part, you can’t foul the plug, this thing is as reliable as the sun coming up in the morning. Sometimes it takes quite a bit to get out to the fishing spot, whether it be tough wintery conditions, a permission slip from the Mrs., or just the general process of it all and the last thing you need is to get there and not be able to get through the ice. This thing is reliable!
Cheaper to Own and Use: This hand auger costs a fraction of the cost of any power auger. To some people this doesn’t matter but to some it really does. I got started with hand augers because I couldn’t afford a power auger. After drilling a couple thousand holes by hand I couldn’t help wanting a power auger, always thinking the ice was greener on the underside. I saved up and bought one but find myself reverting back to the old hand cork screw more often than not. With the hand auger you don’t have to buy spark plugs, gas, 2 cycle oil, or replacement parts.
Easier to Maintain: There is very little maintenance with this auger as I get into later. Like any auger you have to keep the blades sharp and I would consider it much more important on the hand auger because you are using your energy, not a combustion energy. I have gone through the ice at the bottom of the hole and found shallow water and maybe bumped a rock or a sand bar with the blades before, it is not fun. Make sure you have a sharpener with you. I tried drilling holes with dull blades and I think I had a better chance of melting through the ice from spinning around so much! Other than the blades their isn’t a hole lot of maintenance required from this auger.
Sure Beats a Chisel: For those of us who have chiseled through thick ice before, you know what I mean. Enough said!
Cuts a Clean Hole: This hand auger cuts a nice clean hole. Some of the power augers do more chipping then cutting which leaves the ice jagged, rough and sharp. This is not a good thing when you have a fish spinning around the bottom of the hole or running from east to west. The Eskimo cuts a great hole from surface to water and as long as you stay upright when drilling you will be happy when landing a fish.
--------------- Reasons against ----------
Slower: It is much slower to drill out the holes you need with this auger than a power auger, trust me, we have tried. In Maine we are allowed a maximum of five lines per man. The holes add up. When I fish in Vermont, some of the lakes allow 15 per man. With a group of guys it is tough to make Swiss Cheese out of the ice with any hand auger. Depending on thickness of the ice it takes a couple minutes more to use this hand auger per hole.
Changing Locations: The summertime bass fisherman in me doesn’t go away just because the temperatures plummet below zero and the lakes are covered in ice. If I am not catching fish I like to move. It is nothing for me over the course of the day to move my five traps 10 times each. That is 50 holes! With the hand auger this can make a man tired. With the power auger it is a breeze. I have found that I naturally change locations a little less with my hand auger than I do with my power auger. I do my best fishing when I move onto the fish as they are usually schooled up in the winter on bait or underwater springs and they move a lot less than they would in the summer or warmer water. This means that most of the time you have a better chance of finding them than them finding you .
Are you Unable? If you are unable to turn the hand auger because of injury or laziness then go for a power auger. While it is not very difficult to use some people have bad backs, shoulders, or arms preventing them from physical activities such as drilling an ice hole.
Thick Ice: The thickest ice I fished through was a little bit over four feet. Even with an extension I don’t think my Barracuda could get through. I didn’t even try. My cutoff for the hand auger is about three feet. Then it becomes more like work and a lot less fun. If I have to kneel down on the ice to finish a hole then I am not doing it with a hand auger , it is just not worth it and it takes dang near all day to get all five holes drilled and the prospect of moving or finding a new spot is hopeless. Plus I don’t want to get my knees wet. The hand auger is most efficient at less than three feet and more around the one foot of ice area.
Is Bigger Better? The 8 inch hole is not big enough for me when I am fishing for Northern Pike. I have taken fish up to nine pounds through an eight inch hole with no problem but I wouldn’t even think of an eight inch hole when fishing for big pike that weigh in at over 30 pounds. The smallest hole I like to fish from for the freshwater wolves is a ten inch and even then I am a little bit worried. The twelve inch hole is the right size. A twelve inch hole with a hand auger would be a chore. The eight inch hole is a great general ice fishing size that most fish would slip through without even rubbing their belly. Some fishermen prefer a larger hole for more room to play a fish and for ease in landing. This is all up to personal preference and weighing out all of the pros and cons.
------------- Care and Maintenance ---------
Keep the blades sharp: This is the most important thing to do when maintaining this auger. The blades are hardened stainless steel and are made to handle the abuse of cutting through frozen water, however they are not made for rocks, sand, bumping around the pick-up truck or any other substance, They dull out very quickly when contacting anything but ice. This renders the auger useless. You might as well beat your head on the ice and hope you get through rather than try to drill a hole with dull blades or even one dull blade. It is very frustrating. The best way to keep the blades sharp other than actually sharpening them is to keep the blade guard on at all times when it is not directly being used. I have found this to be a great tip to prevent cuts to skin, boots, and clothing.
Light Oil Behind each of the plastic handles and the wingnut can be oiled from time to time. You will know when the handles need to be oiled because it will squeak and squeal like a pig when drilling a hole. I have found that oiling it at the beginning of the season will suffice to keep it working smoothly and quietly. I oil the wingnut a little more often because I am always taking mine apart and putting it back together for transport. When it is freezing cold I like the wingnut to turn as easy as possible.
Don’t beat it up: This is so obvious I don’t have to mention it but I will. There isn’t a hole lot that can go wrong with this auger and it doesn’t even require tender loving care. Just don’t beat on it by letting it bounce around the back of a pick-up truck or in a tote sled behind a snowmobile. It will last a lifetime or more if you take good care of it.
Don’t let a neighbor borrow it in the Summertime : I actually had a neighbor try to borrow my hand auger to put up his horse fence. No, really, he did. I had to laugh at him when he said he saw how easy it went through the ice and figured he could drill out the 150 fence post holes of dirt and gravel for his horses.
I paid $60 for mine and $60 for my friends. It makes a great Christmas present just before ice fishing season. I got tired of drilling all of his holes for him so I bought him one of his very own. It is available at most sporting goods and outdoors stores. You should have no problem finding one, if you do, just shoot me an email and I will see what I can do.
The Eskimo& 8-in, 2-piece hand auger for ice fishing is equipped with twin precision-ground, stainless-steel ice blades and a 2-position handlebar wit...More at Sports Authority
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