W.W.IV.

Don't go out on the ice with out a compass  and know the direction you have to go to return to your starting point  If you have a GPS put in waypoints,You may have trouble with a GPS in a white out. If you get cought in a white out with out a compass stay put till it clears,it can save you a long walk. Have a safe season.

Good tip about keeping the batteries warm before use.  I haven't used my auger in 18 inches of ice around here and I'm sure I wouldn't get nearly as many holes in stuff that thick but I have never needed the second battery even after 50 plus holes in 6-8 inches with the 7 inch Lazer. I've had the Strike Master and Mora manual augers and they don't cut nearly as well as the Lazer and I think it is the shape/angle of the blades that may be responsible for it.

 

Tip: Keep the plastic cover over the auger blades when not in use to avoid cuts to clothing and/or dulling of the blades. Some folks also drill a partial hole and leave the auger upright in it but changes in weather could cause it to be stuck or wedge and dulling can occur trying to retrieve it.

Good point keep that blade covered when not in use, also after cutting your holes shake the ice and water off the blades or they will ice up and won't cut till you chip all the ice off the blades. Bad for the blades and hell on your fingers.

Ice auger consideration:

 

If you are into exercise and fitness a manual 7-8 inch auger is the way to go ....burn a bunch of calories

 

For the rest of us "dinosaurs" after a few thousand holes it was time for other options....

 

Power  gas augers -  great for thick ice conditions (over 12 inches) but very noisy (spooking fish), potential for leaking gas and fumes in your vehicle (don't ask how I know), and somewhat heavy and bulky to carry with you. If you fish up north a lot probably worth considering. I gave mine away.

 

Power electric augers - jury is still out on them....some recent improvements but again fairly heavy and "clunky" to deal with. No gas to mess with, no fumes, less noise. rechargeable batteries with decent charge times and quieter than gas augers.

 

Electric Drill conversion kit approach -  my favorite (Lithium Ion) and here is why:  Very light weight and compact, no gas cans and oil etc. to mess with, doubles as a great drill in the warmer months, very short charge times, and great power (torque) for drilling many holes without changing batteries. An extra battery can be carried in your jacket pocket to keep it warm but I've drilled 50 plus holes in 6-8 inch ice without need for a second battery. The key thing to success is selecting the right drill for the job.

 

After trying out several different battery powered 1/2 inch drills (Ryobi, Makita, DeWalt, Black and Decker (about the same as DeWalt but maybe not as durable) and Sears.

I tried the 18 volt Lithium Ion 1/2 inch Bosch Hammer drill/driver and wow! It blew the others away big time... It has both  high speed settings and  high torque settings with variable strength settings  from 1 -24. You need to use torque for this application. It is a virtual animal in terms of torque and could almost pull you into the hole if not careful . For the bottom part of the auger I used a 7 inch Lazer manual auger with the handle section removed. There are now a number of conversion kits available but I went with the only one I knew about at the time (6 years ago) the Icemaster because it also has a safety cord to prevent loss of the bottom half auger part if somehow the drill chuck were to loosen (never so far). I think it is by far one of the best investments I've ever made (drill) See pic:

I have used the DeWalt 18v drill for several years with a 6" mora auger that works well, I also have 4 batteries, I only get a half dozen holes out of a battery on 18" of ice.I keep the batteries in a insalated bag like a sixpack soft side cooler and if it real cold throw a hand warmer in with them.

You have to run the drill on low or the auger will kick side ways, keep your feet away from the auger when starting a hole the blade will cut through your boot and your foot before you can stop it.

I'd like to try a lazer auger 6" I think I could get more holes out of a battery. Anything I fish for will come through a 6" hole and if it won't I wasn't after it anyway. Have a safe season.

Merry Christmas everyone,

Felt great to get on the ice for the first time this season on Sunday. Limited ice made for spotty fishing. However, still managed several flags, few nice perch, 2 pickerel, and a largie released safely. Cant wait for temps to drop and tighten things up. ImageUploadedByLake Ontario United1419345715.687037.jpgImageUploadedByLake Ontario United1419345715.687037.jpg

Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

How far north are you going to find fishable ice.

If you have boots designated for ice fishing........hexed sheet metal screws in bottom

   I'll second the sheet metal screws, just be sure to put one at the end of the toe and the back of the heel. I use 3\8 screws. I also use them on my winter walking shoes.

I spent the weekend at my sons place on Onida Lake, south shore,ice had formed out about forty ft. I bet big bay is skimed over. We'll on the ice by Christmas. .

Well I started the day well, I missed a little 4 pt about 5:45am, he walked out in frount of my truck, that was a good miss. I made my way to my stand and got comfy and waited, about an hour in and I thought I saw red about 75yds to the east of me, I'd see it and it was gone must be a hunter there, about 8"30 I look over there and there's to the man and his son about 4yrs old standing there,they were in one of those popup blindes.They need to have some red on them during gun season.

 About 11:00 a doe came out of the goldenrod and went back in, the rod was over head high, you could'nt see anything in there. A little after noon I spoted a doe across the revain 110yds broadside

I missed.She ran up hill, after about 5min. all hell broke lose, there must have been 20 shots fired. there was no shooting that way all morning, everything was north and west of me, that was it till about 4:30 pm till dark.I saw three more deer but I'm not carying a rifle. It seemed like a good opening day to me in 8M.

 Lets hear from some of you state land hunters, how did the hunting go for you.

                                 Good luck and be SAFE. .

Hope you had a good one Bob, Happy Birthday.

Couldn't disagree more.  Urban legends abound about many boats but the fact usually turn out different.  The modern welding techniques used by Crestliner and other quality manufacturers preclude the old problem of overheating the hull plating adjacent to the welds.  That was a major cause of cracking due to the hull becoming brittle back in the day but not now.   Most of the high end west coast boats are also welded, not riveted. 

 

I have run my Crestliner pretty hard with no ill effects as have a couple of my friends whose Crestliners are more than a few years old. 

Thanks for the info. on that problem, glade to hear you and your friends are having good luck with your boats.

Crestliners hulls have been known to crack,you can't pound then.

Hey  Andy, When do you start getting those feelings? I'll turn 80 in the spring if I make it throught the winter. I still love my bow hunting and still put up my own stand, I just don't go as far into the woods as I used to.

I'll take a 90lb doe anytime over a wallhanger,those horns don't even make good soup.

I don't get excited over the kill that much anymore, I get excited when some one offers to drag it out for me, but I sure enjoy seeing the younger guys score,anyone I hunt with is younger, Ha Ha.

Nice going with the doe Andy. Enjoy the rest of the season.

                                                        Mike.

VICTORY 3-D PRACTICE RANGE IS NOW OPEN FROM 5:00 PM UNTIL DARK MON, TUES, THURS

CLOSED MONDAY LABOR DAY.

 The range is at the rear of the parking lot.  Its located off 15a and Wildbrier Dr. Henrietta.

VICTORY 3-D Archery Course.jpg

Sorry, had trouble getting the flyer to open.

OMG!!!!! Les, nobody is perfect, thank The Lord you got all your stuff out of the drink, looks like it might take some time to put everything back in place, but it sounds like the family time out weighs the D time to put everything back. PAP.

You lucked out, I had a box full of crank  baits and a gallon of oil fall out in heavy traffic. . I saved the oil but all the lures were crushed. .

VICTORY 3-D PRACTICE RANGE IS NOW OPEN FROM 5:00 PM UNTIL DARK MON, TUES, THURS

CLOSED MONDAY LABOR DAY.

 The range is at the rear of the parking lot.  Its located off 15a and Wildbrier Dr. Henrietta.

One of these days I want to get a nice atlantic like that!

Another good morning out of Sandy.  Left the launch and headed west towards the beach.  Once we passed the pumphouse things broke loose in 10-15 FOW.  Worked all morning from pumphouse to Area 1.  Water had great color and the fish were there.  Had to pick through a bunch of dinks but landed a couple nice browns and an Atlantic (someone please tell me if I'm wrong, yellow eye and no color in mouth). 

 

Lake was like glass all morning.  We could have stayed all day but I've got an anniversary to celebrate tonight and after cutting me loose this morning I don't think she'd appreciate a sweaty, fish-smelling husband rolling in right before dinner.

Nice going L510,I checked out Ibaythis morning.One boat came in with three browns.One dock in.

  My current boat has a nice beige carpet, looks good, soft on the feet, but .... does not go well with a messy trout or salmon flopping around. I have thought about putting a commercial type of carpet, rubber backed, that I can remove and wash down after the fishing is over.  My boat is an 18' Alumacraft, and the piece of carpet required would measure approx,  4' bye 6'.  I saw some carpet at the Syracuse boat show, but would have to purchase a much greater piece then necessary, at a price of $500.00. Does anyone have a suggestion to solve this problem ?   Thank you.  Webster Willi

     Try Home Depot or Lowes, I bought a 4by8 rubber back for my 16ft. last fall, $39.oo.

Took the drive from Rochester to Auburn to fish Owasco today.  It finally froze up and we couldn't wait to get to Ensinore for some deep water lake trout fishing.  Had a great day, iced 15 by 10 am with them all coming from 90 to 150 FOW.  Sounded like everyone was doing well.  Poked around for perch but couldn't find any. Safe ice (5-8") everywhere I went but you never get used to Mother Nature's cracking and groaning when you're over the deep water.  I had a newbie go by just as the ice cracked and I thought I was going to have to carry him off the ice.  Ensinore should have good ice for a few days.  Driving home it looked like people were spread out all over the north end.

  Way to go Greg. .

Going out tomorrow going to take some red wigglers as well as grubs and minnows, does anyone use worms ice fishing?

   A few seasons back  at Ibay A friend brought some red type worms,they live in oak leaves and have a strong oder. That day he cought a pile of perch. . Copple days latter I got some red worms and never had a hit. . Give it a try you never know.

Thanks for the advise King.  I did put the back to the wind (well at least where it was coming from 70% of the time since it kept shifting).  I forgot the shovel which was a bummer cause It would have been nice to have some snow heaped around the bottom to keep the draft out.

 

The Trap we got I can see is going to be an asset on windy days.  It's nice and low and we stayed SUPER warm inside with the heater running.  Neither of us had a coat on half the time and the heat was on low.  It's amaizing how much better the experience is fishing from that thing compared to freezing my butt off on a bucket.  The only issue we had were some cold toes on her from the breeze coming under the tent at times and had i thought of bringing the shovel I'm sure that wouldn't have been an issue either.

   Mr. Sneaky,I have never had trouble with my clam on windy days as long as its cold.

   when I cut first hole I kick the slush and water where the clam is going to set and it will freeze to the ice.

We are in one of those weird cycles. A few years ago there was a big outbreak of rabies which killed a lot of raccoons ,foxes and coyotes. As a result the turky population exploded. This in turn made it possible for fox and coyote to have a fresh population explosion. Now we are with a lesser turky population and both fox and coyote are pressed and competing for less food available. It's not just a fox coyote connection. It's all connected.

  Anyone watch PBS at 8:oo PM? It was very interesting, it was about the life of coyotes in and around cities.

I heard teds bait is having a derby that day too. 2 derbies one day one lake. The zoo will be open!

   GAMBLER, wheres Teds bait shop.

   Victery Baptist Is haveing there anual ice derby this coming Sat. at Conesus Lake at north end park From 7;00AM to 12;00PM. Sign up at weigh in station at the park. $10.00 entrance fee. $5.00 For kids.

Marion mannor has large and small buckeyes "emerald shiners" fished two weekends ago had better luck on raps w/ no bait. They seem to study it too long with bait. Lots of shorts but it keeps it fun. Had 8 inches out of north shores.

      The Mannor is closed Monday and Tuseday. there open a 6:00 AM.

   If you want to keep your batteries warm on the ice put them in a insulated cooler,soft coolers work well. Get some off those shake type hand warmers, the bigger size and put it in the cooler with the batteries. Check now and then to see if it is putting out heat,if not give it a good shake to get it going again. .