Just wondered what size auger most people use?
I use a 6" and have never needed anything bigger. What does everyone else use?

8"- i've watched my friend pull a huge northern out of and 8" hole. It was so big that the Northern barely made it through and made a "pop" like a cork. That was cool.

I generally target mostly walleye, pike, lakers, etc.

My jiffy is a 10 inch. When cranking by hand during early ice I use an 8 inch lazer. If the ice gets much more than a foot thick, an 8 inch hand auger gets to be quite a workout.

If your hole hopping a lot and fishing mostly for panfish, a six inch is hard to beat. If you want a large hole, you can always cut two six inch holes next to each other and bust it through with a spud. Be sure to mark it with something when your finished for safety.

I use a 10" jiffy targeting big crappies and bluegills. I also take a spud bar and flare out the hole under the ice to get rid of the "hole" effect to eliminate the need to try to turn them into the hole. Of course if you are hole jumping flaring the hole may waste valued fishing time,but if you fish an area where you know fish hang try flaring the hole,sure makes getting the 16" plus crappies out eaiser.

I also chose a 6 inch diameter drill. I am using a hand drill. I have often wondered if I would not have been better off with the 4.5 inch diameter. My brother advised me to go one larger to 6 inch. I believe he uses an 8 inch and has picked up a used 6 inch this year. You need to decide what fish you are going to target. Decide if you are using a hand drill how much work you are willing to do. If going power I would not see a reason to worry about energy to drill the holes. The thickness of the ice also plays into it. If you are fishing in the Upper parts of the US you may be seeing 3 feet or more of ice in February. Remember the energy you expend goes up as the square of the radius of your drill. I am after pan fish or eating size walleye so fortunatly I require a small hole. The 6 inch is a very roomy corridor for my use. Good luck!

I sure wish I was catching crappies that need a 10" hole.

I have a 10" auger but would go to an 8" if it wasn't a gift.

A nice hole to use is one that is 2 feet by 2 feet.
The only problem with a hole this size is that you can easily slip through the hole.

However, by having a hole this size, you can see so much more of the bottom as well as seeing the fish.

It is easy to make such a hole. Just bring along a 36 inch chain saw and a ice hook and pike.

Saw out the block, give it a pop with the pike, and the block will float up a bit. Grab the edge with the hook, and ease it out of the hole.

No shavings, no clutter and you have a nice large hole.

----------
If you don't opt for the large spearing type hole - then use as small hole that makes sense for you. It is unusual to not to be able to get any fish that you are liable to catch out of a 6 inch hole.

The downside of a hole this size - in these very frigid temperatures is that the hole size starts to diminish fairly quickly.

So an 8 inch hole is a good compromise.

Of course a 10 inch hole is a nice size to fish from, but takes more time to drill and the larger aughers are heavier to carry - if you are trying to be portable.

Take care
REW

I use a 7" Lazer and I have yet to have a Lake Erie walleye to the hole that didn't fit through.

A few years back off Camp Perry in March I had an afternoon where I caught and released over 30 fish. Only 3 of them were less than 6 lbs. The largest was over 12 and fit through the hole just fine.

I think the smaller holes make it easier to land a large fish once their head is started into it. They become immobile and rarely come unbuttoned because they can't shake.

Putting them back through the hole to release them is a different story! Fins and gills flared make it tough on larger fish.