I just got my hand ice auger sharpened, and waiting now for first ice. Should be pretty soon, as the temps have been in the 20's through the day, and teens at night. Already snowmobiling and snow pack about a foot deep.
I only use the hand auger on thin ice. Once the ice gets over 6" thick, I switch to my power auger, and start using my snowmobile to take all my gear out.
I'm all excited, eh... soon every day will be like Christmas, only with fish.
I didn't go buck hunting this year, but I still have a couple 8-pointers coming in my back yard at night. I have a salt lick and corn piles back there, just for watching them... though it's a tempting thought to take one, with a cross bow,
I have a night vision scope, and just like to watch them eat and rub their antlers on my maple trees. I have aboot 80 mallard ducks that visit, as well as fox, coyote, raccoons, possum, skunks, wild turkey, etc.
Those big sinkers you have, were most likely used on the Great Lakes for deep water salmon fishing. We have bottom bouncer rigs that we use while drift fishing. They are on a wire spool, and our bait is rigged aboot 4 feet up, and you just keep raising the rig and bouncing the weight off the bottom as you drift. The weight also stirs up the bottom and makes the fish curious, then they see your bait and wammo!
This is usually done in 60-80 foot water.
When they are suspended you have to troll using a downrigger, which also has a lead weight, but those are 16 pounders rigged off a downrigger.