question from a newby southern ice fisherman

[keyser_soze]

Hello. I'm from Missouri. As a result, I've never been ice fishing. This is one of the colder winters I remember. I have some questions, and thought this might be the place to post my question...

Okay, so it looks like I'm going to try and ice fish a pond with a buddy. He was out on the ice today, said it was a little over 5 in. Here in Columbia, MO ponds have been frozen for a while.

My question, as a first time ice fisherman, and with neither of us having access to an auger, can we make our hole with an axe (I've chopped A LOT of ice for cattle having grown up on a farm). After that can we actually expect to catch fish?

Obviously we will be as quiet as possible, but I imagine, under the ice, the chopping of said ice will not go un-noticed.

Any pointers, etc, would be HIGHLY, HIGHLY appreciated.

Thanks!

[Baron Von Crappie]

yeah that should work if it is sharp enough. good luck!

[CTom]

On ice that thin you can chop it, but stay back from the hole if the ice is only in the 5" range. Spider webbing can happen using the axe and getting wet probably isn't high on your list. I'd cut a few holes to get the noise issue out of the way, then start fishing.

I'll assume you're after panfish. Lighter line and small jigs tipped with waxies or a small crappie minnow will get fish.

[gabowman]

Not me! I aint standing on no ice and then start beating on it! From a southern boy....that sounds CRAZY!:D:D:D

[CTom]

Years ago that's all we had to get thru the ice...spud bars. As a teenage I remember driving out on the Mississippi River and chipping for 1/2 an hour to get a couple holes to fish thru. Ice can be amazingly strong.

[keyser_soze]

Not me! I aint standing on no ice and then start beating on it! From a southern boy....that sounds CRAZY!:D:D:D

Growing up on a farm, I have cut a lot of ice. Granted, most of the time if I was on the ice, it was in no more than a couple of feet of water, b/c you chop holes in the ice for cattle to drink out of close to the shore. It's not nearly as hard or dangerous as it sounds. As long as you've got the ice. We're going to cut a hole in shallow water to check first thing here in an hour or two. Maybe fish a couple hours before this Superbowl.