Thread: Ice Fishing

I need to keep in mind that members needs go far beyond my local lakes. All the fish I catch will easily come up through a 5" hole . My 20Vmax will punch a hole amazingly fast. My son had a 8" gas thing. I almost broke my ankle in one of those holes . A young buck with a 8 or 10" gas auger can create a minefield of ankle traps in a hurry . We don't get a lot of ice I can trust in my area.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I must admit though I am more confused than before I posted. I didn't want to spend the money for a power auger incase I didn't like ice fishing, but guess I need to rethink about what auger I need. Thanks again, Pop

That was kind of how I took your post POP. No matter what size auger you buy manual augers work very well for the average person. If only doing a few holes a large 8 inch is not a problem however if drilling 20-30 holes trying to locate schools of perch and other fish on on large lakes can be a little taxing. A fifty dollar auger, scooper and a couple of short rods can get you started. I like to use castmaster with a small mill worm or mousee to sweeten the very light taps. Most pan fish will hit the jig when you pause in the jigging. However trout like the jig constantly moving. You can use many other lures and baits similar to open water fishing. Perhaps go out when the first ice comes on and is safe and ask the locals how they are doing it. I agree that spending a lot of money then abandoning a activity is a waist of money. I can say that dress warm and be prepared for whatever , perhaps even a emergency just in case on should arise.

Good equipment can always be resold to another angler just starting out at a later date. But to be frustrated from the beginning simply drilling enough holes to find fish seems like a doomsday start. Also, being dressed real warm, then working up a bit of a sweat drilling holes is a recipe for getting cold quicker than not working up a sweat.

Judging by your handle of "Pop", I'm guessing you're not a young man. I'm in my late 50's and in pretty good shape and hand drilling 15-20 holes @ 7 1/2" diameter with brand new blades on a Mora auger in 10-14" of ice got old real fast 2 years ago, hence the power auger for last year's ice, which we never had any to speak of. I did it, and could have done it again but I felt the smart move was to a power auger. Your outlook may be different.

You can also equip yourself with a auger that you run with a cordless drill. I do not have one but my friends that do have them absolutely love them. You can drill alot of holes with one charge.

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Originally Posted by patrapper

You can also equip yourself with a auger that you run with a cordless drill. I do not have one but my friends that do have them absolutely love them. You can drill alot of holes with one charge.

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Got one of those for sale too. Even a couple 2xl ice suits.

In my area of Pa we see very little ice. Some years we are lucky to get on safe ice for a few days at best. Even the northern most areas of Pa can see very limited safe ice days. I do many outdoor show and fishing flea markets in the area as well as a three stare area and can assure you used ice fishing gear does not hold value. Perhaps in northern states it is a different story but not in our area. Also cutting through 4 inches of ice is a breeze with a sharp hand auger. Even cutting a half dozen holes will take a few minutes and not even make a sweat. I think all of us probably could use a little exercise? It can be more work trying to get a used gas auger started then using a hand auger. More then once one of those 2 cycle engines did not start and the guy wanted to borrow my hand auger. Also most times I do not need to cut more then a few holes. Some times a lake looks like swiss cheese as some guys go hole crazy. Many times you can just take a small chipping axe or even the edge of a metal scoop and break a hole open since our temperatures usually do not freeze hole very tight over night. My advice is do not spend any more money on equipment until you know what you need and then what you think you want.