Early ice has been treating me very well here in SK. Standing on 2" of ice 2 weekends ago and almost 6" last weekend.
When do you stop chopping holes with an axe and load up the auger and drag it by foot to your fishing spot?. Talking kilometer or more hike in, pulling a sled behind on foot.
Okay - I'm just going to establish that I am cheap right off the hop. Cheap and lazy. I mean so lazy that I think it should be spelled la-z.
But I do walk on lakes a lot in winter - especially last winter when I thought the ice was sketchy - or at least lesser quality due to the weird weather we had. (that and the photos of the F350 at the bottom of the lake in S. Alberta weighed on my mind a lot...)
Anyhow - I drool over augers every time I'm in CT/WS/Cabelas but with the walking I do, I consider the added weight in my sled which is always heaping with all the crap (granted some of it unnecessary) I pull around as it is...
So I guess my question is - if I can pop a hole in up to 12" of ice in <15 seconds with my hand auger - when does the benefit of pulling around a power auger outweigh the effort UNTIL the ice is thick enough where I end up laying on my back wheezing on the ice when I'm half way through a hole in 30" of ice?
Just a thought. That - and I'm cheap. I think I said that already.
I have pulled a power auger in a sled while walking. If the sled is a good plastic one it will slide pretty effortlessly without tipping all the time. I sure like a pile of 8 inch holes when you get to where your walking vs the first 2 by hand in a foot or more of ice, then you decide ahhh screw it, 2 is fine
Tried chopping a hole once but the ice was thick. Not a fan of that method.
Okay - I'm just going to establish that I am cheap right off the hop. Cheap and lazy. I mean so lazy that I think it should be spelled la-z.
But I do walk on lakes a lot in winter - especially last winter when I thought the ice was sketchy - or at least lesser quality due to the weird weather we had. (that and the photos of the F350 at the bottom of the lake in S. Alberta weighed on my mind a lot...)
Anyhow - I drool over augers every time I'm in CT/WS/Cabelas but with the walking I do, I consider the added weight in my sled which is always heaping with all the crap (granted some of it unnecessary) I pull around as it is...
So I guess my question is - if I can pop a hole in up to 12" of ice in <15 seconds with my hand auger - when does the benefit of pulling around a power auger outweigh the effort UNTIL the ice is thick enough where I end up laying on my back wheezing on the ice when I'm half way through a hole in 30" of ice?
Just a thought. That - and I'm cheap. I think I said that already.
It depends on the species you're fishing for. If you're fishing for a species where you have to drill potentially dozens of holes to locate a school (i.e. perch), you're going to want to have the ability to drill multiple holes quickly. This necessity is obviously more pronounced when the ice is thick.
for myself i carry both the hand auger and a small hatchet. the reason is if you have proper maintenance on the auger blades and they are nice and sharp i find it takes very little effort to drill holes. if you carry a hatchet or axe you can use it to chop some wood if you run into an issue and need warmth.
Axe Vs. Gas Auger
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