Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations No Ice Auger

I don't have an Ice Auger What do you suggest I use to get through the ice on my pond? I want to try Ice fishing and we finally have enough ice to do it. I just don't have access to an ice auger and I don't want to spend a whole lot of money on one since I have never even tried ice fishing. I thought maybe I could use a chainsaw but I think that would be a little dangerous and probably not the best thing for the chainsaw. I have access to electricity on the pond so power tools might be an option but again they might not be the safest option (I have heard that water and electricity dont mix verry well )

Any Ideas?

Brett, I use a spud bar, if you haven't seen one it's a long steel or wood handle with a chisled end, about 25 bucks.
Most hardware stores should have them.

A manual ice auger is very inexpensive and works fine if you are a casual ice-fisher.

Water and electric DO mix well.....It's the person between the two that gets excited!

How about a chinsaw off your dock Brett?

How thick is your ice?

Water still clear after we treated it with alum??

Water and electric DO mix well.....It's the person between the two that gets excited!
did you mean executed?

How about a chinsaw off your dock Brett?
I have a chainsaw that is pretty nice. I don't want to do anything to mess it up. I'm afraid water would get inside the engine and rust it out. That chainsaw has sentimental value anyway (I know it's weird to find sentimental value in a chainsaw but what can I say). My dad and I used to use that chainsaw to gather firewood for the house and clear the driveway when trees fell down in it. It's held up all these years and like I said I don't want to mess it up.

How thick is your ice?
last week it was about 3 inches

Water still clear after we treated it with alum??
Rainman, I think you have me confused with someone else. I'm the aerator, golden shiner guy. But since you asked my water is nice and clear (well about as clear as I want it to be)

Water will not hurt your chainsaw unless you totally submerge the saw. Newer saws all have sealed ignition systems that are waterproof, otherwise guys in the Pacific Northwest would never get anything done. The only thing necessary after using a saw to cut through ice is to make sure the bar and chain are well oiled before putting the saw away, as they are pretty much the only steel parts on chainsaws these days.

Of all my power tools my saws (I have 10 chainsaws) have the most sentimental value and I would not use them to cut ice if there was a chance of damaging them.

So be honest, rex - do you have individual names for your chainsaws?

When I was a teenager we occassionally used an axe to chop through ice on the creek. This works, but it is not handy or convenient. When the ice gets thicker than 5"-6" then it is hard to chop in the smaller holes when the hole depth is fairly deep. Also the axe makes alot of water splashing once water seeps into the hole and all the ice is not removed yet. It can get messy.

I have used a homemade spud for years and years to make ice holes. One can easily make a spud by welding a 1 1/4" threaded pipe coupling onto some bar stock (1/2"x2.5"x8"-9"). See a friend that has a welder. Sharpen one side to a chisel edge. Thread spud end onto 1 1/4" pipe. I added more pipe inside of pipe for more hefty weight. Various ends or caps can be made for the top of the spud where rope can be attached. It is easy to drop a spud into the hole as you are punching through and cleaning or rounding out the hole. I still use my spud every year to check thickness of early ice or I want a large hole for underwater observation. Once you master use of a good sharp spud one can get an 7"-9" square or roundish hole through 6"-8" of ice pretty quickly and "almost" a fast as with a manual auger. I chop around the outside or perimeter of the cut until center ice chunk breaks loose.

For most all my fishing holes I now use a spiral auger (Strikemaster Mora brand). I first tried one of the old fashioned spoon augers/cutters, it did not work well for me. They work okay if sharpened exactly correctly. The newer style manual spriral augers (4",5", 6" and 8") in regular or lazer cutting edge work the best and fastest IMO. The cutting blades are replacable. They are available from sporting good stores in winter. Walmart, Meijers, Rural King have them ($30-$100). Lazer style Strikemaster augers cut faster and run about $15-20 more than regular blade styles. Regular style is okay for casual fisherman and ice up to 12" thick. An old fart like me, can cut a 6" hole through 8" of ice in abt 15-20 sec. When the auger wants to scoot along the top of the ice and not directly dig in and start cutting, the blades need sharpened or new blades. You can get a pretty big fish up through a 6" ice hole. I am sure augers are available esp during winter on ebay.

8 inches of ice in 10 seconds, just drape cord over shoulder so that connection is off of ice. I found that a ratchet extension's (3/8"-female end) outside diameter, to be the same as my augers shaft inside diameter (without handle). The drills chuck has 3 tightening locations, like most drills, tighten them all, twice. Drill is a DeWalt DW131 1/2" spade handle drill-7 A / 450 RPM. Auger part is 8", not that I need a hole that big here, but it was free, blades sharpened like new.

3 inches, when your heal breaks thru you will be thinking about getting off the ice

Bret,

I've got an extra auger you can have if you reimburse me for the shipping but you'll have to get new blades for it. Let me know if you're interested.

Considering where you're located I'm sure you'd get it in a day or two at the most.

Cecil

I wouldn't afraid to fish on 3 inches of good clear ice as long as it's not any thinner but 4 is better.

I could name one Theo. Should it be the new 95cc bad boy or the almost 40 year old saw I use for cutting roots in the dirt? I also have a couple classics on the wall lol

Do you have one pushing 50 that is a pain to start, but will work forever once you finally get it going?