Excessive hole drilling

[Down Deep]

This thread reminds me what it was like fishing on Red when the big crappie bite was going on. On Saturdays and Sundays I don't think there was ever a minute that a hole wasn't being drilled somewhere in the big village. The drilling didn't seem to bother the fish because when the crappies moved in all he(( broke loose.

[wolf]

I guess I'm the oddball because it really chaps me to! I enjoy the peace and queit I will drill my holes and try it if i don't get something within 30 minutes or so i move and drill more holes but I have seen people drill more holes than they ever used in a day!!

[Korynta]

2 things here. first lake maps, unless hd, r terrible. second ive had the flasher light up while other people r drilling or start up sleds. Its just scouting and sometimes it helps YOU so let it fly!

[jdog]

150 holes is a little overboard people like you are the reason my kids quit coming out

[fisherman-andy]

I for one will also drill tons of holes. Generally up to 10 and will jump from hole to hole till I find fish and keep moving. I may drill up to 100 holes maybe more depending on the size of the lake but I will always keep at least 25 yards away from the nearest house or person. If I have left the holes and moved on the area it doesnt bother me that someone else fishes them. I try to stay away from others as much as possible and be fair of ones own space. If the situation doesnt feel right I will up and leave to another area and start over with the drilling. The only thing im gonnna stop drilling holes is when fish is on. You do your think and keep your space and be polite and I will return the politeness back and keep my space away from you. Heated confrontations and I will up and leave. Not worth the trouble dealing with the person who thinks he owns all the hardwater around him be it 25 yards or more.

[CrewJones]

sounds like this is just like me, bought a new strikemaster solo laser and finally felt vindication from the years of owning a model 30.

IM THE DRILL MASTER NOW

[B-man715]

E.H.D.D is a real disorder that many suffer from (including myself).

Excessive Hole Drilling Disorder can effect not only the sufferer, but their family and coworkers as well. If left untreated, local fish populations could be devastated.

Early warning signs include the smell of 2 stroke exhuast, fatigue, and random mumblings of "more holes, I need more holes......."

If you, or someone you know has Excessive Hole Drilling Disorder, please get them help!!

[Hardyboy]

I drill tons of holes, obviously you need to be courteous to those around you but if you talk with your neighbors you might learn something. Personally i dont care if someone fishes holes ive drilled and im not fishing out of them.

[CAMAN]

150 holes is a little overboard people like you are the reason my kids quit coming out

I see that was directed at me...

How am I to blame that your kids quit?

A.) Most of the lakes I ice fish don't see more than a few fishermen a year!

B.) If there are fishermen on the lake when I get there I will either-

-----1.)stay WELL away from them if the lake is large enough,

-----2.)go find a different lake if I believe my hole drilling and searching for fish is going to bother someone who is already there.

C.) If I'm in the metro or some other popular lake, I stay FAR away from the shanty towns and everybody else, I go find my own fish.

D.) There is no law saying the number of holes a can or cannot drill.

E.) If noise is the issue I run a Strike Lite...whisper quiet...

F.) People like me are the ones who clean up EVERYONE else's mess, since while I'm walking/driving around I find and pick up more junk than you can find sitting in your cozy shack or over your two holes complaining about how the fishing sux.

G.) Still confused as to how someone who drills lots of holes is to blame for kids quitting fishing? You know what they say, when you point your finger at someone, there are three fingers pointed right back at you.

H.)I'd say more but it would be violating forum policy...

[Boar]

I'd pay one of u 25 bucks to punch 150 holes on Lake of the woods for me. after 6 holes thru 3 ft of ice Im spent. You start at 24 ft an make a be line out to 32. But theyd be my holes

[drewevans]

I'd pay one of u 25 bucks to punch 150 holes on Lake of the woods for me. after 6 holes thru 3 ft of ice Im spent. You start at 24 ft an make a be line out to 32. But theyd be my holes

LOL thats funny, LOTW is actually a prime example of where allot of holes can be key i will only usually get 20 or 30 there befroe im spent but i wont have to move all day either.

when you are fishing large flats like red, LOTW, Lake Pepin (pool 4) or even long break lines like you find on milacs drilling alot of holes can make you much more successful.

REMEMBER to be considerate though the example that started this post does not seem to me like a great situation to use this tactic.... remember you and i dont own the lake per say respect others and what they are doing.

[rundrave]

If people would actually do their homework on a lake before fishing it, I dont see a need to punch over a dozen holes.

Isn't this guy doing just that...doing his homework? I would rather see someone put the time and effort in themselves to locate fish.

There are too many people these days that troll these forums for hot bites and honeyholes and specific GPS coordinates to get on fish rather then taking time to do real homework.

I know this site is for sharing reports etc, but just because you catch fish in a spot today, it could be a completely different ball game tomorrow. The GPS chips, and lake maps don't have real time fish locations. You dont know know until you drill the hole.

Folks, that's why they call it fishing and not catching. I give props to this guy for putting in the effort to learn this lake that was probably knew to him. To each his own, but this is the same thing I would do as long as I am not too close to others.

[TruthWalleyes]

In a lot of ways i'm like CAMAN above. I move away from the crowds, and then drill drill drill...finding my own fish.

If i choose to set up in a crowd, i'll drill a couple of holes and call it a medocre day...because in a crowd, your not going to get anything more than medocre.

Early ice like we've got this year is great because there is no need to drill a hole to check for fish. Just bring a gallon of water, drip a little on the ice and put your transducer in the puddle - wa la. If you see fish, then drill a hole.

Say i'm taking a couple of buddies out, i'll pick key structure and drill enough holes for 3 people or more to hole hop...that can be a lot of holes. The good thing about drilling a bunch of holes is that when your done drilling, you've got lots of holes to fish before you decide to move elsewheres and drill more.

[Getanet]

You guys have too much energy. I drill my two holes, set up shop, and then figure it's just a matter of time before a school comes in. You just have to be patient. Sometimes I'll sit there all day without getting a bite

[lindy rig]

We usually drill a number of holes. Usually more than a dozen. But 60 holes on a small lake in a small area sounds excessive.

[CaptainMusky]

wow, i guess the folks that drill two holes and done are like the boats I see anchored and bobber fishing all day. I never do that and even on spots I know will produce. I seek out the fish whether it is open water or ice.

Drilling holes isnt a big deal at all and I certainly wouldnt drill 100 holes around a city of houses, but when alone we drill a fair amount just to locate fish and hole hop.

[BartmanMN]

small lakes are typically shaped like a bowl without a lot of structure to hold fish, thus you punch a bunch of holes and walk around with you electronics to fish the holes that have fish.

Little different than a lake with definite structure where you can punch two holes, flip the house and have action. Around people may be rude, but otherwise, drill away.

[reinhard1]

i think your point is well taken and a number of people drill a few holes and hole hop. however there is also nothing wrong for a person to go to a location and fish in one spot. for example on shallow stained lakes that i fished for years, i have already done my research over the years, fished the lake or lakes many times hard and open water and have found areas that hold fish nearly all day. it realy depends in my opinion on the lake and how well you know the lake.

also what species are you after. sure on mille lacs for example if your after perch it's a great idea to find the area you want to fish and punch some holes. for lake trout on certain structures that are fairly large you want to comb the area well and i'm sure there are more examples in that regard.

however in some lakes it's realy not neccessary to constantly move around. that's only my opinion. and in that case i'm talking shallow lakes. there is a lake up north we go to and we only fish two spots. it's a small lake and have fished it for over 30 years open and hard water. over those years we have fished this lake all over. we found these two areas gave us the best results consistantly. so that's where we end up going time after time. as good as this lake is, the fish still have to be in a feeding mode just like everywhere else. you could punch holes tilll your arms fell off and wouln't have any more results than the few holes you started with.

there is two sides to this and both have great points. good luck.

[Coon]

I dont wanna hear that crapola about drilling during "prime" time. Gimme a break. Not everybody can be on the lake and set up at by what you consider "prime" time.

[CAMAN]

I dont wanna hear that crapola about drilling during "prime" time. Gimme a break. Not everybody can be on the lake and set up at by what you consider "prime" time.

I agree, but PLEASE have sharp blades!! I've seen on a few occasions where it takes a person 5 minutes and all their weight to drill ONE hole! If that's not excessive hole drilling I don't know what is!

[CAMAN]

I'd pay one of u 25 bucks to punch 150 holes on Lake of the woods for me. after 6 holes thru 3 ft of ice Im spent. You start at 24 ft an make a be line out to 32. But theyd be my holes

Get me a couple sets of new blades and I'll 'Git 'Er Done!!

[KrabbyPatties]

So people are really punching 100+ holes when they set up??? Wow!

Even IF a guy was able to keep up a pace of 10 seconds per hole for the entire session (doubtful even on thin ice), that's over 15 straight minutes of listening to an auger at full throttle. I'm sorry, that's excessive and I'd be upset if I had to listen to that going on anywhere near me. (Hint - nobody came fishing to listen to you endlessly making noise because you didn't prescout on a map.) It's along the lines of people blasting their radio next to you, letting their dogs bark endlessly, jet-skiing on a small lake from dawn to dusk, or having 10 leaf blowers in your neighborhood on an otherwise nice fall day. Just a total lack of courtesy. Illegal--no, rude--yes. I try to set up with some healthy space between me and the next guy, but it seems like someone always rolls in during prime time with dull auger blades and no pressing need to put the auger down and get fishing! I think we need the "fishing police" to confiscate power augers and pass out some hand augers to these "Swiss cheese" dudes!

It's also a pretty valid concern that so many unattended holes at once makes a lake treacherous for kids (and adults) to walk on, particularly after you leave and they start skimming over. Please, exercise a little self-restraint out there.

[CAMAN]

So people are really punching 100+ holes when they set up??? Wow!

Even IF a guy was able to keep up a pace of 10 seconds per hole for the entire session (doubtful even on thin ice), that's over 15 straight minutes of listening to an auger at full throttle. I'm sorry, that's excessive and I'd be upset if I had to listen to that going on anywhere near me. (Hint - nobody came fishing to listen to you endlessly making noise because you didn't prescout on a map.) It's along the lines of people blasting their radio next to you, letting their dogs bark endlessly, jet-skiing on a small lake from dawn to dusk, or having 10 leaf blowers in your neighborhood on an otherwise nice fall day. Just a total lack of courtesy. Illegal--no, rude--yes. I try to set up with some healthy space between me and the next guy, but it seems like someone always rolls in during prime time with dull auger blades and no pressing need to put the auger down and get fishing! I think we need the "fishing police" to confiscate power augers and pass out some hand augers to these "Swiss cheese" dudes!

It's also a pretty valid concern that so many unattended holes at once makes a lake treacherous for kids (and adults) to walk on, particularly after you leave and they start skimming over. Please, exercise a little self-restraint out there.

Please realize we drill 10-20 holes check them, fish them if anything is found and move on to a different location if the action or quality isn't there. We don't drill 100+ holes in one set. 2-3 minutes of drilling MAX!

[cichlid_baby]

OMG... now you guys actually think you can dictate what others do, or how they can find their fish when we are all on a public lake that none of us own to ourselves.

If you don't like what is happening around you.. you can always move..

I don't know what the rules are on how close someone can be but if it is 10 feet.. then 10 feet it is.. if you have a problem with the current law then write your representatives and change it. Call the DNR and see if they have your side on this one.

I bet that no one is drilling that close to you that it would even make a difference other than you fellas having nothing better to do with your time than to come on here and vent thinking you own the ice you sit on.

Seems like a lot of over exaggeration.

[Beast26]

I have no issue with it whatsoever. What I do have an issue with is the guy that shows up 30 minutes before sundown and drills 50 holes around the area I am fishing. I get there early so things will quite down during "prime time". Your more than welcome to use the holes I already drilled. If it's nice out I will hole hop the entire day. If it's cold I move less often but I always drill about 50+ holes everytime I go out.