Putting Away The Power Auger

[JIvers]

I'm putting my Strikemaster Electra away for the year.

I'm going to put a battery in it just to be sure it runs, and that will be the only time I used it this winter. I never even attached the auger to the powerhead.

I have two hand augers (a 5" for panfish and exploring, and a 7" for walleye fishing and tip-ups) that I use when the ice is thin, and drilling holes by hand is easier than lugging the heavier power auger around. Once the ice gets to be a foot or so thick, maybe less if I am going to be drilling a lot of holes, I switch to the Electra. This winter, I never had a foot of ice to drill through in southeast Iowa.

I've made a couple trips back to southeast Minnesota this winter, and will make a couple more before the ice goes out, but I don't think I'll need the power auger there, either.

All this just sums up what kind of winter this has been.

[cavalierowner]

I have a very old Electra, one of the first ones made and the type that doesn't have a battery, that I have used a grand total of 3 the times that I drove on the lake. It's now back in my storage shed because I assume I won't be driving any more because I fish in Henn. Co. I have been using an ice chisel all year, including this morning. I can get through the 14" of ice where I fish in about 5 minutes, so not a big deal for me. I have a hand auger that needs new blades, but I'm too cheap to buy new ones. And I'm not sure it would be much, if any, quicker than my chisel and my chisel is way more compact.

[BartmanMN]

You Chisel through 14 inches of ice? Wow. That's a lot of pounding.

[cavalierowner]

You Chisel through 14 inches of ice? Wow. That's a lot of pounding.

LOL! It's not bad at all because I don't have your ordinary store-bought chisel. It was made by a guy who used to be a machinist at the Blandin Paper mill in Grand Rapids, MN. The cutter part is made from old chipper blades they use to grind up trees. That's welded to a 3/4" steel pipe. The cutting edge is a MUCH shallower angle than what you normally see in stores. A file won't even touch the cutting edge; I have to sharpen it once a year with a stone. I get VERY possesive of my chisel because it cannot be replaced. I'm very serious when I say I'm not sure I could drill a hole with a hand auger much faster.

[Hookmaster]

When we were teeanagers before one of us bought a Mora hand auger we used to chisel all our holes. This was when it was one line each. You chose your spot wisely and didn't move around at all. Some winters it would be 36" of ice. Oh the good ol' days.

[JIvers]

The chisel above sounds a lot like the home-made ice spade my grandpa had; I was put to work chipping holes with it a couple times. I wonder what happened to it...

I haven't seen anyone using an ice chisel in probably ten years.

[herefish101]

Your hardcore! I never even use a hand auger, not even on four inches of ice. For me it has to have a motor on it.

[moraarcher]

I made a chisel and the handle is 3/4" pipe also. I used the idea behind a dead blow hammer and filled it 1/4 full of #6 lead shot before I sealed it up. Every blow is like 3 unwieghted blows. It is a bit heavier but not that much and it really works great.

[BehindtheHead]

i chisled all my spear holes this year. 14 " was the most ice i cut through. 2'x3' takes me 10 min. to cut. a good chisle and good technique goes a long ways.

mine are 1" solid shaft with a 3" wide bit that is hardened steel. one good blow goes though 4 or 5" of ice.