How many holes do you drill?

[Coach1310]

Hey guys and gals. How many holes do you drill? Most of the time I am of the run and gun ilk of ice fishing. I think it has a lot to do with not having enough days to fish. Anyway, how many holes do you drill when in search of fish, particulary pannies? I usually drill until I get too tired and then hand off the auger to my buddy and he does the same. We usually end up with 20-30 holes per stop. Just wondering what others do? Does anyone else ever feel like, "If I just drill a couple more that way. I know the fish are there."

[Deitz Dittrich]

yep.. I'm a lot like you.. I would like to think I keep the fish alive with o2 through the year... Not uncommon for me to drill 2-30 if I find the fish.. if its a tough day on the ice.. I have blown through a tank of gas. Well over 100+ holes in a day.

[huntingislife]

100+ is definitely not uncommon. Just depends on how easy the fish want to show themselves. Just drill til you find em.

Having a fast and light auger is critical.

[IcemanMN]

Until my auger blades go dull.

50 easy for one day of fishing

[harvey lee]

I will usually drill aline of 20-30 holes to search for fish.In a tough day of fishing the max I will drill is approx 40-50 holes.If I cannot find fish with thode holes it is then time for me to go home.

[Dan Brelje]

I usually drill 10-20 holes per spot. It depends on the area i am fishing. A small hump gets less than a larger deep hole. If you can't find em' in those holes, its time for a new spot!!

Deitz, thought i'd let you know i'm still around. Its hard to stay up do date when your on the other side of SD. I tell you one thing though, i sure have the ice itch, can't wait for december. Thanks again for the outing this summer.

[deepportage01]

Wow you guy's drill a ton, I realy don't drill that much may be 10-15 holes give or take in one day,

My fishing style is diferent from the run and gun style to,

We look for fishy areas like humps, small and large pockets in the weeds,under water point,you get the point, Then when we find the spot on the spot we set up shop with the porto's or drop the wheels and weight for the pig eye's to come through,

Now perch fishing we might drill 50 per person but that's only in late season.

[Northlander]

Most often if I know the area Im fishing Ill only drill 3-20 holes. On some trips though, like Red lake I will at times drill 20-40 at one time and maybe more later. Problem with drilling that many holes you always seem to get some guys coming along and fishing them.

[Sonicrunch]

My no-fish catching buddies drill 2 holes and call it a day.

It drives me nuts.

[Matt Johnson]

I guess it all depends. If I'm on a spot where I know fish are holding, I might only punch 10-15 holes. However, if I'm on the hunt, it's not uncommon to see a 100 hole day like Deitz mentioned. Oftentimes I'll fire off 20 or so holes at each spot and try and check every one before moving on, unless I find out that the structure is not what I'm looking for.

I don't honestly think I've been on the ice where I've punched less than 20 holes in the day, even on days where I'm on top of fish. I'm always curious what's around the corner

[18 inch Crappie]

How about 2 holes? Thats all I need. 1 hour later I have my limit and go home.

[hovermn]

In the pond behind Target, right?

[DinkADunk]

Well I usually go out with the familly and that means having to haul a fair amount of stuff on the ice, so we don't run as much as I would like. After finding a likely spot, and before setting up, I'll run a couple of lines of holes from the shallows to deeper points, setup the fish finders and start searching (my daughter uses the AquaView). If nothing looks promising we'll run a bit until we find a better prospect. After a couple of spots we've usually found someplace fishable. At that point I'll drill some fill in holes so say 12-20 at a given spot.

[Sonicrunch]

Quote:

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How about 2 holes? Thats all I need. 1 hour later I have my limit and go home.

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FAH-Q

[DEADhead]

If I'm trout fishing usually only 1 hole, and if I'm lucky, there is a hole already open. I have no problem catching a limit of trout through only one hole.

If I'm chasing any other species, especially crappies along structure, the norm is minimum 20-30 holes, with lost of hole hoppping to follow the bite.

[Gordie]

As many as it takes to find the fish. Hopefully its the first hole that I drill. I usally start with some kind of plan check map , gps , and tell myself that the fish are right underneath me ( then I wake up) and then the search is on.

[tbags]

I used to drill till the cows came home. Then I got my H2Oc with lakemaster and do not have to drill as much. I know exactly where I am at structure wise and still drill to find em'. But having my handheld with me cuts down a lot of wastefull holes. Is it december yet?

[HarryG]

I don't actually count but I would say I am in the 20 to 30 range. Only because I fish early morning and evening for Eye's. I know I should fish all day but that’s a little tough to do. I tend to fish in the deeper water a little longer so I fish a hole longer. 100 holes means only 5 min per hole in an 8 hour day. Assuming you move even if you catch a fish. If I don't catch fish after a few hours, I pack it in a go to the hard house. I just tire out. I do believe that more holes mean more fish.

[Captain B.R.K]

When I'm walleye fishing on spots I'm pretty familiar with, our group will probably punch enough holes for 2 holes a guy. However when fishing panfish, perch or crappies it is very common to go through 20-40 holes. I typically fish with 2 other guys and dividing those among 3 guys doesn't give us lots of holes to try out as an individual.

We will swiss cheese an area until we find fish. Then just move from one hole or another to stay on top of them!

[eyepatrol]

I drill less than most people. Usually anywhere from 10-20 holes in a day, where a day for me is 4-5 hours of fishing. Very rarely do I punch out more than 20 holes, but I have done it a few times.

[Reynolds]

I have not come anywhere close to drilling out more than 3o holes a day. I think I need to change my approach. I honestly think I would need a change in my diet and strenous physical workout three times a day to punch out 100 holes in a day. Lugging around a 3hp 10" all day wears a guy out. I had better start drinking that wheat juice from here on out. And no, I am no referring to malted wheat and barley juice.

[woodyjdh]

"How many holes do you drill?"

ALL of them!

[DEADhead]

Quote:

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Lugging around a 3hp 10" all day wears a guy out.

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that's probably why a lot of hole jumbers prefer an 8" 2hp auger, or the new synthetic framed ones that are lightwieght.

[MASON38]

A lot less than than the old days when I would hit a new lake, back then it wasnt uncommon to drill up to 80 holes the first couple times out while getting used to the lake and its features. The GPS helps, but I think having the ability to pan around one hole with a camera has made the biggest difference in the amount of holes I cut now. In what used to take 6 or 10 holes on a specific feature to find structure and breaks, it now takes a hole to look around, and then 1 or 2 more to dial it in.