The Essential Ice Fishing Tool - Auger

A suitable auger is must-have tool for ice fishing enthusiast. Unlike the old timers of this sport who can remember the difficult and time consuming requirements or chiseling a hole in the ice to fish from, modern auger this day provides an opening through ice real quick.

There are lightweight, compact and highly powerful ice fishing augers available in the market, they are efficient that needs to spend less hours chipping out a couple of holes to fish from.

When selecting an auger, it is mainly depending on the amount of usage that individual wants per outing. Some ice fishing anglers may drill a few holes a day whilst some may drill up to 30 holes or more, depending on their fishing technique. Choose it based on one’s needs and bear in mind the more that you are planning on using the auger the higher power, the more fuel will be needed, and the greater the need for a fast drilling ice fishing auger will be.

Below are some pointers for your reference when choosing an ice fishing auger:

1) Gas powered – are easier to move across the ice as there is no requirement to carry a power source such as a battery. But there is a need to carry gasoline and oil, or at least make sure the auger is topped up before heading to the lake for fishing. Advantage: have more power to cut through thicker ice measuring up to three to four feet.

2) Electric powered - are more environmentally friendly as there are no emissions. It is suitable for cutting thinner ice as using gas powered auger on thinner ice provides little performance difference.

3) Gear ratio – the various gear ratios of the ice fishing auger will allow the user to regulate the speed of the drill which is a critical safety feature. The gear assembly should be easily available to keep it properly maintained even in very cold weather.

4) Size of the drill – the usual drills are six to eight inches wide, with ten inches type being rare. If you are planning on jigging or using a tip-up the size of the ice hole will be very important. Larger drill sizes are typically only found with gas powered ice fishing augers.

Ice fishing augers can also be manual, using a rotary shaft to help provide torque and cutting power for the auger. Usually an ice fishing auger that is manually operated will be the lightest weight and the least expensive of the augers and a great environmentally safe option.