Penguino Posted March 4, 2015 Posted March 4, 2015 So just today, I tried to go ice fishing with my friend at a pond next to his house. We brought shovels, pickaxes, and still couldn't cut through the 4-5 inches of ice. Are there any ways to cut through the ice without buying a auger? Quote
Super User fishballer06 Posted March 4, 2015 Super User Posted March 4, 2015 Probably a chainsaw. You will totally destroy the chain. Just spend the $40 and buy a hand auger. Quote
Penguino Posted March 4, 2015 Author Posted March 4, 2015 You will totally destroy the chain. Just spend the $40 and buy a hand auger. Where can you get a hand auger for 40$? Every where I look it is 60-70$ Quote
Super User Senko lover Posted March 4, 2015 Super User Posted March 4, 2015 1. Raise Foot 2. Put on a life jacket 3. Stomp 4 Quote
Dylcook91 Posted March 4, 2015 Posted March 4, 2015 Yes please buy an auger, or simply don't ice fish. Your current methods seem very unsafe. Take it from someone one fell though the ice once(non-fishing related). The ice around here has been questionable at best, strong in some spots weak in others. One hit with a pick axe in the wrong spot and you may be meeting the bass face to face. 2 Quote
Tony L. Posted March 4, 2015 Posted March 4, 2015 I always use Tic Tacs to break the ice. Well played. Quote
Catch 22 Posted March 4, 2015 Posted March 4, 2015 I always use Tic Tacs to break the ice. Puppy dogs work well too Digging irons will work. C22 Quote
RAMBLER Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 It's called an ice "spud". About 4-5' of heavey steel rod with a chisel on the end. Put a rope through the top end and put your hand through the loop so when you go through the ice and it slips out of your hand you can keep it. Not like a guy that used mine. He dropped it through the hole. He didn't fish with me, again. Quote
Brnnoser6983 Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 Ice melt.... lots of it.. Or wait out winter.. Quote
Fishinthefish Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 If this is your idea of digging through five inches of ice you might not want to be out there. Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted March 5, 2015 Global Moderator Posted March 5, 2015 We've always used hatchets or axes and cut a square hole. The trick is to stop just before you break through the ice all the way around the hole and then hit it in the center to punch the whole piece out at once. If you cut through to the water it wells up into the areas you've cut so you're splashing water all over every time you swing. Quote
KayakKid Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 I think you could probably just drill a hole in the ice with a 1" twist-bit, then take a saw-zaw or even a small hand saw and cut out a circle however big you wanted. Quote
thomas15 Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 You will totally destroy the chain. Just spend the $40 and buy a hand auger. I belong to an Water Rescue Team. We train in the ice and always use a chainsaw to cut a hole big enough for our drills. Imagine trying to cut a 5 foot by 10 foot hole in 16 inches of ice with any kind of hand tool. You do have to pay attention to the saw once you are done. That's me with the rescue noodle.... About 3 weeks ago in 7" of ice. We pushed the plug under the mantle and replaced it when we were done. The next day you could hardly tell we had trained on this pond. Quote
thomas15 Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 Yes please buy an auger, or simply don't ice fish. Your current methods seem very unsafe. Take it from someone one fell though the ice once(non-fishing related). The ice around here has been questionable at best, strong in some spots weak in others. One hit with a pick axe in the wrong spot and you may be meeting the bass face to face. Hey Dylcook91 Not to change the subject but I see you live in Manasquan. I went to Manasquan HS class of 76. Manasquan is a great place too bad it's so expensive and developed now. Grew up in Belmar. Where do you fish for Bass, Manasquan Res? Have you ever caught anything in either Spring Lake, Wreck pond or Lake Como? Spent 20 years in Tuckerton, worked in Lakewood. There is a little pond on the corner of Cedar Bridge Rd, Oberlin Ave and Vasser Ave by the Lakewood Airport. Used to work on Oberlin and fished in that pond during lunch hour. It doesn't look like it but 10 years ago there were many Bass in there and some nice sized carp also. In PA now living large. Quote
gnuisance Posted March 6, 2015 Posted March 6, 2015 A 3 foot crow bar from home depot works just fine for me when I am fishing early or late season (less than 6" of ice). Quote
Super User WRB Posted March 6, 2015 Super User Posted March 6, 2015 What do you think ice fisherman did before augers! They used long hsndle chisels, shaped snd sharpened for specific ice conditions up to several feet thick. Tom Quote
carpflyguy Posted March 7, 2015 Posted March 7, 2015 To answer your original question... YES. For my first year of ice fishing I used a handheld drill with the biggest bit I could find. Drill a few holed, and chip out the rest with a chisel. 2 minutes per hole is all it takes. Quote
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