Wintertime provides opportunities for many different cold-weather sports. Hockey, skiing, and sledding are all well-known winter activities, but another sport which is less well-known, though equally popular, is ice fishing. Come late December, lakes all over the country are dotted with the small huts, known as shanties, in which dedicated fisherman brave the cold to land the big one.
Ice fishing requires more equipment than traditional fishing, and one of the most important items for an ice fisherman is an augur. What is an augur? Quite simply, an augur is a drill resembling a gigantic corkscrew designed for making a hole in the ice. There are two types of augurs: hand augurs and power augurs. While power augurs are favored by some fisherman, you will find many ice anglers using the traditional hand augur to drill through the ice. Is a hand augur for you? Well, it depends how much effort you are willing to put into drilling the hole. As mentioned earlier, an augur is like a giant corkscrew – ice, though, is much harder than a wine cork, and drilling through several inches of it by hand can get tiring! However, many fisherman enjoy the exercise and the ritual that comes with drilling a hole by hand, so it depends largely on what your priorities are.
When purchasing a hand augur, there are several things to consider. First, you must consider the size of the augur bit. The most traditional sizes are six inch, eight inch, or ten inch diameter heads. Naturally, the larger bits will cost a little more, so when deciding on an augur consider what type of hole you need. If you are on a small pond with smaller fish, you probably don’t need a large hole; on a larger body of water, fishing for larger fish, you may want to consider the larger bit. There’s nothing more frustrating than catching the big one only to have it not fit through the hole in the ice!
The second thing to consider is the material that the augur is made of. Most augur bits are made of stainless steel – this allows for a clean drill through the ice. However, ice can get clogged in the grooves of the augur head, so some companies have started manufacturing stainless steel heads covered with a chrome alloy, designed to minimize ice sticking and clogging. Again, these cost a bit more, but in the end, many fishermen feel the extra cost is worth not having to deal with the hassle of a clogged augur. Sometimes the best thing to do is simply talk to ice fishermen on your lake about their augurs. Ask them what they have found works best for the local fishing – fishermen always love to talk about their sport.
Once you have the augur, you are ready to drill the hole. Pick a relatively flat section of the ice to drill on, and if possible clear away any snow or chunks of ice that may have built up on the spot. Make sure you have a solid footing, and then put the tip of the augur head in the center of the area where you want to drill. With smooth, powerful strokes, turn the handle clockwise, maintaining a steady pressure and speed as the bit digs deeper. When you make it all the way through the ice, turn the handle counter-clockwise until the augur is extricated from the hole. Clear the hole of remaining ice with a slotted scoop.
Now you just need to catch some fish!
