thickness of ice

[grousehunter]

Hey - I am getting a hand auger before this weekend and some other ice fishing stuff and going to try out some ice fishing. I never have iced fished except for a couple times way back in the day(Just open water fish) and was wondering about how deep the ice is on lakes around ely and specifiacally burntside. Just want to see how dead my arms are going to be after drilling a couple holes. Thanks,

Blake

[iansinclair]

You will definitly be able do drill through the ice, but it wont be easy. Im not sure how much ice is on burntside but i would estimate 16'+ which means you will be finishing your drill from your knees. what i typically do with my hand auger with this much ice is drill my first hole, then jig for about 20 minutes while i get my strength back, then drill a hole for my tip. oh yeah, and make sure you have a good blade on the auger, if you bought a cheaper one it might be worth buying a new higher quality blade (about $10) to help you out.

[Steve Foss]

grousehunter, you're looking at about 20 inches of ice on Bside now.

Not that hard to do with a hand auger if the blades are sharp. I can cut through that in about 20-30 seconds with my 8-inch Strikemaster lazer hand auger, and there are lots of folks who go faster than I do. Well, the second hole goes slower than the first one.

But ian is definitely right in that you don't want to have to cut lots of holes unless you're trying to get into shape.

I left my heavy power auger at home this season until the ice got about 14 inches thick.

[grousehunter]

sounds good...I just got the strikemaster lazer auger today so it sounds like it will work pretty good. Its new so the blades should be plenty sharp(I hope). 20-30 second isnt bad at all...was thinking it would take a lot longer then that for 20 inches. Only fish i have ever caught through the ice was a crappie so we will see if i can change that and catch one of those hard to catch laketrout. setting my standards high right from the start, lol. Just got a lowarnce ifinder explorer plus for pretty cheap with lakemaster chip so now i need to figure out how in the [PoorWordUsage] to get the chip to work in it so i can find some structure. Later

Blake

[Steve Foss]

Blake, that's an excellent hand auger and basically the only limiting factors are how fast you can turn it while keeping some downward pressure on it.

Any little nick you get in the blades will ruin its cutting ability though, so make sure you're very careful about keeping the plastic blade cover on.

I'd also recommend not trying to sharpen them, or even touch them up, yourself. I generally buy a new set of blades every other year, not brand new ones, but used ones with a new factory edge put on them. Vermilion Fuel and Food in Tower offers the blade exchange program. Probably only $15 for your set of blades.

You might also check Lucky 7 in Ely to see if they do the blade exchange. No one else in town does, and they're the last one I haven't checked with about it.

[grousehunter]

sounds good, Do you know of anywhere besides red rock that sells fish houses up here? I'm thinking of just going with the pak shack and im pretty sure they have that since it on their online site, but was also considering the frabil recon one man....Any place up here have a good variety/ any deals going on? Would just go to gander since they are having an awsome sale, but dont feel like making the trip to duluth and back.

[Steve Foss]

Nope, Red Rock is basically your best option, unless they have some at Vermilion Fuel and Food in Tower. VF&F has vastly expanded their tackle line in the last couple years, and I know they stock power augers so probably have shelters, though I haven't checked. Babe's Bait and Tackle here in Ely rents one or two portables, however, so you might look up Babe's in the phone book and give them a call, or Vermilion F&F is (218) 753-2181.