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Author Topic: Drill in your ice anchors  (Read 1809 times)

Offline pmmpete

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Drill in your ice anchors
« on: Jan 19, 2022, 05:33 PM »
It can be quite entertaining to watch ice anglers chasing their ice shelter across a lake.  To avoid offering this kind of entertainment to others, I'm religious about anchoring down my ice shelter as soon as I set it up, even when the wind is calm in the morning.  But it can be a hassle to put in ice anchors.  I used to have to bang repeatedly on the top of my anchors to get them to start screwing into the ice.  And then you have to twist and twist and twist to sink them.

You can sink your ice anchors quickly and easily by using a drill and an ice anchor installation tool such as those made by Clam, https://shop.clamoutdoors.com/extreme-ice-anchor-installation-tool-attachment.html, Eskimo, https://geteskimo.com/products/ice-anchor-drill-adapter, and HT Enterprises, https://www.tacklehaven.com/ht-enterprises-ice-anchor-drill-tool-adapter-ait-1/.  A cordless electric drill will get the job done, but so I don't need to remember to keep an electric drill recharged, and so I don't need to worry about the battery crapping out due to cold weather, I prefer to use a brace to install my ice anchors manually.  For those of you who are below retirement age, a brace is a kind of manual drill used to drive auger bits into wood.  A picture of my brace in action is shown below.  I set the tip of my anchor on the ice and start cranking. The anchor starts sinking immediately, and is quickly driven up to its head.  To remove the anchor, I reverse the process.

If you go to the tool department of Home Depot or your local hardware store and ask for a brace, you'll probably get just a confused look, but braces can be found on the internet at reasonable prices, and you can find them at pawnshops and junk stores.  If you look for a used brace, look carefully at the chuck, as that is the part of a brace which is most likely to be defective. But the cheapest way to acquire a brace is to borrow one from your Granddad, who probably has one hanging in his workshop.

My Eskimo ice anchors fit into my Clam drill adapter.  But I have a friend whose Eskimo ice anchors don't fit into a Clam adapter.  So when buying an adapter, it's worth bringing one of your ice anchors with you to the store to be sure it fits into the adapter.


Offline meandcuznalfy

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Re: Drill in your ice anchors
« Reply #1 on: Jan 19, 2022, 06:02 PM »
Nice, I never thought about one of those, see plenty of them in the second hand store here for cheap.

Offline DR.SPECKLER

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Re: Drill in your ice anchors
« Reply #2 on: Jan 19, 2022, 06:04 PM »
I put a anchor in a corner before i set my hub up.

Offline krispcritter

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Re: Drill in your ice anchors
« Reply #3 on: Jan 19, 2022, 06:07 PM »
Thats what I did. $2 brace at a yard sale and quick to put in or take out.
To make a small fortune in business start with a Large one.,

oldschoolben

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Re: Drill in your ice anchors
« Reply #4 on: Jan 19, 2022, 08:18 PM »
Lmao  I was one of those guys chasing my pop up  ,it was a calm day not even a breeze until on gust that lasted maybe a minute but took it out a long ways lol, good thing there was as only a few guys on the ice that day

Offline meandcuznalfy

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Re: Drill in your ice anchors
« Reply #5 on: Jan 19, 2022, 08:42 PM »
Lol, cuzn alfy thought his little 4 wheeler would hold his shack, evidently it was a bit light and blew him halfway across a lake, would have loved to see that.

Offline MT_BINX

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Re: Drill in your ice anchors
« Reply #6 on: Jan 20, 2022, 07:49 AM »
i run the strikmaster lite flite drill auger so im super lazy and use my 20v drill to put my stakes in. but i agree 100% always put a few in.
Its called PUBLIC land.... don't get mad if someone else is fishing there.

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Offline Born Late

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Re: Drill in your ice anchors
« Reply #7 on: Jan 20, 2022, 10:19 AM »
If you look for a used brace, look carefully at the chuck, as that is the part of a brace which is most likely to be defective.
Be aware that many older bit braces had something other than the now more standard 3-jaw chuck. You’re unlikely to have a tight fit between brace and anchor tool if it’s not a 3-jaw. As suggested, make sure it’s functional before you get on the ice.

I carry the bit brace setup when I’m shaving weight for a long hike and/or in deep snow. I love rechargeable gear but my list of things to remember to plug in the night before an outing is getting pretty long. One less powered item is a good thing.
YOU are the only one who can decide if the ice is safe enough for you.

Offline MontanaFisherman

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Re: Drill in your ice anchors
« Reply #8 on: Jan 21, 2022, 12:28 PM »
Since i use my dewalt as my auger, I just use 3/8 x 4-1/2" lag bolts with 2" fender washers. At the time i couldn't find the eskimo bit in stock anywhere.

Offline Nitz

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Re: Drill in your ice anchors
« Reply #9 on: Jan 21, 2022, 02:36 PM »
FYI, the HT Enterprises Ice Anchor Drill Tool Adapter AIT-1 works well with the Eskimo anchors.  Just be sure to keep you hands clear of the wide anchors as you drill (as with all of these adapters).

I agree, always put one anchor in prior to popping up the sides.  And then always put at least a couple anchors in, in case the wind picks up later.

Offline jrjach75

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Re: Drill in your ice anchors
« Reply #10 on: Jan 21, 2022, 03:17 PM »
At the time i couldn't find the eskimo bit in stock anywhere.

They are still hard to find, as of this season anyway. There is a seller on ebay selling a no-name version, looks like a copy of the Eskimo except it's black and not red. Fit my Eskimo anchors fine, in case anyone else is looking, I think it was $12.50 shipped.

Anyone tried a speed wrench with a socket? Have to think it would work as well as the brace bit.

Offline pmmpete

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Re: Drill in your ice anchors
« Reply #11 on: Jan 21, 2022, 07:16 PM »
Anyone tried a speed wrench with a socket? Have to think it would work as well as the brace bit.
The problem with the speed wrench idea is that while the shaft of my Clam ice anchor adapter fits into a 9mm socket, it also falls right out of the socket when I point the adapter at the ground, and could fall off a speed wrench and get lost in snow.  In order to use a speed wrench and a 9mm socket to drive in your ice anchors, you'd need to come up with a way to fix the adapter into the socket, such as epoxy or duct tape.  The advantage of using an electric drill or a brace to drive in ice anchors is that the chuck of a drill or a brace will hold the adapter firmly.

FYI, the HT Enterprises Ice Anchor Drill Tool Adapter AIT-1 works well with the Eskimo anchors.

Nitz, thanks for mentioning the HT Enterprises adapter, https://www.tacklehaven.com/ht-enterprises-ice-anchor-drill-tool-adapter-ait-1/.  I wasn't previously aware of it.  I've added a link to that adapter to my initial post in this thread.

Offline SirCranksalot

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Re: Drill in your ice anchors
« Reply #12 on: Jan 21, 2022, 09:38 PM »
Has anybody tried using these? These screws are very sharp. I am a camper and they look a bit like tent pegs---I would put them in on a 45 deg angle as is usually done for tent pegs. My buds and I rarely use the tent for fishing. I bought 4 of them and have screwed then into the ice easily with a small drill just to check them out, but have not used them while fishing yet



Keep yer stick on the ice!

 



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