Its kind of common, mostly people use hole covers to keep the hole from freezing. If I'm in a house, I put them where I need them. On lakes with little structure, I use a method called working the diamond used by Jonny Petrowske on Upper Red Lake. Basically you have a tip up in the middle and jig around it with flashy and rattly lures to draw pike in, then move every 30 minutes or so. In that case I spread holes about 30 "paces" apart, meaning with two fisherman there can be up to 90 yards between tip ups. I never worry about sunlight by the way. I've never found that it scared fish of any species.
