Going through 30 inches of ice with hand auger?

[TheCaveman]

have any of you guys went through 30+ inches of ice with a hand auger?, how bad is it for even a small 5 inch one?, mainly planning on using it for early and late ice, but how horrible would it be to go through a bunch of ice?, and sorry for posting so much in here, i just started buying all my own stuff and trying not to borrow stuff as much so im trying to just get as many pointers and tips as i can.

[Walleyewacker007]

You could do it, but would you want to?

[SALMONEMIA]

5 inch auger will cut pretty fast. you will work some but prob not as bad as you think.

[TheCaveman]

You could do it, but would you want to?

Haha, not really, but i was mainly wondering how bad it would be because since im buying a vehicle, a shanty, and hopefully a flasher, id like to save money on an auger

[SLAYERFISH]

Started out ice fishing drilling 32" of hard ice with a 8" hand auger.  It took about 15 minutes each hole.  Sucked badly but warmed you up!
Personal best with that 8" hand auger was 42" of hard ice. Me and Bro managed 3 holes that day.

A 5" should be quite easy by comparison.

[perch chacer]

Drilling through 30" of ice would be OK if you only needed to drill one or two holes, but some days you have to move a lot and try and find the fish.  I recommend you buy a Clam Ice Auger Drill Plate. You attach your battery powered drill to your 5" hand auger and your set.   30" of ice will also required you to buy an extension.

[TheCaveman]

Started out ice fishing drilling 32" of hard ice with a 8" hand auger.  It took about 15 minutes each hole.  Sucked badly but warmed you up!
Personal best with that 8" hand auger was 42" of hard ice. Me and Bro managed 3 holes that day.

A 5" should be quite easy by comparison.

jeez, 42 inches, it takes my dads old ion a few minutes to get through 30 inches, even with that on 42 would be forever, i cant even imagine 42 with a hand

[eriksat1]

I started out with a hand auger also, when ice got 2 feet + I drilled 3 holes and by god that is where I fished.

[Walleyewacker007]

Keep your blades sharp!

[SHaRPS]

Skip the shanty, bundle up in layers and do your self a favor and get a gas, propane, or electric auger instead. Even a drill conversion kit. Why spend 15 minutes drilling 1 hole when you could do it in 1 minute and fish for 14 extra minutes? just saying.

[SLAYERFISH]

jeez, 42 inches, it takes my dads old ion a few minutes to get through 30 inches, even with that on 42 would be forever, i cant even imagine 42 with a hand

We took turns and it still took a solid 20 minutes to get thru. Plus the last 2 ft had to kneel, no extension.

PLUS it was a high lake at 12,200 ft elevation.  Never got a bite.

[hole_hopper454]

I did over the weekend when I broke the recoil spring on my gas auger.  I used my 6" Nils and there was 28-30 inches of ices.  It wasn't that bad.  Could get two holes pretty easy before I got tired.  Instead of popping all of my holes right away I'd drill a few, fish, then drill a few more, fish for a bit etc.

[fishermantim]

When dealing with thick ice and any type of auger, the main concern should be "Will it be long enough to make it all the way thru!"
Doesn't matter if it's gas, electric or manual powered if you can punch thru to the water.

I have a 6" hand auger that I used on a pond with 2'+ and punched thru when the bend of the handle was almost touching the ice.
I had to finish the holes kneeling next to them.

I have a gas auger that I haven't used in years mainly because the extra weight is a pain when hauling gear on foot in any depth of snow.

Sure, it takes longer with a hand auger, but I figure I could always use the exercise and it builds up the muscles you use when holding up those trophy fish for the camera!

A 5" hand auger will cut thru 2'+ pretty quick, except that you will want to stop and clear the chips away as you go. (Trust me, it makes cleaning the hole easier once you do punch thru.)

[Gills-only]

I remember when I was a kid we had a 8” spoon auger, drilling thru 28” ice!!  Let me tell u that was a workout, needless to say we didn’t hop around much !!

[bearnoob]

I have been doing it the last couple weeks. I have a 7" Mora. First hole is no problem for me (maybe 3 mins tops). Second one sucks, I have to take a break halfway thru, and then I am done for a bit.

I usually drill 2, set up the shanty, then go drill two more.

FYI, even with a drill conversion, ice that thick really burns up your battery power. I would recommend a dedicated auger if you can afford it and you see ice that thick year after year (I'm currently in the market for a power auger myself).

[bearnoob]

Also, this:

[MinnesotaPike]

I have a 20+ year old 6" Mora with blades  that haven't been sharpened in 2 years and I can assure you it will not take you 15 minutes. I drill a lot of holes each trip and make a lot of trips each year. The key is buying blades made in Sweden. Cheap Chinese steel doesn't hold an edge for long and I've even shattered the blades before by banging them on the ice to break off build up. The ice is getting close to 30" here and I can still pop a hole in 30 seconds to maybe a minute tops.

[SLAYERFISH]

I have a 20+ year old 6" Mora with blades  that haven't been sharpened in 2 years and I can assure you it will not take you 15 minutes. I drill a lot of holes each trip and make a lot of trips each year. The key is buying blades made in Sweden. Cheap Chinese steel doesn't hold an edge for long and I've even shattered the blades before by banging them on the ice to break off build up. The ice is getting close to 30" here and I can still pop a hole in 30 seconds to maybe a minute tops.

 
You sir, are a Mans' Man!

[ice dawg]

When I was a pup I drilled a few holes with an 8" Mora and had to finish the holes while on my knees. Later a guy came on the ice with a tractor that had a post hole auger mounted on the back. He drilled quite a few holes, fished for a while and left. I reopened his holes and fished them for the rest of the day. I caught nothing that day, but had a power auger the next year.

[fish_finder]

I used to drill 10+ holes each trip with my 6 inch auger when i was a teen thru a lot of ice. Couple years i had to spud away 6 inches of ice first so i could have enough room for thr elbow of the auger to clear. It was do able but it sucked. My uncle fished with me a lot and we had a prrmanent shack on our local lake. One day after fighting ro try n open up the holes in thr shack then being beat before even drilling our set line holes he was like y know what! Pack up we're goin into town. Straight to walmart and bought a 9" jiffy whitelightning. We must have drilled 50 holes later that day when we got back to the shack just for fun lmao. That was 12 years ago n i still have the ol jiffy. To this day best investment ever made. I still use my hand auger during first ice but once its over a foot thick then it goes back to the shed

[DR.SPECKLER]

man this world  is turning sissy.lol.we used to spud thru 2ft of ice.thats all we had.4 or 5" auger is not that hard to cut holes.8" does suck tho.we haven't had that much ice in many seasons here in Michigan.

[FlamDragger]

X2 on skipping the shanty. I picked up an Eskimo Quickfish 2i on sale two years ago, and it still hasn’t been set up on the ice. A Hardwater Striker suit is plenty for most of the days I want to be fishing. Get the electronics instead. You’ll be happy you did!

[SirCranksalot]

'Normal" people regard ice fishers as masochists----the OP is reinforcing their (uninformed) opinion.

[Badgersbunk]

I use a 5” nils and the labor isn’t too bad the only problem I run into with that deep of ice and a small hole is getting the fish started in the hole especially if it’s still pissed.

[TheManInBlack]

Back in the 90s, we did about 36 inches with an 8 inch auger on Lake Erie.  You know it is bad when the handle hits the ice and you aren't through yet.  We had to use a spud to chip through the last few inches.  It did take about 10-15 minutes each whole, and we were fishing with tip-ups.  Took about an hour-and-a-half to get all the holes drilled.  We didn't catch much, but we were too exhausted to move and start that process over!

[marknpanfish]

Back in the the 70s I was 15 and we started ice fishing, we used Mora hand auger ice was really thick that winter my uncle would give me a shot of schnapps if I drill a hole for him. I drilled quite a few holes I think I can't remember for sure for some reason it's a little fuzzy. Later that winter my uncle bought a power auger he thought that was a better idea than taking me to AAA. He's the main reason I'm still ice fishing today.

[SirCranksalot]

. I drilled quite a few holes I think I can't remember for sure for some reason it's a little fuzzy. Later that winter my uncle bought a power auger he thought that was a better idea than taking me to AAA. He's the main reason I'm still ice fishing today.

Ya---but how are you doing with the alcohol??

Re tents---we rarely use ours. We fish the Muskoka lakes. The scenery is too nice to be cooped up in a tent. (Muskoka is fairly well known. Some of the Hollywood celebs, e.g. Goldie Hawn, have bought "cottages" there. If you have a million or 2 in spare change you could get one too.  )

[marknpanfish]

I still like alcohol and power augers. Thanks for your concern.

[Iceassin]

man this world  is turning sissy.lol.we used to spud thru 2ft of ice.thats all we had.4 or 5" auger is not that hard to cut holes.8" does suck tho.we haven't had that much ice in many seasons here in Michigan.

Augers of ANY type weren't even thought of back in our day Doc.

[slipperybob]

I'm tired after 15" of ice already...I don't want to think about 30" without power...