Chopping hole with Axe!!!!!!!!!!

[Gills-only]

  I remember my dad telling of chopping a hole to fish in with a axe.  Start on your knee's with a hole 2' @ top and end up with a 6" hole @ bottom of hole, thru 2 ft of ice soaking wet.  I guess we don't know how good we have it, I would definitly fish the same hole all day!  And carry the wooden box to set on to boot.   Anyone remember this??

[gbrebory]

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH A dont make get the pick axe out and show you how its done...... 2 years ago before i bought an auger this is how i did it...... guess im gonna have to get a video as proof... although there are prolly a few guys on here that have seen me bring a pick axe on the ice

[C P]

Brebs I witnessed it. Whose going to mess with a guy with a pick axe!

[swampbuckster]

I've chopped through 6 to 8 inches of ice when I was younger. I couldn't use an auger on my own (Dad never replaced his auger blades!) So if I wanted to move around, that was my only option, we didn't have a spud for quite some time. It really makes you respect the finer tools of the trade such as power augers and chainsaws!!

[Spawnwalker]

I've seen a few people start cutting a hole with an axe, but went and drilled some holes for them. If someone is that determined to go ice fishing they would appreciate it.

[UP jigstick]

Well I used a hatchet once, as a teenager, to chop holes for fishing. The key word here being, once.

[abishop]

Bad thing, by the time you get thru you scared away all the fish.

[419Ryan]

All I've got is a spud to break through the ice. And most of the time I'm soaking wet from the knees down after chopping a few holes. I've been out before and had guys offer me the use of their augers, Id like to think its because they don't want to watch somebody passout from exhaustion on the ice. But I'm starting to think they just didn't want me scaring all of the fish away. Either way you guys and ur fancy talk about power augers and chainsaws has me dreaming of the finer things. Haha like a vex or marcum..

[swampbuckster]

All I've got is a spud to break through the ice. And most of the time I'm soaking wet from the knees down after chopping a few holes. I've been out before and had guys offer me the use of their augers, Id like to think its because they don't want to watch somebody passout from exhaustion on the ice. But I'm starting to think they just didn't want me scaring all of the fish away. Either way you guys and ur fancy talk about power augers and chainsaws has me dreaming of the finer things. Haha like a vex or marcum..

Hahaha. I do enjoy spudding when the ice is 4" or less. You hafta always point the angled portion of the spud AWAY from you when chopping. Or move around the hole with it away from you. You'll stay a lot drier that way!

[marcus]

ryan my first few years fishing in NH all we had was a spud bar to make holes. We fished tip-ups so for 2 of us that is quite a few holes , luckily my buddy was very ox-ish and seemed to enjoy showing off. The ice in NH would easily top 18" every year (they dont get the snow we do around the lakes). I now have a power auger  and no ice to cut with it.

[tip ups]

over 40 yrs. ago my Grandfather always used a hatchet and sit on the steel bucket he used in the mornings for milken the cows.  Talk about a wet and  cold  kid ,can't BELIVE still like to fish.. and the bait was stail Bread and still got fish off it!!

[dgb]

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA dont make get the pick axe out and show you how its done...... 2 years ago before i bought an auger this is how i did it...... guess im gonna have to get a video as proof... although there are prolly a few guys on here that have seen me bring a pick axe on the ice

Where you that guy a couple years ago when I was killin the smelt just under the ice and some one started chopping holes and sent them to the other side of the lake....lol Just bustin your chops buddy. I offered him that i would drill as many holes that we wanted if he would just stop choppin!

[gbrebory]

lol nope not me... i showed up to a tipsico gathering a few years ago with mine..... before i got a chance to take one whack thor was there with his big 10 ich power auger ready to bore some holes....lol

[Fishurman63]

If that guy with the axe would split my woodpile I'll drill holes for him all winter!!!!!  Years ago I used an axe myself...then moved up to a spud till that was lost thru the ice by a bud helping out.....then we snuck out the garage with Dad's mini-mac chainsaw to open the spearing hole, we just didn't use oil for the chain was all. And nowaday is gas auger unless the ice is too thin them my fat butt stays home, LOL.  Amazing just how far ice fishing has progressed over the years!   

[chimo]

I've made the ax -> Spud -> auger transition myself    Never chopped a hole through much more than 6 or 8 inches of ice although I have spudded through 14 or so inches.  The Fin-bore III is quite an improvement over those days 

Chimo

[DaveSS1]

I remember when I was young, we had a cottage on a lake and the only thing we had to cut the ice was a somewhat dull swedish spoon auger and a small axe that always stayed at the cottage.  The older gents got to use the auger and us kids got stuck with the axe!  I can remember chopping through over a foot of ice and would be lucky if we chopped 3 holes in a day per person.  Now I always have a spud, power auger and a back-up hand auger in my truck just in case.