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Usually its my dad and I, sometimes one other person. Dad isnt as mobile as me, so when i find fish, i usually put him on it. We also can fish 5 lines each. I use an Ice Gator, and Id say on Average, I probably pop 50 holes or so. We fish perch and walleye. Also, last year, the thickest Ice we had was around 8-109 inches, and that was right at the end of the season. Most of the year, we were on 4-6 inches of ice.
Some lakes I know exactly where to go for pike or panfish…thank you GPS…and I only have to drill 2 holes (Michigan only allows 2 lines per man) and will kill them all day. Last season I landed 52 pike in a weekend and only cut about 6 holes. Caught my limit in perch with only cutting 2 holes on another outing as well. Other lakes I will end up chasing the fish and will drill 30-40 in a day. If I am fishing a lake for the first time, I just expect to have to try about 40 holes before landing a fish. Mostly looking for good weed cover and depth. My usual rule is 15 minutes on a new lake or new spot without a fish and I move (45 minutes if the ice is really thick or the weather is nasty). I use a 7” hand auger, but I am planning on buying the 8” Jiffy pro4 before the season starts. I don’t know if having a power auger up my drilling or not…200-250 holes in a day sounds like a ton, but if you have 6-10 guys with you and have to look for the fish, this sounds about right to me.
Isn't MI 3 lines per man? If its not all of us have been breaking the law for a long long time.
Just looked on dnr site it is three for sure! More lines means more fish for you guys.
200-250 holes in one hole day of fishing?If I counted all of the holes made by other fisherman, on the lakes I fish, they would not add up to that many holes the entire season.
Nothing wrong with drilling a ton of holes, just don't get mad if people use them, it comes with the territory.