Gas Auger

The indispensable ice fishing auger

A recent ice fishing enthusiast would have never had a chance to fish without an ice fishing auger, but things were not the same in old times, when the fishers had to do the job by chiselling a hole in the ice to fish from. Now with the excellent, lightweight, compact and highly powerful ice fishing augers available in the market, one need not spend hours in chipping out a couple of holes to fish from.

One can choose from the innumerable ice fishing auger models available in the market depending upon the amount of use per outing. Some ice anglers may drill just a few holes in one outing unlike others who would be with a feeding school of fish. Needless to say, the more the frequency of use, the higher the power required, the more would be the fuel needed, and the greater would be the need for a fast drilling ice fishing auger.

Enlisted below are some of the various components that one should not forget to consider while choosing an ice fishing auger:

• Electric or gas powered auger

Such augers are usually easy to move across the ice as one is not required to carry a power source such as a battery. However, one would require gasoline or oil, or needs to ensure that the auger if sully powered, before leaving for the lake. One can not, however, deny that electric augers are more environment friendly, as there is no emission involved. A gas powered ice fishing auger is more powerful than the one operating with a battery, and is more efficient when cutting through ice deeper than three or four feet is required. For a thinner layer of ice, one would not notice considerable difference.

• Gear ratio

One can easily regulate the speed of the drill, with an auger offering various gear ratios, which is a critical safety feature for any auger. The easy access to the gear assembly is also an important feature, which permits proper maintenance even in a very cold weather.

• Size of the drill

Usually drills are not wider than ten inches, with most being six to eight inches. If one plans to jig or use a tip-up, the size of the ice hole will be very important. A larger drill size is usually associated with a gas powered ice fishing auger.

Options of manual ice fishing augers are also available. Such devices use a rotary shaft to help provide torque and cutting power for the auger. Usually a manual ice fishing auger is the lightest in weight and the least expensive, and in addition, also an environmentally safe option.