How Does an Ice Fishing Auger Work?

Ice auger basics

Ice augers are a most essential piece of ice fishing equipment as they enable anglers to cut holes in the ice through which to fish. Manual ice augers resemble a large drill but they have two blades on the end that chew into the ice when the auger is turned. Power augers fueled by gas or electricity are much easier to use but also heavier and harder to lug across the ice when ice fishing. The blades on ice fishing augers need to be kept sharp for the ice auger to work properly and efficiently. These blades can be brought to be sharpened once they have become dulled by the ice. Ice auger blades can be removed with an allen wrench, carefully removing the two screws that keep them in place. The auger must also be set to the correct height for the user to be able to comfortably use the tool. Manual ice augers have a screw on the handle that can be adjusted. The handle can be set to enable the auger to be different heights. An ice auger should be no higher than the user's underarm when the blades are resting on the ice.

Manual ice auger
The fastest and most efficient way to cut a hole with a manual ice auger is to rest the blades on the ice and to press down on the top knob of the handle with one arm close to the right shoulder if the person is right-handed and the left arm if the individual is left-handed. Pressing down on the handle knob and holding it in a fixed position while using the other hand to turn the ice auger clockwise will cause the blades to begin to cut into the surface of the ice. It is essential to apply steady pressure downwards, getting "on top" of the auger with the shoulder while keeping the handle turning. An ice auger that is properly maintained will cut through ice at a rate of one inch for every two turns of the handle. It is vital to keep the auger straight during this process as to angle it will make the hole crooked and make it difficult to turn the handle. It will take approximately ten turns of the handle to cut through four to five inches of ice and considerably more when the ice is thicker. Once the auger punches through the ice into the water it should be pushed through the hole a short distance and then carefully removed.

Power ice auger
Gas or electric augers will cut a hole with minimum effort. Gas augers require a special mixture of gas and oil and most possess either two or three horsepower motors. Electric augers are powered by 12 volt batteries that can be recharged, with it prudent to carry more than one fresh battery when fishing for any length of time. Once started gas and electric ice fishing augers have blades that will spin rapidly and quickly carve through the ice. The handles allow a person to maintain control of the auger and guide it downwards through the ice. The benefits of a power auger are the speed through which they cut through the ice, allowing an angler to cut many holes without having to physically exert themselves as much as with a manual auger. The manual augers however are much lighter and easy to carry, require no fuel, and can be transported in a car with no problem.