How to Use a Hand Ice Auger to Drill Holes

Hand ice augers are inexpensive

Each winter, throngs of ice fishermen flock to frozen lakes and ponds to fish, drilling holes in the ice with their augers to set up their tip-ups. One thing that keeps many prospective ice fishermen from trying the sport is their misconception that they need to invest in an expensive gas or electric ice auger. However, they can have as much success as a veteran ice angler by using a hand ice auger, at a fraction of the cost.

Instructions

1. Make sure the blades are sharp! A new hand ice auger will come with very sharp blades and nothing is more important to being able to easily cut holes in the ice than keeping them that way. After using your hand ice auger for a few outings you will notice that it is getting more difficult to drill holes. Remove the blades carefully with an Allen wrench and bring them to be sharpened. When you put them back, make sure you have them going in the correct direction.

2. Choose the spot to drill a hole. Clear the area of any snow if the ice is blanketed with it. A snow shovel should do the job, cleaning a 3-foot by 3-foot area. Spread your feet shoulder width apart. Remove the blade guard from the ice auger and put it where won’t get lost. Place the ice auger on the ice a few inches from your right foot at what would be 10 o’clock if your foot was the center of the clock. If you do not have good traction you will have a terribly hard time drilling your hole, so wear boots with ice cleats.

3. Adjust the handle height. Your hand ice auger has an adjustable handle that makes it possible for you to have it at just the right height for you to drill with no problems. The best height for it to be set at is one that enables you to place the blade on the ice, lean over just a bit and have the rotating half-disc handle top right under your right shoulder. If you have to bend down too much to fit the top under your shoulder, or stand on your tiptoes to do it, adjust the height by removing the screw in the handle and putting it at the proper position before reinserting and tightening the screw. Be sure the screw is quite snug, or you will lose the blades to your ice auger once you cut through the ice!

4. Lean on the handle top, with the blades at 10 o’clock from your right foot and the top of the handle under your right shoulder, holding it with your right hand. Take your left hand and grab the black grips on the handle. Apply steady pressure with your right shoulder as you begin to strongly turn the handle with your left hand in a clockwise direction. The pressure you put on the handle top will push the blades downwards; the turning of the handle will cause them to cut into the ice.

5. Keep applying pressure as you turn the handle of the ice auger. Make sure that the hole is going straight into the ice and not at an angle. Ice chips will be coming up from the hole, making it slippery, so be careful if you have to move your feet. Depending on how thick the ice and how sharp your ice auger blades are, it should take between 23 and 25 full turns of the auger to go through a foot of ice. It is vital that you don’t stop turning the handle. Keep your left elbow away from your body as you turn. Constant pressure on the top handle with your hand and shoulder is the key to cutting through the ice quickly and cleanly.

6. Push the hand ice auger down all the way into the hole past the blades once you break through the ice, and then pull it out. Cold water and ice chips will come flying out when you remove the blades from the hole. It will be very slippery around the hole so be careful. The entire process to drill one hole should take less than 30 seconds once you become adept at it. If the ice is extremely thick you may have to take a break and then continue drilling, or have a partner take over. There are extension handles available in places where the ice reaches a thickness of well over 2 feet.

7. Place the auger on the ice with the sharp blades facing away from you once the hole is complete. Always be aware where the auger is, as most ice fishing accidents involve this tool. Ladle out the ice chunks and chips from the hole, throwing them away from the hole so that you won’t slip on them later. When the hole is devoid of ice, move on to the next one.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep count of how many rotations of the blades are necessary to cut through the ice. That way you will know when you are almost through and can brace yourself for that last push as you complete subsequent holes.

• Never go out onto the ice unless you know how thick it is. Ask other ice fishermen nearby, drill test holes very close to shore, or chop through ice close to shore with an ice spud--a long metal rod with a sharp blade.