Northwest Reel Life March 2025 Volume 4 Issue 5 - Flipbook - Page 29
gear
drill baby drill mike
The evolution of an ice
fisherman parallels that
of other angling pursuits
in many similar ways.
There are the initial baby
steps, followed by a slow,
but steady progression
down the uneven road
of knowledge. Over
the course of time and
experimentation, the
neophyte grows in
understanding of his craft,
with the final result being a
functioning ice fisherman,
capable of venturing out
and having a modicum
of success. My journey,
I imagine, is not much
different from any others.
I’ve reached the point
where the “watch one, do
one, teach one” adage of
my nursing profession gives
me the credentials to share
a little knowledge with
readers new to ice fishing.
If you are at the beginner
and hammer. Before the
seasoned ice anglers laugh
too much – this technique
does work.
stage of ice fishing, one of
the things that may make
you scratch your head and
seek advice, are the various
options of creating a hole
in the ice to actually fish.
There’s more than one
way to drill a hole, so let’s
run down some of your
options before sinking
too much money into an
unproductive “hole”.
First, the “caveman”
approach. For this
technique, you’ll need
a hammer. Yes, you’re
reading my mind. With a
hammer, you can break
through previously drilled
holes. The advanced
hammer technique would
be to bring a large chisel
The problem is it requires
a lot of work! And finding
relatively fresh holes to
open. A variation of this
technique is to use a Spud
Bar, a full-size 6-foot pole
with a hardened blade on
the end of it. Again, it will
work and as a bonus give
you a nice cardio workout
to boot. I predict you will
quickly move up the ladder
to more refined hole drilling
methods.
Handheld augers have
several advantages for
new anglers. First and
most importantly, they
work. Second, they are an
affordable solution if you’re
on a budget or still at that
phase of deciding how
