Hand auger or spud

[Tattoo Mike]

Was just wondering what you all thought was better. Have heard that a lot of people would rather spud through 6" of ice than to auger it. But I have also heard that spuds make more noise to the fish, even than a power auger. I personally use an 8" auger which I know can cause some seriouslt sore arms after 20 holes.

[northern_outdoorsman]

Auger PLEASE! I hate hearing..."Plunk...Plunk...plunk..."...LOL

[The Whale]

Please do NOT spud any friggin' holes by me ! Wham, ...Wham,...Wham,....on the ice, fish are hauling a@@ outta there for a while.

I've got a 6" Lazer hand auger and after 20 holes I need to take a smoke break. Ha,Ha,Ha. No sweat in ice up to a foot or so, piece of cake. after that, lemme at a gas auger. Don't think I'll have to worry about that kind of ice this year though. Just can't believe the difference that Lazer makes compared to a regular Mora style hand auger.

Whale :D

[Houghton laker]

Whenever the ice is 6in or less and I haven't fished the area in question I always bring my speedy spud... I can throw it while I am walking out to keep a close track of ice conditions !! every throw takes about a three inch chip !! but if I've fished the area and know it is good ice then I use my Lazer Auger !

[1sh0t]

watched and laughed as guys were spuding around us :D but i would rather drill 20 holes then spud 20
;)

[treehunter2]

:rolleyes: 5o hp 24" liquid cool , gas power, that the one for me :D

[StumpJumper]

I've whacked a thousand holes in the ice and caught fish right off the bat. The walleye in the pic I posted here was caught in 6' of water within 20 seconds of me spudding the hole. No matter how dull my spud is it will still cut a hole!

If a spud scares them, so will an auger!

[The Whale]

Stumpjumper,......with all due respect.....Get A Clue !!!


Whale :rolleyes:

[Joe'sCat]

I'm not convinced a power auger is the loudest way to punch a hole in the ice, as far as the fish are concerned. A spud definitely is.

A hand auger and power auger effectively do the same thing, except the hand auger shaves the ice, a power augers blade is more toothed. Sure, the engine makes a lot more noise, but it's up above the ice - it sounds much louder to us, but does all that noise get transmitted to the fish? Certainly not all of it, probably not most of it.
A power auger makes a quicker hole, so maybe it's shorter duration makes up for its possibly louder effect.

Anyway, ask any of these guys with cameras - they just might tell you they have watched the fish with these goings on, and they didn't seem spooked?

[chad 1]

Boy people troll with there boats "they have gas motors unless you paddle really fast" and that don't seem to scare fish.
It a gas auger for me. chad1

[Moron]

Until I'm sure the ice is thich enough for safety, I'll carry my spud. After that it's the power auger.
I've never had any problem pulling fish from a freshly spudded hole. The only time I feel the fish get spooked is if the water is less then 2-3 feet deep, then they'll probably be somewhat spooked no matter what you stick through the ice. And even then curiousity will probably bring them back in.

[roger23]

I ice fished many years with only a spud if they had augers, I did not know about them and when they did come out I could not afford one, We cought a lot of fish , it even seemed like fun did not have to have all the TOYS, seems like the sound many times would attract the fish , If a snowmobiler would stop by it would attract fish, I got to the point of getting on mine and just running around a couple times , Now I have all the toys ,No ice at least safe enough ice to drag all my toys out on , have to stay close and catch Gills,;)

[CreekChub]

MYself, I use all 3....spud, to check first ice, hand auger for ice 6" and under...and when the ice is thicker then 6" it's the power auger.....but this year I don't think I will need that, need to get it worked on any ways...seems the clutch is locked up, has any one worked on a problem like this?????? :-{ )

[Joe Archer]

With winters like we are having this year, or whenever ice conditions are questionable I take my spud. When the ice is over 6 inches and I am sure of an area I would much rather use an auger. I believe it is much more quiet and much easier to create a hole to fish from. All that said, I am still using my spud this year and have been having extremely good fortunre. <----<<<

[StumpJumper]

Get a clue? Well you can think what you want, but I don't ever have a problem with catching fish the minute after I spud a hole. If I don't then they're not biting.

I don't spud when there's more than 5 or 6 inches. Then it gets to the point where an auger is quicker. But If there's less a spud is the best.

Try augering out your hole from two days ago and see how it works. I don't have that problem, and moving your hole a foot over can be the difference between a few and a limit.

Whale, with all due respect, If you keep sitting at that hole you haven't caught a fish out of for two hours, you probably aren't going to catch any! Try moving around a little, you might catch some!:D

[MOMS]

i have a 6" laser auger. it works well for me! no too heavy, and cuts holes well.

[Ruler]

Call me old fashioned, but I use a spud exclusively. First off, I find a spud easier to carry; use it was a walking staff. An auger is more off balance and a pain in the you-know-where to haul out. (I don't have an ATV or snow machine. :( ) I have been fishing in the dead of winter- 20 degrees was the warmest day for 2 weeks- and was walking around when the spud popped right through. There was about an inch and a half of ice; current had eaten away at the ice. I wouldn't normally balk at walking on that much ice, but the water was 25-30 feet deep and a 3/4 ounce cleo went down at a 60 degree angle. :eek:

I don't think the chopping noise affects them too much, even in shallow water. A couple of weeks ago, I made a hole about 10' from my father who was catching perch in about 2 feet of water. He never quit catching fish and I started getting em the instant I dropped my line in. Getting the job done fast is a key factor. Extreme shallow water makes the fish sensative to noise from what I've seen.

Something else that nobody's mentioned is the shape of the hole. My father taught me many moons ago that if you use an auger hole, clean it up first. Make it a little oblong, as you can usually use both poles in one hole. Also, most importantly, flare the bottom! I can't tell you how many fish I've seen get off when I was lazy and didn't flare the bottom edge. Either the fish hits the bottom of the ice and gets off or the other hook snags the ice and the fish gets off. (I VERY rarely use barbs on hooks when ice fishing for perch; they just slow me down when they're in the hole. Down side to that is when the upwards pressure is gone, so is the fish.)

Just my $.02 on the subject.