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Went to Pineview saturday morning. I was supposed to meet some friends on the ice at 7 but slept in and didn't make it until 8:30. They only had about 8 perch between the two of them but they were good size. We stayed until around 12 and probably iced around 20 using genz glow worms and rat finkey's. They had to get home, but I had the kitchen pass and was determined to use it.[cool]
I was thinking about hitting Lost Creek, but with the reports coming out of East Canyon I decided to head there. I couldn't believe the number of people on the ice. My usual spot was packed, so I headed over to the Taylor Hollow area. I stayed until 4:30 and only iced 4 bows, the last one a fat 16 incher. I was using white whattacrickets and meal worms.
It wasn't the greatest fishing, but it sure was nice to get out on the ice and out of the muck in the valley.
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Thanks for posting your report, sounds like East canyon is still a little slow. How thick was the ice at EC? WH2
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The ice at East Canyon is at least 10" thick if not closer to a foot. Does anyone know why my old Mora hand auger would not drill straight down into the ice? It was working fine for me at Pineview, but at East Canyon when I was drilling my holes it was wandering around and made my 8" hole more like 10". It just didn't seem to bite into the ice like it usually does. Has anyone else had this problem? I am pretty confidant that it didn't get banged around. I am curious because after moving around a couple times and drilling a hole for the finder and two for the poles, my arms are sore.
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Make sure that the blades are tight.
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I've had that same problem lately - it seems like that certain ice just is more difficult to cut! I always thought all ice was all the same but my auger says differently. Maybe I should check to make sure everything is tight and in the right place but it seemed like everything was in the right condition last time I checked. How much do you think the blade sharpness could do with it?
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I think that blade sharpness has a lot to do with the way the auger cuts. I have had similar problems in the past with dull blades.
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Jachsonman is right about ice being different, that very clear ice without any air bubbles can be tough to cut but it is usually because the blades are a little dull. They will cut OK on certain ice but other ice will be tough to cut. How old are your blades? WH2
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I bought mine used in Dec and the blades worked fine up at Scofield and in Idaho but it was horrible at Pineview! I might need some new blades or sharpen the ones that I have but I am interested in buying a used or cheaper new gas auger!
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Once the ice gets thicker than 7 or 8 inches, it sure is nice to have a gas auger, especially if you are moving around drilling a lot of holes. The old shoulders sure feel the burn after a few holes through that thick ice.[unsure]
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Yes you guys are right on the money......ice texture is different contingent upon air temp, whether it has been warmed and refrozen.....etc. I prefer cold "crispy" clear ice. But that's cause i gave up on my strikemaster lazer a long time ago. Had the same problems as mentioned. I now prefer the ice chisel. When that ice is a certain dry texture, it fractures easily. When ice is watery though, or warmed and refrozen several times......10 inches becomes similar to chipping a concrete wall. But ten inches of the cold, dry ice fractures easily and is a breeze to chisel. Power auger are good with thick ice of course......that's a no brainer. But two drawbacks......one.....I hate lugging the heavy thing around. Two, in shallow water like Mantua.....it spooks fish. Can also spook trout suspended high in deep water. Put a rope on those chisels though......it is easy to slip down the hole even when clenching it for dear life. lol. Or bring a gigantic magnet with you with a 50 foot rope.[  ]
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[cool][#0000ff]If you think power augers are bad for spooking fish, you should drop a camera down the hole next time you have a hot school of fish going and see how they react when someone starts thumping on the ice with a chisel.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have had more than one hot bite shut down when somebody "joined" me and beat holes in the ice with a chisel. And, I have watched fish react to both power augers and chisels. They both affect fish for a while, but they usually return if there was a reason (food) for them to be there.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Many of us have also had the experience of catching fish on the first drops after drilling/chipping holes and then have the fish move off afterwards. Sometimes the commotion actually seems to bring fish in to see what the heck is going on.[/#0000ff]
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Jacksonman, If you get a power auger make sure you get one that has a chipper blade vs. the solid blade like the hand augers have. My jiffy has a single chipper with a center point. This style cuts in all types of ice and is the only one that I have had success in sharpening. Every sharpening is like making it brand new. I think there are some augers that don`t come with a chipper style but I heard that some auger manuf. sell one that fit them. If you try a chipper style you will wonder why you ever had any thing else. Good luck. Fish On.
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i personaly dont know what the big deal is i have a barracuda 2 horse that goes clear to the motor at strawberry last year like a raped ape fire it up and hang on.
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I saw two different anglers cutting holes in the ice with picks at American Fork Boat Harbor. I can only imagine how much hitting the ice with a pick frightens the fish in shallow water. And when I was packing my gear in the Suburban to head home on Saturday two anglers were headed to the ice with an axe.
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Got an aquaview for an x mas present...it's been fun. Some fish eat the camera....lol. You are right about the vibrations from pounding a chisel in spooking fish too. But hey at least there's no whirling current and the end of an auger to stir the water up....lol....[ ]. You may be right about sometimes attracting fish with the vibrations vs just spooking them. However, I never found any negative results from the pounding though, I don't know why. Just personal observation. Often I pound away at 15 inches of ice late in the season at Mantua.......and if I'm in the right spot........as soon as I drop the ice fly in......it's inhaled. And this continues.....many times if I get lucky it's the only hole I have to pound.......but of course most times you have to pound out quite a few. The same has always occurred with diverse species and waters.....white bass at utah l, wiper at willard, perch and gills and crappie, trout. Even in only 2 ft of water! I thought for sure it would spook the living daylights out of fish in water that shallow. For some weird reason it just hasn't been the case. I guess it all just depends......lol.
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[cool][#0000ff]I think we are on the same page. Sometimes the fish are spooky and other times they are active and inquisitive...just like people (only better eating). [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In the final analysis, one's choice of assault weapons (augers or chisels) becomes a matter of personal preference. When the fishing is good, we take credit for our successes. When the fishing is bad, we blame the bozos next to us who are using something different and spooking OUR fish. It could never possibly be our fault.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Kinda like the moon phases, barometric conditions, spawning activities, light levels, water temperature and clarity and all those other escuses we develop over the years to explain why we come home smelling like skunk instead of fish.[/#0000ff]
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I went up to Pineview on Saturday with Fishnpro40. The group of 6 caught a total of 5 perch. I did not get a single bite. The bites the group had were very light and far inbetween.
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Exactly!!! 
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you mean i could blame all them things for a bad fishing day? man i thought it was just becuse i suck at fishing.. lol
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I went and got some new blades for the auger last night, I think that dull blades were probably my problem. Unfortunately, I don't think I will get to try them out this weekend. Congratulations on the new gas auger Jacksonman, let us know how it works.
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