Ice fishing augers are perhaps the most important piece of ice fishing gear that exists. If you can’t make a hole, you can’t fish. Everything else, such as electronics, shelters, rods, reels, and tackle, comes second to cutting through the ice. And while early ice anglers once relied on spears, chisels, and brute force, these days we have augers that can cut in a matter of seconds.
Over the years, ice augers have evolved from hand augers, to gas, propane, and now electric. I’ve owned and used all four. Each style has its pros and cons. Let’s break them down.
Gimme Fuel
Propane and gasoline powered augers dominated the market for years. When they work, they work really well. The problem is that they tend to be unreliable in cold weather. They are also heavy. Beyond being hit or miss in reliability, some of the other drawbacks are the fumes when in a shanty and spilling or leaking fuel. I do not know any major brands that are releasing any new models with fuel options mainly due to those reasons.
Let’s Get Physical
Manual augers, or human-powered augers still earn have place today, even among more sophiticated models. If you’ve ever had a gas auger fail, a battery die, or realized you left fuel at home, you understand why a hand auger makes a smart backup. They’re lightweight, affordable, and mechanically simple. There’s nothing to leak, nothing to charge, and nothing that won’t start.
The tradeoff, of course, is that you are the fuel. Drilling hole after hole by hand takes effort, especially in thicker ice or when you’re hopping spots. It is a lot of work manually drilling every hole.
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The good news is that it can never be out of gas, but you can run out of energy, of course. These are recommended as a second option or if you are on a low budget.
It’s Electric!
Electric augers are the most popular choice these days. The obvious positive of this type of auger is that it has instant power without gas tanks, leaking fuel, warming up to run smoothly or having to require a lot of manual labor. Downsides I have witnessed are that they are a bit heavy and require charging the battery for long periods before being able to use. Although most brands will have good enough batteries to last all day with no issues. No fumes in a shanty, no fuel issues, and reliable and powerful ice cutting is why this option is my go-to suggestion for all ice fishermen.
Hand-drill Augers
An honorable mention of types of augers are drill mounted hand augers. They are lightweight, compact, and relatively affordable. For run-and-gun anglers or those fishing early ice, these make sense, especially when it comes to portability.
There are drawbacks to this type of auger, too. You’re putting serious strain on a tool that is not originally designed for ice drilling. Drill batteries are not designed for to be used in this way, so they do not have a whole lot of power in tougher ice and may not last all day in cold temperatures. Still, this is a popular choice because it is affordable and portable.
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Bottom Line on Augers
Just like you can’t be everyone’s cup of tea, there is no single auger that’s perfect for everyone. Budget, ice thickness, mobility, and fishing style all play a role. That said, if you can swing it, the most versatile setup is an electric auger paired with a manual backup. The main goal is to get through the ice so you can focus on fishing.
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