Is it time to go electric?
The short answer, in my opinion, is yes. There are advantages to a gas auger, especially for people that have a habit of drilling many, many holes, especially if these people are drilling many, many holes, through thick ice, using a big 10 inch flight. That sucks up a load of energy. So the big advantage of a gas auger is having a never ending supply of power so long as you have fuel in the tank. People chasing perch with a need to drill a lot of holes, and people chasing lake trout where deep ice, and the need to run and gun at places like Cold Lake are situations that come to mind. These are good situations to use a gas auger.
Getting to work in the early morning light.
But, this is not my everyday sort of fishing trip. Most times I am hunting for trout, or chasing pike and walleye at my local lakes. In this scenario, the electric is king. It’s easy to knock down 20 or so holes and be set for the day’s fishing. The electric is much quieter, which is really nice on my ears, and electrics are light. I mean really light. They are almost half the weight of their gas auger counterparts. It makes augering holes a breeze. There are a lot of electrics on the market and I certainly cannot speak to them all. But here is what I experienced.
A quality electric makes for a lot of fun days!
I have owned an Ion electric auger for almost 10 years and it has served me exceptionally well. One of my friends has the Strikemaster equivalent, and it too works exceptionally well. I’m impressed with both. There are other electric options out there, and I’m sure the staff at the Fishin’ Hole have good advice. My recommendation is to check them out, hear what the staff have to say, and pick the one that feels right for you. It will change the way you look at ice augers.
The result.