# Thickest ice you ever drilled?



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

2002, Strawberry: 45" 

Auger motor hit the ice just as it broke through... almost thought we weren't going to make it.

-DallanC


----------



## Catherder (Aug 2, 2008)

I know that I've drilled almost down to the motor with my power auger at Strawberry a few times. That's about 36 inches. Usually ice that thick has slush layers and a mix of snow, slush and ice on top. 

Never been on ice that was thicker than the auger however.


----------



## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

Piute Res. back in the 80's. The old blue hand auger was about an inch from the handle when it finally broke through.


----------



## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Island Reservoir up on the Grand Mesa in Colorado at 11,000' The ice was close to 8'. We had no idea of the thickness and when the power auger stopped and we ran out of depth with our only extension we wondered what to do. So I drilled a number of holes around the main hole to get the auger down lower which still didn't pop through. So we borrowed a spud from some others that were there to break through. 

After that it was fantastic fishing, this was back when the limit was 8 fish. I started off of the ice just as the sun was hitting the trees to the west, my partner needed one more fish. I was at the truck and by the time that he got to it the sun was down and the temperature had dropped just like the sun. I had to sit in the truck for a while to thaw out my coveralls to get them off. They were frozen solid from the knees down.


----------



## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

Sulphur Creek Dam Wyoming. Trying to catch Old Al in 2005. I would say a good 30" of ice anyway.


----------



## pollo70 (Aug 15, 2016)

Woodruff reservoir mid 90's gas auger handles hit the deck right before drilling threw!


----------



## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

30-40" ice is the norm for me up here from January-March (I don't count snow slush on top of the ice--if I can clear it with the shovel it ain't hard deck in my book). Thickest I've ever fished was 45"


----------



## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

I've never drilled more than about 26-30 inches. And that is pretty unusual for me.


----------



## Boi-san (Dec 2, 2014)

28 inches with a dull 8" hand auger at Strawberry. Didn't catch much that day because I didn't want to drill any more holes. Electric drill adapter is a life saver these days.


----------



## Animediniol (Sep 26, 2017)

DallanC said:


> 2002, Strawberry: 45"
> 
> Auger motor hit the ice just as it broke through... almost thought we weren't going to make it.
> 
> -DallanC


That's pretty thick!! does it take an hour?


----------



## dubob (Sep 8, 2007)

King Salmon, Alaska, 1976. Ice fished the Naknek River (tidal river) through 4 feet of ice. Temps were -20 for the day time highs and down to -52 at night. We would rotate out of a VW Microbus with a catalytic heater and fish 15 minutes at a time for a small smelt like fish. Manual auger handle would hit the ice and then we used a spud to go the last few inches. Brutal, but we were young and restless. :grin:


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I'd say 45" to 48" at Woodruff Narrows Reservoir around 1990. Had to use an auger extension that winter. Man, big fish back then, hard to get them up through the hole.

Did over 40" in Wisconsin winter of 78/79.


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

One time in the early 80s at Woodruff Narrows Res. I drilled up to the motor......into the lake bottom. There was no water, just ice on top of lake bottom. Lake was low and the snow was deep.

No one ice fished back in those days and only a few in southwest Wyoming had power augers. Most bodies of water in Utah were closed to fishing in the winter until 1985. I bought meal worms and spikes mail order from Wisconsin. No one knew what a meal worm was....maybe a few pet owners. 

In 1982 only 4 or 5 people including myself ice-fished Woodruff Narrows. All were from out of state. Boy, the ice was thick back in those days. 

I quit smoking Nov 3 1993. I remember I went ice fishing on the Narrows the following day. The ice was about 6" thick. Seems now Woodruff Narrows doesn't see 6" of ice until about Dec 5th, a month later than back in the 80s.

Thick ice back then. Those were the days.


----------



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

wyogoob said:


> One time in the early 80s at Woodruff Narrows Res. I drilled up to the motor......into the lake bottom. There was no water, just ice on top of lake bottom. Lake was low and the snow was deep.


Haha did that one year at Scofield... drilling along and after a while the chips turned brown. -O,-



> No one ice fished back in those days and only a few in southwest Wyoming had power augers. Most bodies of water in Utah were closed to fishing in the winter until 1985. I bought meal worms and spikes mail order from Wisconsin. No one knew what a meal worm was....maybe a few pet owners.
> 
> In 1982 only 4 or 5 people including myself ice-fished Woodruff Narrows. All were from out of state. Boy, the ice was thick back in those days.
> 
> ...


Sounds like alot of fun.

-DallanC


----------



## KineKilla (Jan 28, 2011)

I think it was around 24" at Viva Noughton a few years back during one of their tournaments. Hand augering 24" sucks and reminded me why I don't ice fish.

Sent from my SM-N976U using Tapatalk


----------



## Ray (May 10, 2018)

If you really want to impress me, tell me about the thinnest ice you’ve drilled through.


----------



## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Ray said:


> If you really want to impress me, tell me about the thinnest ice you've drilled through.


I may have (stupidly) fished on just under 1" of ice before. I figured it was at least 3-4" before I got on it. Once I drilled one hole I stayed and fished for about an hour since I knew it was only about 5' deep right there. Didn't catch anything though! It was pretty cool to watch them zip around under my feet. The ice and the water were both crystal clear. I would have moved and tried other spots on the lake, but I just didn't trust it.

I have zero desire to repeat or one up my personal thinnest ice experience.


----------



## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

One time I fished on 1/2”. It was sketchy while I was on the snowmobile, but once I got off and used my gas auger to drill the holes, it was fine. Actually, it wasn’t one time. It was like, every year back in the day.


----------



## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

I think I'd kind of look forward to drilling through 24" of ice now. Like Goob mentioned....Thick ice, "back in the day".


Otter creek, Fish Lake and Piute were the go to ponds we fished in the 80s. The Bows at OC were shaped like footballs. Small heads, fat and fight like hell! Very common to ice 4 trout busting the 5lb. mark. The go to bait was either minnows or plane old Velveeta Cheese.


One Band Man remembers those days....He was with us.


----------



## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

Fished 24" of ice with the kids today. Fun day action on 10-16" bows. Man I love just driving the truck out on the ice! It makes taking the kids along so much easier


----------



## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

johnnycake said:


> Fished 24" of ice with the kids today. Fun day action on 10-16" bows. Man I love just driving the truck out on the ice! It makes taking the kids along so much easier


I think I'm years from that confidence. I understand the numbers and it makes sense but I'm still not interested in driving our truck on the ice. I think it doesn't help that our truck is our only vehicle. After driving a particularly "interesting" "road" on the Boulders a few years back I've been pretty nervous about testing any new experiences with it.

Jealous of the ice up there. Found 6-8" last week on the hill but it's been so warm the last few days that I'm not sure its worth the drive tomorrow.


----------



## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

I've taken 4 wheelers and snowmobiles on the ice before, but I've never dared take a truck out. 
Was fishing Panguitch lake a few years ago and a truck pulled up next to us. Made me nervous. 
So, I moved my hole about 20 yards further away. >>O


----------



## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

I remember a guy that took a truck out on the ice up by Saratoga on Utah Lake one time way back in the mid 70's. Most of the ice in the area was a good 24" except for where he drove when he broke through. 

That was one tow bill I would of loved to of seen.


----------



## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

We used to drive our Chevy Citation out on the ice when there was only 2-3 inches all the time back in the day. A front wheel drive sleigh! It would really get crazy when the semi drivers would cruise by. 

Crazy, I know. It’s just how we used to do it back in the day. 


















(For safety purposes, everything I’ve said in this thread is made up. Don’t try this at home!)


----------



## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

I've driven my wife's old car (hyundai tucson) out on as little as 10" of good clear ice, but I like a minimum 14" for my truck. 

My favorite is when somebody drives by and it makes the water come up your holes. Almost as much pucker factor as feeling an earthquake while out in the ice.


----------



## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

Okay UrinalCake that's enough humble bragging for the night.

Not to mention I'm pretty sure it's against community guidelines to talk about water going up your holes unless you are doing a PSA about water pressure and bidets.


----------



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

My dad told me about getting out on Echo in the 1950s in a big old boat of a car on the ice. He said it took forever to get it up to speed but once you did, you could do power spins forever! Get'er up to 60 / 70 and crank the wheel... rofl.



-DallanC


----------



## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

If only Mr. Buddy would team up with Hello Tushy...

Hang on a sec, we might be on to something here


----------



## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

The biggest pucker factor I have ever had out on the ice is the time that we drilled through the ice to find about a 3' gap between the bottom of the ice and the water. They had been drawing the pond down and the ice hadn't dropped yet. 

We went ahead and fished it anyway, about 2 hours into our fishing the ice started to make all kinds of cracking an popping noises, then it dropped that 3'. Water shot out of all the holes that were drilled in it and there were people headed for the shore, including me. But then we went back out fishing once we stopped at the outhouse to clean our drawers.


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Back in Illinois we went after snapping turtles when the sloughs froze up. You'd wear waders and walk on the new ice using a spud for a walking stick. 1" of ice was perfect. The snappers would be buried in the mud, just their nostrils, sometimes an eye or two, sticking out. 

Ya break the ice up with the spud keeping the spud against the hibernating turtle's shell. When you went (uh fell) through the ice the water turned all muddy and you couldn't see the turtle anymore. Using the spud as a guide, and a crutch, you would reach down, grab the turtle's shell and pull it out of the mud. If it was a biggun you'd have to kneel down and use both hands. The half-frozen turtle would be dormant, wouldn't bite you or claw you.

Those were the days.


----------



## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Almost as fun as looking for golf balls in a pond that was full of crawdads. 

You would walk around bare footed until you felt the ball and then reach down to pick it up. Some times you would step on a crawdad and he would let you know that he was there.

The fun days of youth.


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Uh....I've gained a little weight since my turtle-hunting days. Would need about 1.25" of ice now. :smile:


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Nothing wrong with driving on the ice with a vehicle...follow the recommended thicknesses (uhh....I just waited for my buddy to go out there first.)

A bit of advice. If you've been driving on a paved highway to get to your ice fishing spot let your tires cool down before you drive out on the lake...trust me.


----------



## BearLakeFishGuy (Apr 15, 2013)

It was on Lake St. Clair, about 6 miles out, off the mouth of the Thames River on the Canadian side in 1979. Power auger with two 18” extensions. We had to stand on top of the snowmobile seat to get the home started. Broke through with about 6” of shaft showing. Took 15 min of dipping to get out all the slush. Fishing for perch was incredible and we even caught a couple of walleyes. I’ll never, ever forget that trip. I was with my dad and uncle. I still remember looking down the hole and seeing the spirals from the auger as Farr as you could see.


----------



## bowdude (Aug 11, 2019)

30 inches with my new Eskimo auger about 6 years ago at Renegade Bay, Strawberry. Here is a link to the actual event.


----------



## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

bowdude is the only one of us being honest here! Pics/vids or it didn’t happen. :grin:


----------



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

You kidding? Goob used up half the websites hard drive space with his Eskimo reports 'back in da day'

He was right though, I LOVE my eskimo.


-DallanC


----------

