Not everybody's into ice fishing, but for those who are, it can seem more like a religion than a pastime. Before these frozen anglers take one step onto the lake, there's an incredible amount of preparation that needs to take place to ensure a safe and entertaining time is had by all. Not only do you have to pack all necessary equipment, some of which can seriously weigh you down, but you also need to keep a cooler stocked with snacks and beverages for your long hours bent over the frozen water.
However tedious ice fishing may seem, not everything about it has to be a practice in patience. Instead of waiting around for hours to bore a hole in the ice with a traditional spud and augur, why not take a quick minute with your chainsaw to cut a hole large enough for the biggest fish in the lake? While there are a few maintenance tips you should know if you plan to use one of Husqvarna's state-of-the-art chainsaws on your next ice fishing trip, you'll be glad you switched when you're reeling in the biggest fish under the ice.
Augur vs. chainsaw
Back when people were ice fishing just to survive during the winter, they were glad to sit there with a traditional augur and grind away at the ice until they'd broken through. And while there's nothing wrong with the old-fashioned way of ice fishing, modern conveniences have made it so you can get straight to dropping the line and landing fish after fish.
Depending on the thickness of the ice, you could be stuck for hours drilling through the surface of the lake with a hand-cranked augur. Moreover, these tools can only make holes in the ice as large as their widest point, so you might need to buy differently sized models for every breed of fish you target on each fishing trip. Also, once you've drilled your hole, the augur turns into a large and cumbersome paperweight that you have to lug all the way back home.
"A chainsaw does the same thing as an augur – just quicker and with more precision."
On the other hand, a chainsaw can do the same job as an augur, but more quickly and with greater precision. With four quick cuts through the frozen surface of a body of water, you can carve out a square hole in a matter of minutes – check out this YouTube video for a quick demonstration. If you have calipers, this free chunk of ice can be pulled out of the lake or simply pushed below the surface. Because you get to determine the size of the hole every time, you can also adapt it to the kind of fish you're looking for, while at the same time keeping it below the 8- to 10-inch diameter level recommended by most safety authorities.
Take care of your chainsaw
Just because chainsaws weren't designed to cut through frozen ponds doesn't mean they can't handle the job, but you might want to take some extra maintenance precautions before and after the job to be safe.
It should be obvious that using your chainsaw in a wet environment should warrant special care. Only use electric units with sealed engines – otherwise, the blade could kick water back into the chainsaw's housing for disastrous results. Gas-powered machines like the Husqvarna 240 can do the job, but make sure you dry the blade off after use. Otherwise, you might be pulling a rusted chainsaw out of your garage the next time you need to clean up after a storm.