Battery Ice Augers, specifically drills haven’t truly popularized until recent years. In this video, Ryan Wilson talks about the history of drills on the tournament scene and how he chooses/utilizes these tools.

In the last ten years electric drills for ice fishing have become increasingly popular. They are lightweight, easy to use, and require little maintenance.

One big reason I like them is because of how easy it is to be mobile and scout with an underwater camera. We do a lot of camera work and I run an Aqua Vu Micro and what’s super nice is I can carry this electric drill and camera all over the place and drill and look as I go. The lightweight and fast drill allow me to be more efficient on the ice.

I’ve decided to run Milwaukee drills, specifically the M18 Fuel for a few reasons. This has a brushless motor and that’s key because we’ve had brushed motors in the past and the brushed motors would burn up the brushes and you would find yourself replacing drills every other year to every year depending on use.

When you go to select a drill what you want to look for is the torque specs. There are models that’ll be very similar in size and speed, but they won’t have the same torque and that’s gonna be your most important number on the drill.

The Milwaukee M18 fuel we are running is at 1200 inch pounds of torque. I’m using that as kind of as a standard benchmark. I really wouldn’t want a drill with less because you are going to have issues cutting. I know that our old drills were around 725 pounds of torque and they worked but there’s a very noticeable difference.

I’ve seen some drills that can turn down the speed. If the drill has can turn down the speed you won’t need as much torque.

If you are looking to improve your ice efficiency and lighten up your gear I’d consider an electric grill auger.