Modern ice angling is all about keeping on the move until you find fish. A great tactic to employ this method is to make "swiss cheese" of the ice around a known or suspected hot spot. In essence you cut 30-40 holes at varying depths and parts of the structure you are targeting. The idea is to have as many hole options as possible for when you are actually fishing. No need to go cut another hole if the hole you are fishing goes cold. Of course, this will take a specialized piece of ice fishing gear to accomplish, but luckily there is one ready made for this exact purpose.
Inherrent in this strategy is being able to cut a ton of holes in quick fashion. Nothing does this better than a gas power ice auger. Today's models are lightweight and cut fast and straight. You can employ this method with a hand ice auger or a 12V electric ice auger, but the drawbacks are real. With a hand ice auger you are likely to tire pretty fast, even with brand new blades if the ice is great than 12" thick. With an electric ice auger you need to lug around a heavy battery in order to be able to punch that many holes. It won't be easy to leave the comfy confines of your ice fishing house, but trust me once you start catching a lot more fish you will get over it!
I personally employed this method to great results last year in northern Minnesota. A buddy and I punched 30 holes at various depths and sides of a hump that ran from 35'+ up to 11' of water. By allowing for so many depth and location changes we were able to go from hole to hole and catch jumbo perch like I've never seen. As soon as a hole was cold we moved to the next depth and would catch a couple more. Have ice fishing rod, will travel. Rinse, repeat and you have the makings for a great day on the ice!
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