# fun with colored electrical tape



## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

OK, so maybe this will work, maybe it will but wont last, time will tell. Id been thinking about trying something like this since last season. 

This is my auger with the colored tape i put on it from afar:


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

This is the ice thickness measuring area. Ice thickness is measured by first drilling the hole, allowing the auger fins to drop below the ice, then holding the auger adjacent to the hole side, and making sure to pull up on the auger while keeping the highest point of the fin under the ice. And last by kicking the ice chips and snow away and reading the thickness.


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

As you can see in the pic, the tape is 1/2" thick on 1" centers, so each space is also exactly 1/2". The whole inches are in the center of the colored tapes, half inches are in the center of the bare areas, and 1/4" measurements are made on either edge of the colored tape. So the scale would measure from 3/4" to 15 1/4" to the nearest 1/4". (I know its not that exact and accurate but its pretty close)

The black line on the tape that you see in the last 2 pics points to the highest point of the auger fin (the "zero" inches reading) which is important because that is what all the measurements are based on. The measurement would be off if this "highest" point of the fin was not under the ice.

OK Maybe Im just bored and waiting for ice!!!   

5 colored pack of tape was bought at Home Depot for about 3.50.

Good fishing


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## atrkyhntr (May 31, 2004)

GREAT idea!!
Let us know how long the tape last...


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

OK, I will and thanks for the compliment. If anyone wants to try it, feel free....Im sure someone probably has already thought of this before but Ive never seen it....I never really had a good way to measure the ice and this way theres no measuring tool to lug around or forget to bring. And it should be plenty accurate. I was thinking for a good measurement to put my thumb on the auger stem at the top of the ice and raising it up to get a good look at where my thumb would rest on the scale.

I just hope it lasts and the tape doesnt start to unravel from the cold and water.

And it will be an easier way to measure panfish. Much simpler than using a tape measure. just put the fish's nose on the auger fin at its highest point and measure.


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## KSUFLASH (Apr 14, 2004)

sounds like someone is wanting hard water really bad right now...haha.....great idea on the auger...

flash---------------------------------out


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## mrfishohio (Apr 5, 2004)

If push comes to shove & the tape wears off, you could always use paint & masking tape. Mask off where you don't want paint & use the paint just like you have the tape. Use 1/2" tape as that is what your spacing is.


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## mrfishohio (Apr 5, 2004)

Then again, I've seen stick on tape measures, you stick them on your boat, or an oar, etc. Those might work too. Ingenious idea you got there !! Congrats !


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## chaunc (Apr 11, 2004)

Sounds like a good way to keep busy, if you dont hunt or fish in the fall. I already have a ruler on my scoop. Its 16 inches and has a hooked handle to make it easier to hold in the cold. Its 5" diameter. Found it on the fishusa website. Dont remember what it cost. I figured it would serve two purposes and take up one space.


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## maumeemoon (Jun 1, 2004)

If you have doubts about the tape holding up to the water & ice, you could try sealing it with a two-part clear epoxy, or some other type of "tough" sealant. Let use know how it works when the ice gets that far, Intresting idea!


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

thanks for the ideas and comments guys.


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

peple of the perch recognized it out on Ladue last winter, thats how i met him and his dad.

the tape held up very well, i was impressed. just a minor tad of fraying, nothing even worth bothering with. and it was very convenient, it worked out a lot better than i thought. cause if you imagine it, when you drill a hole and your auger goes through, just hold it up against of the side of the hole and look at it. it doesnt get any easier than that.

it worked best when augering in areas where i wasnt already confident in the ice. for example i drilled a hole and only had about 2" last year. its fast and i got out of there.

or, 6" here, 6.5" here, 9" here? wow.... 6" here.... it just helped me get a feel for the ice as a whole instead of how is the ice in ONE hole.....i knew exactly how the ice was in EVERY hole.

not that it really matters all THAT much.  

i think the thickest ice i saw last year was around 10" around the islands at mogadore.


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