What's with all the southerners hating the ice? Have you ever seen a frozen lake?
I've ice fished quite a bit, and never had a problem. You just need to make sure you know where you're going, keep a close eye out for anything different. (it doesn't hurt to talk with the locals either) Anyway, ice can be fairly safe. There have been years that I've had to drill through ice 5 feet deep (lots of fun btw). Now there are some very idotic people around here who drive with less then 6 inches, (somtimes even near 1 inch.) There is always an article or news story regarding these idiotic people.
You should see some of the lakes up here, there are friggn mobile homes one them.
Ever seen the ice highways up in Canada? These are used by semis to haul heavy items that can't be airlifted to remote areas in the arctic, They lose a few trucks every year but evidently it's not dangerous enough to lose profitability.
