If I can offer any piece of advice it would be to save up and buy a floating ice suite. I'm always safe and always check my way out but there is nothing that compares to having that extra piece of mind knowing if things go wrong you have help all around you.
Kinda new to the forum and ice fishing as well. Last year was my 1st season on the ice. Only fished a few ponds with cheap Wal-Mart special ice combo and hand auger to try it out. Now I'm hooked and looking forward to this year's season as I'm in the process of upgrading and accumulating better equipment. I've recently purchased eagle claw inline reel with a frabill bro series quick tip, couple tip-ups, ice chisel,and a vexilar. Possibly a cheaper shanty and sled in the near future and im sure few more rods n reels lol. Hopefully this season I can get out on some lakes and res to fish with the big boys I live kinda in the middle of new london,Willard and Shelby res. I plan on hitting these and charles mill and clearfork this season. I'll probably be asking a few dumb questions on here but I won't be trolling for your secret spots. Maybe some bait and tackle opinions with some ice reports. Thanks in advance for any and all help