I was on some of the Indian Lakes yesterday and know one there on either lake , I never go without a spud , and only the shore line was bad , with the snow on the ice makes it reflective , but water soaking in is a factor , there was 14" of hard ice where I was and 16" on the other with 3-4" of mush on top ,use common sense and a fishing partner doesn't hurt either , and last year coach and I were on Cas. Lake and the ice was unsafe in multiple spots and that was what guys said must be safe , there are guys out there and I had found several spots that the spud went through with 1 strike and these guys had no spud , just plodded across the ice totaly clueless of what they were walking on , people on ice doesn't always mean it's safe