Where do you usually find the thickest ice early season?

[Voltaire]

On small lakes is the best ice found North, South, East, West, bays, points, shallow water, deep water, drop offs, islands, etc. -- Where would be the best spot to check out first during first ice?

[stuck on the ice]

I allways stay in the shallow bays fishing for pickerelle. Untill the ice gets thicker. Good luck be safe.

[bassbull]

I fish about 4 our 5 lakes in my area real early. These places all have a couple of things in common. Shade on the west side of the lake so the afternoon sun doesn't hit the ice as bad. Next would be no current ,springs and have the pockets protected from the wind. Wave action will destroy thin ice in the afternoons real fast. BE SAFE AND CARRY YOUR HAND PICKS ON EARLY ICE. STEVE

[fishin mt]

Just start hitting lakes and look in the shallow areas.   Most people think lakes are unfishable early because most of the lake is open water.  But a lot of the time  im already fishing on 4-6 inches of ice in really shallow water for weeks before most people are even thinking of going.   Here I do really good fishing early in two feet of water. Good luck. The key is just grab your gear and go looking.

[DaveW731]

A few GENERAL guidelines:

Ice will form first on the southern shoreline, due to the angle of the sun.  All else being equal, the first safe ice will generally be on the south end of a given body of water.  West freezes faster than east, north freezes slowest because the north and east sides have the most time exposed to the warmest sun.

Avoid inlets/outlets.  Stillwater freezes first, moving water freezes last.

Light colored shorelines and lakebottoms freeze faster than dark-colored shorelines and lakebottoms because light absorbs less heat than dark.

Cattails and other emergent vegitation = honeycombs.  Avoid till sure that ice is safe.

The ideal early ice scenario is a light colored southern shoreline with no current and no emergent vegitation.

Of course, these are all generalizations and the different factors interact.   On my home lake for example, the south shoreline is dark muck, the west shoreline is sand.  As a result, the west shoreline is the first to freeze.

[d4ng3r3ux]

seem like a great guidline
this weekend will be my quest for ice

[tench]

Do puddles and hockey rinks count? Those are the only two places I've seen ice this year for the most part...