We have a small lake 2 miles away for perch and rainbow trout. 2 years ago it was late march with heavy snow cover. There was alot of methane gas(I think) bubbling up from the bottom. Every 4-5 seconds a big bubble(half the size of a gallon pail) would come up the fishing hole. Went back the next day and the hole was almost twice the size at the top of the ice and big below the surface. The ice was over 2 feet thick before but the bubbles had lifted enough water to eat ice like aeration. Temps were around freezing.
It was still safe to fish in but a truck driving over that hole would have put a tire through.Never know what happens in some lakes to make poor ice. Dad fell through one winter up to his armpits on our way out fishing. The ice was normally good but he stepped in a weaker boil looking spot and went through. The next weekend driving a 88 gmc regular cab long box drove over a snow drift and the back end fell in. Good thing it was only 3 feet deep. He has learned his lesson(I hope)
