<font color="blue">Larry, Be careful as the ice will not be the same thickness on the whole pond. It will be thinner on the edges, and snow cover insulates and will not allow the ice to get as thick. </font>
In general, I agree with you, with exceptions. The lakes we fish on are usually open water or very thin ice in the center and very thick on the edges. It also can depend on wind, shelter, water depth, color of the bottom(black bottoms in shallow water warm quicker than light bottoms) and the local goose population. Geese like to keep water open and large flocks can keep the center of a large pond open long after the edges have frozen solid. The centers of these lakes also open up sooner. And don't forget about springs. Stay away from high banks, too. The water pressure in the ground in a high bank tends to push ground water up under the ice. Ground water is alway warmer and weakens the ice. Around here the ground water is in the mid 50s year round.
And like you said, snow cover is a huge factor. Best to test the thickness often. It is nothing for me to drill 20 holes before I even start fishing when testing ice. I get more confident as I frequent a lake through the season. However, if the weather changes, we get a warm spell or snow, I check it all over again as I go.
If I owned a pond and wanted to skate on it, I'd invest in a decent ice auger. They can be had for under $40.00. I can drill through about 10" of solid ice in about 8 to 10 seconds with my Mora. Cheap insurance. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
