The cracking is probably the water freezing. As the ice is being made it cracks because of the pressure of new ice and stress. It is explained better here http://lakeice.squarespace.com/stress-cracks/
It is still important to check the thickness of the ice the further you move out. We general set up our traps as a general radius with everything from the traps back being considered safe. We don't venture paste the traps unless we test further.
Can be a little scary, but Biggz is right. Shouldn't worry too much, as its been pretty cold. Be careful this weekend though, I think its supposed to be warm and rainy tomorrow. Definitely drill a bunch of holes, and watch out for thin ice around the shorelines.
There was only about 4" of ice on it Sunday. Maybe more now but next couple days will erase that. Was plenty safe Sunday but beware this coming weekend...
There was only about 4" of ice on it Sunday. Maybe more now but next couple days will erase that. Was plenty safe Sunday but beware this coming weekend...
Yup I wont be touching the ice east of 495 this weekend. need another 3-4 days of freezing temps before we can do that again