I enjoyed ice fishing as a young kid child. My uncles would take me out to the big lake and get me jigging for wallys. As I grew up it waned and tapered off and I hardly even went shore fishing in the summer. Fast forward to the Friday before Labor Day 2015. I was driving excessively fast towards my hometown after finding out my dad had just been in an accident on his  motorcycle and they didn't know his condition at the time. After skin grafts, a wound vac, and renal failure in the ER, he finally recovered. I saw something change in my dad. After years of being up all night working just to pull a double or go back to work after four hours of sleep, he was finally taking a break. I know this wasn't the most subtle of ways to initiate a break but it is what it is. Summer of 2015 after being cleared to go back to work, he bought a boat and we stared to fish. Summer fishing was cool and all but dad has always had a interest in going ice fishing. He purchased an Eskimo porable/Auger package, a heater, and some other gear and set out. It has been by far some of the most fun we have had in years. I'm 24 years old and every single fish I caught, my dad made me step out in the sun and take a picture like it was my first fish and I was six years old again. Honestly, I think I'm cool with that. As long as he's happy.

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So! Now that I have sapped you up, here's some questions

Big lakes or small
Flasher brand
Favorite lure
Permanent or portable

Tell me what equipment you like and the good times that go with it

New Johns and permanent.

Or Marina bay bucket and rod.


Wish I lived across the street from my house then it would be tip up in the bay.  

I like my lp powered jiffy auger, showdown flasher, n gimme a kastmaster.  go where the fish are

How does the LP do in the cold?

How far does a man have to bore down to get  to the water? Are stress cracks on the ice a threat even when the lakes as frozen over as they need to be? Bow deep of water do you fish and where in the water column do you find the fish? How do you fight water freezing on your line and rod guides?

My two cents.

 
My .02  

Thank you for the reply sgthoskins. I have never done it but it sounds pretty damn cool.

No issues with LP , I doubt that I used it below -15 degrees.  I was going to buy cozies for the LP but I found out that it is fiction about freeze ups.

I like it, no smell, lots of power.  pounded through 28 -30 " ice last winter.  :)

I like my Jiffy LP auger, however I don't use it much anymore.  I bought the Clam Hammer Drill conversion.  I wanted to lighten up my sled load, if I am going all day with a group of guys I'll bring the Jiffy but it stays in the shed more often than not.

 

Since your located in ND, you're lakes are real similar to what we fish here in SD.  I'm guessing your typically targeting perch, walleye, and pike.  I've fished quite a few lakes in ND, Sak, Devils, etc; while I was going to college up there.  
ND is blessed with some really good bodies of water that do not get much pressure.  Commonly referred to as "perch sloughs" these are the shallow fertile lakes that were nothing more than duck sloughs 10-20 years ago, but with the high water, have sustained stocking efforts and now produce world class perch fishing.  Many of these sloughs are great walleye factories as well.  Use your ND game & fish website to do some research on these bodies of water, then take a look at google earth and use the feature that allows you to look backwards in time to satellite imagery as the waters rose.  You'll see where the main basins are, flooded roadbeds, shelterbelts, etc. and that will help you start to narrow down where to fish on the lakes.  For perch, your probably looking at fishing the main basins and staying mobile to move with the fish.  for walleyes, setting up on or near shallow structure relating to deeper water will get you action.  

As far as gear goes, any flasher is better than no flasher.  Buy what you can afford and go from there.  For perch and walleye, it pays to have a variety of sizes and colors of various rattle baits like northland buckshot spoons, rattling flutter spoons, rattling fliers, #4 rippin raps, JB rattling varmints, etc.  Also, when the perch are feeding in the basins on bugs, you'll want a selection of lead and tungsten jigs like fiskas, mooskas, etc.  For pike, run tip ups with quick strike rigs and 4"-6" live or dead suckers, chubs, smelt, or shiners.  
Portable shelters are where it's at if you want to stay on the move with the perch, but fishing from a permanent is a blast as well.  I believe in ND, perms have to be able to float.  Look at the Dak shack or Zach shack brands; I've fished from both, and they are both quality built if your going the perm route.

I tend to like the big lakes.


 

For a flasher Vexlar or Marcum. I prefer Marum and use the lx5. More detail on the lx5 then any Vexlar I've used. Also if you are fishing deeper water the dual beam transducer with a change at a push of a button is awesome. No having to buy a second transducer or flipping cables