Ice Fishing never been so need some guidance

[Santaaa]

Ok here is the deal. Pretty soon the ice and snow is going to roll in and freeze good old Lake Arthur. Problem is I never have ice fished ever in my life. I was looking at a few ice rods over at the local bait shop. He had some left over from last year. A rod and reel with a few lures and a laddle. Well the owner of the bait shop said that the lake I like to fish is pretty popular for ice fishing in the winter. He told me to just get the kit to start with a $20 kit which I described above. He said don't bother with an auger yet as there will be holes left over from the first day the ice is frozen. He told me just take a hammer and break the holes back open as they will have iced over the top but once I get it open it will be fine. I don't want to have to wait until Spring to fish again so ice fishing I will go. I have never been so I am not sure what I NEED to take with me. I want a list of stuff that I have to have. What equipment do I need? Just the stuff I need to get by with. I have decided as the bait store owner said I don't need an auger yet to just wait until I decide if I like it or not. Is there anything I can take with me that will help with safety? How do I know if the ice is thick enough? I know the park rangers tell us when around here but they can't check every inch of the ice. Any tell tale signs? I want to take every safety precaution possible. So I want to know everything I can do or buy for safety but the bare min. for actually fishing. I know it is aways from starting to freeze over but well I need to know what I need to have now so I can start buying it over time. I am pretty sure I want to get the ice fishing kit that I described above. Does that sound like a good deal? I plan on starting with bluegill to get use to it as bluegill are my go to target when I am learning a new style of fishing. Then I like to work my way up to the bigger fish. Plus blue gill always make a good meal. [] Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.
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