As temperatures drop, many folks may want to brave the cold to enjoy a favorite pastime: ice fishing. However, the sport does come with some hazards depending on factors such as the ice and the weather.Troy Peterson, owner of Mr. Bluegill Guide Service, offered the following tips on how to venture onto the ice safely.”This is the time of year when people get hurt, and where you see a lot of people falling through is because they don’t know how to properly go and test the ice,” he said.To test the ice, Peterson recommended a few steps:Choose where you fish wisely – do not go out on ice that has formed on a river or other body of moving water, as the water there does not freeze well. Peterson said more ideal locations to choose for ice fishing are areas, such as bays and ponds.Note the color of the ice – the blacker and clearer the ice, the stronger it is, according to Peterson. In contrast, if ice is cloudy, that means it is full of air and possibly made of frozen snow, which is much weaker than clear, black ice.Test the ice with a spud bar – a spud bar is a long piece of metal that tapers at the end. It can be used to stab the ice that has formed on a body of water to test how strong the ice is.Note the thickness of the ice – Peterson said that ice that is hard and clear and 2-3 inches thick is typically strong enough to hold one person. Ice that is 4-5 inches thick is strong enough to hold a few people. If the ice is 6 or more inches thick, then heavier gear and equipment like ATVs can be brought onto it.  When going out on the ice, Peterson advised bringing a few items to make sure you remain safe:Despite taking all the precautions for venturing onto the ice safely, sometimes, bad luck strikes and people do end up falling through the ice.Should that happen to you, Peterson made the following recommendations: