Ice fishing, is it safe?

[1099gl]

Live in the stl area and im wanting to try my luck at ice fishing. Im 17 and weigh about 140 pounds. I know a few spots where I know I could put a hurtin on big green sunfish and probably some bass too. obviously im new to this and I want to give it a shot. I know little to nothing about it, baits to use, line size, rod/reel, ect. I also do not have an auger do i need one to ice fish in Missouri, is there anything i can use that I already have in my garage or workshop? I have read safe ice thickness should be about 6" at the bank and you are supposed to drill a hole every 10' or so to make sure the ice is still thick, but thick is a very broad term. Please help me out. Not new to fishing but I am very new to ice fishing. I know with the 60 degree weather we are having this week (wtf is going on with the weather) most of the lakes/ponds around the area will loose some if not all of their ice.

Thanks,

Gabriel

[oodlesiggy]

It's not thick enough up here in the Northwest corner of the state, so I doubt it is safe in the STL area. 

[oodlesiggy]

Let me add to that. Maybe if you have a good week or more of below freezing weather you could probably find some smaller ponds that would be safe, but I doubt you would find any good ice on any larger bodies of water.