Crazy

You can get by with very little if you want. Look around and you can probably find a used hand auger for a couple of bucks. Keed it sharp and it will cut through ice pretty quick. Ice rods make it nice but you can get by with ultra lights.

You can catch alot of different fish on minnies.

I used to go all the time and loved it but got away from it lately.

The safety equipment is a must and take a buddy. We have a power auger. Hand augers are cheaper and way more work. Since we have gone to power we never went back. I have been using fishcrafters tip-ups that were my dads which happen to be be 40+ years old. Simple and effective. Using large shiners of course. Squidding line or Dacron for line tipped with leaders. Targeting fish with teeth use steel leader material. Treble hooks. We have a 4' tall windbreak that we anchor to the ice and we have converted a wood tabogan to a box to carry all of our gear. This took years to accumulate, but you could get by with less. One item we never forget is our charcoal grill, brats, ect. you get the idea. Have fun you'll love it.

beer might be the hardest thing to bring, when you arent even 18 it tends to be frowned upon 

But thanks for the info guys, hopefully when me and my friends try we will have some success

As fo stuff.

Jigging pole
A couple tip ups
6" hand auger
Sled
Bucket


Bait wise...
Minnows under tip ups.
Waxworms and Maggots on ice jigs.

Invest in a pair of ice cleats, cheap ones work great too, might need to resharpen them out of the pack.

Dress in layers, it's a good idea to bring something to heat up drinks and to make hot food, keeps you feshing longer u no.

Agree with 58 people on the ice are a lot different than other times always seem willing to give good advice, try it in my opinion you either love it or hate it but its addictive can't wait for freeze up , its a lot more relaxed than other outdoor pusuits in my opinion also and all in all I probably have the most success through the ice.

All the above is good advice:
 
As augers go all you need is a 6" hand auger, power augers are not needed around here. We don't get that much ice around here most years. I use one in Canada, we had 30+" some years up there.
 
Rods, you can buy small  ice rods or use smaller ultralites if fishing outside. No room inside a hut for soft water rods though. I save & collect all broken rod tips that I find and make most of my own ice rods from these.
 
Bait: It depends on what your after:
Panfish: use grubs: maggots, waxies, mousies, or small minnows or minnow heads (as mentioned above) Also the newer powerbait grubs and alive fake stuff works as well. Bass/pike.walleyes: use minnows, chubs & suckers
Trout: traditonal trout baits work well.
You can try jigging spoons tipped with grubs or minnow heads
 
You will need a skimmer to clear ice out of the holes, a bucket to haul out your gear and sit on. I always take along a PFD and ice picks on a string around my neck. Some kind of ice cleats for your boots, if there is snow on the ice it is not bad, but clear slick ice with no snow and rubber soles don't mix. I like the idea of sheet metal screws in the bottom of the boots. I do that on my wading boots for the trout stream.
 
I would suggest trying a local farm pond that you know has panfish in it, fish a few inches off the bottom and you should be in bussiness. You can buy ice jigs, but small 1/64-1/100 round jigs will work. Don't be afraid to try small plastics/rubber tails as well. Plastics have made a imapct on ice fishing the last 10 years or so.
 
Buy some spring bobbers and try them or get the smallest bobber ou can find, the bite is usually lite in the winter.
 
Just my advice, PM if needed