if/when I use minnows a tip up with spreader is what I would use
then if there is room for a second line I would jig
if it is a 2 hook spreader you cam put a hook 5 ft above on the line and another minnow
he was not an ice fisherperson
he did not go through the ice
he just got lost, cold and scared
he had a cell phone he got the day before and his parents did not know he had bought one...
glad it all worked out