All,
If you are like me and don't live close to where you might want to fish on the Great Lakes consider using the following resource. Please don't gon't marching across Big Bay using this data, but it is a good way to see how the ice is forming in general. I use it routinely for the waters I fish (Little Bay de Noc, Saginaw Bay, Erie, and BOQ). Of course nothing is as good as a buddy who went yesterday or a call to the local batishop and as always, never venture out without a spud bar, ice picks, a rope, a friend, ...
https://www.weather.gov/cle/GreatLakesIce_AnalysisHere is an example chart from yesterday, that shows BOQ is 90% frozen with 2-6" of maximum thickness.