The recent extreme cold weather in the last week made a lot of ice in Central Minnesota. He says we were at 10-12 inches of ice on most Central Minnesota lakes last week and are now in the 15-20 inches of ice range. Andrew Schmitt for TSM Andrew Schmitt for TSM loading...Activity to IncreaseSchmitt cautions that no ice is 100% safe but ice depths have increased significantly. He says big vehicles and large wheel houses are appearing on area lakes in large amounts recently. January Can Be SlowSchmitt says the bite in January is typically challenging on area lakes and that is the case again this year.