Minnesota DNR urges fish house owners to remove shelters as deadline approaches

With warm weather in the forecast for much of Minnesota during the coming week, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources reminds anyone who still has a fish house on the ice to start planning for its removal.

The statutory shelter removal deadline for inland waters in the southern two-thirds of the state is 11:59 p.m. on March 3. The deadline for inland lakes in the northern portion of the state is 11:59 p.m. on March 17. The DNR reminds all fish house owners to pick up and properly dispose of any trash as part of hauling their shelter off the ice.

“After this recent cold snap, we know people will want to take advantage of every day they can to use their ice shelters,” said Capt. Cory Palmer, DNR Enforcement Southern Region manager. “However, current conditions don’t change the statutory deadlines. That said, people can still use their shelters after the deadline so long as the shelter has the proper identification and licensing and, if it’s on the ice between midnight and an hour before sunrise, is occupied or attended.”

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If shelters aren’t removed by the deadline, owners may be prosecuted, and structures may be confiscated and removed or destroyed by a conservation officer. Shelters may not be left at public accesses, and no trash or other materials – including wooden blocking materials – may be left on the ice.

As they venture out, anglers always should keep in mind that ice conditions vary widely, that ice is never 100% safe, and that they should check the ice thickness for themselves.

Exceptions to the removal deadlines are Minnesota-Canada border waters (March 31), Minnesota-South Dakota and North Dakota border waters (March 5), Minnesota-Wisconsin border waters (March 1) and Minnesota-Iowa border waters (Feb. 20).