With the calendar turning to March, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is encouraging anglers to get ahead of the deadlines to remove ice fishing shelters from lakes and other bodies of water.
Ice fishing shelters must be removed from southern inland waters by Monday, March 7. Shelters on northern inland waters must be removed by Monday, March 21.
"The big thing folks oughta think about is getting started early," said Chris Howe, a Conservation Officer with the Minnesota DNR. "A lot of the shelters already came off the ice over the weekend because of the nice weather."
Howe says getting an early start will help when it comes to any ice build-up or water issues.
"If you have a shelter that's been up for awhile and you haven't been to it for awhile, you'll want to get out there as soon as possible to check things out," he said. "The shelters have a tendency to get frozen in if they haven't been used in awhile."
The DNR is also focused on the removal of trash, debris, and other waste that accumulates during the ice fishing season. Often times they are stuck picking up after anglers who leave small propane tanks on the ice that were once used to hear their shacks.
"We find beverage cans, cigarette butts, and we've even had folks who've left bags of human excrement out on the ice," added Howe. "If you're out there on the ice, you probably enjoy it because it's a beautiful place. Please don't spoil it."
Other key ice shack removal dates include Tuesday, March 1 for shelters on water bordering Minnesota and Wisconsin, March 5 for those bordering Minnesota/North and South Dakota, and March 31 for water bordering Canada.
The Minnesota DNR is permitted to remove or destroy any ice shelter that isn't taken down by the proper deadline with the costs footed by the shack's owner.