Spring is fast approaching in Minnesota and temperatures in the 50s by the end of this week will prove it. And that also means the end of ice fishing season is here.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is reminding anglers to prepare to remove their fish houses from off the ice to meet statutory deadlines.
In the southern two-thirds of the state, those ice houses must have them removed from the ice by just before midnight this Monday night. That affects fish houses from Moorhead to Duluth and points farther south.
The deadline for the northern third of the state will get a little more time to drop a line. Those have to be removed by March 31.
The warmer weather we've had lately has prompted some to get their fish houses off already, and the DNR is reminding people to excercise caution around the state's lakes, as degraded ice conditions in some areas, especially around shorelines and lake access point, can be extremely dangerous.
Anyone who doesn't comply with getting those fish houses off of lakes in time will face fines.