WACONIA, Minnesota — You wouldn't know it by our weather, but the time is coming to remove fish houses out on Minnesota lakes.
The first deadline for anglers to remove their fish houses is by the end of the day Monday, March 4.
The record-breaking snowfall in February has created tough conditions for people trying to get their fish houses off the ice.
"Combine deep snow and slush, you have the perfect storm for tough conditions to get fish houses off," said Alexander Birdsall, a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer.
Thursday morning, Birdsall was out on Lake Waconia urging anglers to take action now in order to meet the deadline.
Birdsall pointed to two fish houses out on the lake and said, "One of them over there is very drifted in. May have a difficult time getting out by the deadline."
In the southern two-thirds of the state, structures must be off lakes by the end of March 4. That applies to lakes south of an east-west line formed by U.S. Highway 10, east along Highway 34 to Minnesota Highway 200, east along Highway 200 to U.S. Highway 2 and east along Highway 2 to the Minnesota-Wisconsin border. The deadline north of that line is by the end of the day on Monday, March 18.
"The snow is really packed hard. It's like concrete almost," said Jim Struble, president of Southwest Trails—the local snowmobile trail grooming organization in Carver County.
Struble and his team volunteered to carve out paths on the ice, clearing the way for fish houses to be removed.
"They knew that we had this equipment, grooming equipment, and asked us if we would help them so we said, 'Sure. We'd be happy to help,'" Struble said.
According to Birdsall, 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.
"The houses can stay out there if they're occupied beyond the deadline from midnight til sunrise. So you can keep your fish house out if you're spending the night in it," Birdsall said.
The DNR is also reminding anglers to pick up their trash so that it doesn't end up in the state's lakes.
"All that should be left behind is the imprint of the house," Birdsall said.
Birdsall said any anglers worried about accomplishing the task themselves should reach out to their local snowmobile club or plow service, or ask friends and family for help.
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).
You can find more information about removing ice fishing shelters here.