Deadline to remove ice shanties Sunday

TOWN OF ROCKLAND - It's that time of year - the start of the end of the ice fishing season. Sunday is the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources deadline to remove ice fishing shacks from inland Wisconsin waters.

But the deadline still hasn't stopped some from using the sunny skies to squeeze in some ice fishing before the good ice melts away.

For Chris Clark and his 5-year-old son Will of Kaukauna, the warm sun and little wind were the perfect conditions to get out and go ice fishing for the first time this year.

It's also Will's first time out on the ice.

"The day seemed like it was one of the better days so far this (coming) spring, so we decided to get out on the ice," said Clark.

But for some ice anglers, like Ron Eickert of Brillion, today marks the start of the end, just as he says the panfishing was getting good.

"It'd be kind of nice that we could keep it on there another weekend or so, because we're just starting to get the fish to bite again!" said Eickert.

Today is the deadline to remove ice shanties from inland Wisconsin waters. That means, if you have a shack out on a lake, south of Wisconsin Highway 64 – which runs from Marinette west to the Minnesota border – you could be subject to a fine. However, if you have a shack north of Highway 64, you have until March 17th to remove it.

As the sun beats down on the snow-covered surface, just a few shacks still dot Long Lake; others sit on land, waiting to be trailered home.

"It comes down to safe travel," said DNR Conservation Warden George Protogere.

Protogere says he understands that the deadline doesn't always coincide with the current ice conditions – anglers said ice on Long Lake measured about 1 ½ ft thick.

"Some years, it might be good beyond that date,” said Protogere of the ice thickness. “Some years it might not be.

He says 99 percent of the time, anglers comply with the deadline. But he adds sometimes people will leave their shacks to sink into lakes or rivers.

If that happens, it can become a problem for boaters.

"In the summertime, if someone is boating, their boat could hit it. It obstructs navigation,” said Protogere. “A water skier could be out there, could run into it."

Leaving your shanty on the ice is considered littering, and you could face a fine of about $260. The DNR says wardens will work with you if you can't get your shanty off the ice immediately.

Portable shelters can still be used on the inland waters, but must be removed daily.