Anglers begin hauling away ice houses as DNR deadlines approach
Minnesota anglers face deadline ahead
The deadline to remove ice fishing houses is closing in on the Twin Cities metro region of Minnesota, leaving anglers with rushed options with a stretch of warm weather ahead. FOX 9’s Babs Santos is in Prior Lake, where plenty have already called it a season.
PRIOR LAKE, Minn. (FOX 9) - With mild temperatures this week, Mother Nature seems to be making it clear: anglers on frozen lakes around the metro are on borrowed time.
Minnesota ice houses deadline approaching
Dig deeper:
On Monday, many of them pulled ice houses back to dry land.
"[You] kind of just got to play it by day," angler Lane Bauman said. "[I] probably could’ve waited a couple more days. I just didn’t want to risk it. Better to be safe than sorry… with the warm weather coming up, it’s getting a little sloppy."
Official deadlines to remove ice houses are fast approaching.
By March 3, houses in southern Minnesota must be off.
People in northern Minnesota have until March 17.
"The ice is getting weaker and weaker, it’s getting honeycombs with the sun hitting it," DNR conservation officer Mike Lerchen told FOX 9.
Trouble on White Bear Lake
Local perspective:
At White Bear Lake, a 2008 Buick Lucerne has been stuck in the ice since Jan. 27.
Owner Derek Schimke says he heard the ice cracking and bubbling as he drove through a pressure ridge.
He was able to escape through a window, and now, on Feb. 27, Schimke plans to have the vehicle removed.