DNR Releases Important Ice Fishing Dates

Anglers who allow their shanties to fall through the ice are subject to fines and jail time. (Photo via Michigan Department of Natural Resources)

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The Michigan Department of Natural Resources reminds anglers that the dates for mandatory ice shanty removal are approaching. Anglers are required to remove shanties as soon as the ice is unsafe to hold them, regardless of the date.

Ice shanties must be removed from Lake St. Clair before sunset Feb. 22.

In the northern Lower Peninsula, ice shanties need to be removed by midnight March 15. Counties included in the northern Lower Peninsula are: Alcona, Alpena, Antrim, Arenac, Bay, Benzie, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Clare, Crawford, Emmet, Gladwin, Grand Traverse, Iosco, Isabella, Kalkaska, Lake, Leelanau, Manistee, Mason, Mecosta, Midland, Missaukee, Montmorency, Newaygo, Oceana, Ogemaw, Osceola, Oscoda, Otsego, Presque Isle, Roscommon and Wexford.

In remaining counties of the southern Lower Peninsula, shanties must be removed by midnight March 1.

In the Upper Peninsula, shanties must be removed by midnight March 31. Persons placing a shanty on Michigan-Wisconsin boundary waters shall remove the shanty by midnight March 15.

After mandatory removal dates, shanties may be placed on the ice on a daily basis, but must be removed daily.

Shanty owners who allow the structures to fall through the ice are subject to penalties of up to 30 days in jail, fines of not less than $100 or more than $500 or both. If a shanty is removed by a government agency, the court can require the owner to reimburse the government for an amount of up to three times the cost of removals.

For more information on ice fishing shanty regulations and fishing in Michigan, refer to the Michigan Fishing Guide online at www.michigan.gov/fishing.

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