Why wouldn’t they extend the date to have houses off. There has to be at least 3 ft of ice on the lakes still. Another 7-10 days would have melted a bunch of this snow and made it way easier. I guess now they can go around writing more $100 fines. I guess I got off easy, I only had to pay a plow guy $125 to plow me a road.
What makes you think that the shelters would be easier to get off in 7-10 days?
Why are people so surprised that they can’t get their shacks off? There was a deadline. They probably knew that their shack was frozen in and was going to require work and time to get it off?
The rules are laws, they can’t be just changed according to how the season is going. Discretion has never been a good part of any good law. As long as the law specifies a specific date, all they can do for an option is turn their heads the other way if fisherman are making an effort, and it sounds like they are, at least in WI. If they see someone making no effort, or having any interest they can and should still have the option to enforce the law.
Just remember Pug… its ALWAYS the DNR’s fault. They sit around in their palaces and think of ways to screw people over. They probably engineered this weather too. Jerks 
Have they ever made people get them off early due to uncommonly warm temps and ice melting or was it just common sense?
Because in 10 days we will have had numerous days of warmer weather and the snow pack will melt down a lot. People can then drive out and pull it off with the truck instead of having to get a skidster. Oh and in 10 days we will still have 30″ of ice. I am not blaming the DNR, I just expect them to use some common sense. I actually weighed the fine $100 vs hiring someone to plow me a road, $100+. However, the DNR told me after 5 days it is mandatory court.
No chance of more snow in march making the lakes a bigger mess than now? March seems to be known for heavy wet snow.
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Because in 10 days we will have had numerous days of warmer weather and the snow pack will melt down a lot.
What happens when snow melts? you will have 2 feet of water on the ice making it unsafe… Dates are dates and should have thought about before the snow came…
Rules are rules, I seen a lot of the smart ones pulling their houses off early or not leaving them out at all. If the dnr had to change the rules every time people didn’t use common sense it would be a huge disaster.
I don’t feel bad for those with houses snowed in.
If you didn’t have the means to get your house off after a snow storm, then don’t let it sit on the ice… Anytime.
Simple as that.
Only those who don’t use their head blame the DNR for having their house ticketed at this point.
I have a hard time with those who wait until the last minute on something like this. If you know you have to have them off, plan for it….as in forget fishing the last couple trips and start digging. If you want the luxury of having a hard house, understand and abide by the rules regarding them being on the ice and stop sniveling.
“those who wait until the last minute on something like this”
Why would I change the way I live my life just to make the DNR happy? 
If the DNR changes their rules because of a decent forecast and someone loses a house because of it or conditions for getting houses off get worse, then they will be blamed for extending the deadline. Point is… the DNR ALWAYS gets blamed. How many posts on here do you see that say, good job DNR… for any state. While many times the DNR makes recommendations based on science or past experience and are ignored by lawmakers with an agenda. But that part gets ignored. It is the DNR’s fault… no matter what.
I know enough people that work for or have worked for the DNR to understand many of the frustrations they face. They take heat from all angles and praise from none. Yet there is picture after picture on this website and others of beautiful fish caught out of fisheries managed by the DNR. Are the perfect? No. But given the geographic area that they manage, the diversity of fisheries, habitats, and laws its not exactly a simple yes or no solution to anything.
Then something as absolutely simple as a date for removing fish houses is not changed because of a weather anomaly and once again its their fault. Doesn’t make sense to me.
Not to mention that nobody would be any happier if the DNR decided to changed the removal date a week or 2 earlier based on a forecast during a warmer year. 
Here are 2-pages from the Minnesota DNR on the subject.
I’ve seen a number of postings about all the problems and crying, why a date for removal, etc.
It is the LAW, and here you can seen what the Law Enforcement is telling you now!
From MnDNR webpage:
Border Waters
Minnesota–Iowa – Feb. 20
Minnesota–Wisconsin – March 1
Minnesota–North and South Dakota – March 5
Minnesota–Canada – March 31
Inland Waters
Dates of removal are determined by an east-west line formed by U.S. Hwy. 10, east along Hwy. 34 to Minnesota Hwy. 200, east along Hwy. 200 to U.S. Hwy. 2, and east along Hwy. 2 to the Minnesota-Wisconsin border.
South of line – March 3, 2014
North of line – March 17, 2014
If shelters are not removed, owners will be prosecuted, and the structure and contents may be confiscated and removed, or destroyed by a conservation officer.
After removal dates, shelters may remain on the ice between midnight and one hour before sunrise only when occupied or attended.
Storing or leaving shelters on a public access is prohibited.
It is unlawful to improperly dispose of ice fishing shacks anywhere in the state. Please clean up around your shack and check with local refuse providers or landfills for ice shelter disposal information.
More from the DNR:
As deadlines approach, DNR seeks angler vigilance on shelter removal
(Released February 28, 2014)
Conservation Officer Amber Peterson addresses media Friday, Feb. 28, about ice house removal deadlines.
Conservation Officer Amber Peterson addresses media Friday, Feb. 28, about ice house removal deadlines.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is seeking cooperation from anglers who need to act now to remove their fish shelters in the southern two-thirds of the state by 11:59 p.m. Monday, March 3.
For structures on lakes in the northern third of the state, the deadline is 11:59 p.m. Monday, March 17.
Shelters are required to be removed by the deadline and conservation officers will enforce that deadline except where shelter owners have made all reasonable efforts to remove the shelter but are not successful because of inaccessible travel conditions.
“We hope anglers understand they are going to face difficult conditions when they remove their fish houses this year,” said Col. Ken Soring, director of the DNR’s Enforcement Division. “We’ll work with anglers who show due diligence to get their shelters off the lakes but we are urging everyone to take responsibility.”
According to the DNR, there are some responsible options for removing shelters like enlisting the help of friends and locating equipment to make the job easier. This requires hard work and tenacity to remove or dismantle a stubbornly frozen fish shelter. Some people are also offering shelter removal for a fee.
At a minimum, shelter owners must ensure that unretrievable shelters are prepared for removal by raising and blocking the shelter up to prevent the bottom portion from becoming frozen in the ice. Once lake travel is possible, the entire structure and all other materials must be cleaned up to prevent littering and potentially ending up on someone’s beach when the ice melts.
DNR conservation officers see everything from furniture and appliances, to tires and auto parts discarded on lakes at the end of the ice fishing season. Failure to remove the house may result in a fine of $125 plus court costs.
If shelters are not removed, owners will be prosecuted and structures may be confiscated or destroyed by a conservation officer. If the shelter is left on the ice for an extended period, a mandatory court appearance is required.The DNR is diligent about ticketing owners who fail to remove shelters or debris, and officers use GPS and photos to mark fish house locations.
Link here:
As deadlines approach, DNR seeks angler vigilance on shelter removal
MnDNR seeks Angler Vigilance on shelter removal link
This text & links are right from the MnDNR Webpage for your quick reading and info.
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I don’t feel bad for those with houses snowed in.
If you didn’t have the means to get your house off after a snow storm, then don’t let it sit on the ice… Anytime.
Simple as that.
Only those who don’t use their head blame the DNR for having their house ticketed at this point.
Yep! I agree 100%. Those that set it and forget it are usually the ones in trouble. It wouldn’t matter if they gave another 3 weeks because most that are complaining no would be complaining again in 3 weeks.
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The rules are laws, they can’t be just changed according to how the season is going. .
Not true for the Wisconsin DNR. One year we had a terrible blizzard during opening deer season. The DNR wanted more deer killed so they had another weekend season in Dec. This was sometime in the early 90’s. They could easily extended the date. That is how the DNR operates, by rule not law.
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The rules are laws, they can’t be just changed according to how the season is going. .
Not true for the Wisconsin DNR. One year we had a terrible blizzard during opening deer season. The DNR wanted more deer killed so they had another weekend season in Dec. This was sometime in the early 90’s. They could easily extended the date. That is how the DNR operates, by rule not law.
Now they just sprinkle doe permits like snow to make sure they get killed.
Sounds like the house was removed in time and all it took was a phone call. I know it sucks it cost money but acts of God occur all the time. Some people saw this as an opportunity( the guys plowing and such)Lemonade out of lemons.
Seriously, you nailed it youngfry.
I would only add that changing rules in midstream can be an enforcement nightmare.
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Why wouldn’t they extend the date to have houses off. There has to be at least 3 ft of ice on the lakes still. Another 7-10 days would have melted a bunch of this snow and made it way easier. I guess now they can go around writing more $100 fines. I guess I got off easy, I only had to pay a plow guy $125 to plow me a road.
believe it or not, the dnr would rather you pull your house than write you a ticket. I would bet that they write less than 150 tickets a year state wide, so at $125 a wack, it isn’t a big windfall for the state. if the state extended the removal date, all you people that waited until the last day would just wait until the next last day. you say that the weather will be nicer in 10 days, why didn’t you pull your house 10 days before the removal date before the snow storm? you knew the snow was coming, the weather man said so.
10″ of snow last night in the southern part of the state is a good reason why the DNR does not change the date. I would guess conditions on those lakes went from poor to a whole lot worse.
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If the DNR changes their rules because of a decent forecast and someone loses a house because of it or conditions for getting houses off get worse, then they will be blamed for extending the deadline. Point is… the DNR ALWAYS gets blamed. How many posts on here do you see that say, good job DNR… for any state. While many times the DNR makes recommendations based on science or past experience and are ignored by lawmakers with an agenda. But that part gets ignored. It is the DNR’s fault… no matter what.
I know enough people that work for or have worked for the DNR to understand many of the frustrations they face. They take heat from all angles and praise from none. Yet there is picture after picture on this website and others of beautiful fish caught out of fisheries managed by the DNR. Are the perfect? No. But given the geographic area that they manage, the diversity of fisheries, habitats, and laws its not exactly a simple yes or no solution to anything.
Then something as absolutely simple as a date for removing fish houses is not changed because of a weather anomaly and once again its their fault. Doesn’t make sense to me.
Saw on the news this morning of a Wisconsin guy trying to get his house off that was frozen into the ice. Apparently some guys fished near his house (remember that topic) and the holes they drilled ended up flooding his house.
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Saw on the news this morning of a Wisconsin guy trying to get his house off that was frozen into the ice. Apparently some guys fished near his house (remember that topic) and the holes they drilled ended up flooding his house.
he should have blocked it up higher when he put it out on the ice. I understand he can’t watch out for something that happens while he isn’t there, so you have to factor that in and jack it up high enough to begin with.
Wow. I really have been biting my tongue on this. A date was given to have them off. From the day the shacks where put on the ice the perm owners knew this. If they where not prepared to have them off the ice on that date they should not have put them out. Once again no one owns any certain spot on the lake. One way to take care of the issue would be a law stating no more perms all shacks have to be off after every outing. On my number one go to body of water there are many places to go fish so perms don’t get in my way. But to expect me to feel sorry for someone who is not responsible enough to be prepared to have there shack off on predestined date will not happen. Personally I would feel pretty foolish whining about it on a public forum. Just my 2 cents.
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he should have blocked it up higher when he put it out on the ice. I understand he can’t watch out for something that happens while he isn’t there, so you have to factor that in and jack it up high enough to begin with.
He learned his lesson. This is exactly what he said. He made no excuses. Although he did say something about making sure no one fished close to his house.
They had jackhammers and everything out there.
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He made no excuses. Although he did say something about making sure no one fished close to his house.
another “sticky” subject
It is a good thing that the DNR didn’t extend it. There is only 2 1/2 feet of ice on the lakes and a whole lot of the snow is gone. Would have been a breeze to pull those houses off now. 
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It is a good thing that the DNR didn’t extend it. There is only 2 1/2 feet of ice on the lakes and a whole lot of the snow is gone. Would have been a breeze to pull those houses off now.
Nope, they all would have been 1′ deeper into the now frozen slush.
I do think it would be a good idea for all the perm owners to go back out to their spots and pick up their friggen trash though 
scum bags.
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