Manitoba anglers urged to take ice fishing shacks off lakes and rivers

WINNIPEG — The warmer temperature and rapidly melting ice means anglers should start reeling in their lines – sooner rather than later.

The province is urging anyone with an ice shack on a lake or river in southern Manitoba to remove it as soon as possible, as long at ice conditions are safe to do so.

The province said warm temperatures are causing ice conditions across much of southern Manitoba – from Lake of the Prairies to Dauphin Lake and as far east as Lake of the Woods – to melt faster than normal this spring.

A milder-than-usual winter meant the ice did not reach its usual thickness in many areas, which could lead to a faster thaw. Everyone heading onto the ice should do so with caution and good judgment, the province said.

All ice-fishing shacks should be moved off the Red River by March 13.

March 31 is normally the last day for to remove ice shacks in the south, but the recent weather means it should be done earlier.

Fishers are asked to have shacks in the area south of Riding Mountain National Park, as well as those on Lake of the Prairies, Dauphin Lake, Moose Lake and Buffalo Bay in the Lake of the Woods off the ice by March 15.