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With snow beginning to melt and ice starting to thin, the ice fishing season is ending for Saskatchewan. That season ends in a couple of stages depending on where you live, with a final date of March 15th for shacks South of Highway 16 and March 31st for shacks North of Highway 16.
Even though the ice might be melted before or after that March 15 date in the southeast, Saskatchewan Conservation Officer Braden Cherney says that's cemented for a good reason.
"It's a hard date, there's no amendment or adjustment to those dates, because ice safety year to year can change and we can't predict every year down to the date. So those are the hard dates that we use for the removal."
Anyone who leaves out a shack past that date can expect a fine with a minimum hit of $310.
But if there are other circumstances around the shack being left out, Cherney says they may decide to charge more.
"I'll give you an example out of Saskatoon in 2014, we had a shack that was left out. It wasn't just about leaving the shack, there was a lot of litter involved, and at the end of the day, it ended up costing that fisherman $2,800. So it can be just about the shack removal, but if it gets into an area where there's litter and possibly having to break down the shack because it's frozen into the ice, being recovered is also part of that cost."
A number of areas hold different standards for what it means to take a shack off a lake and Cherney says people should be aware of what they'll need to do.
"I will say that most of the parking lots associated with the municipality or a resort village don't appreciate shacks being left on the shoreline or in their parking lots."
For provincial parks and crown lands, Cherney says you also can't store those shacks along shorelines and may need to instead take them all the way home.
He hopes that people can get those shacks off the ice soon as lakes are getting ready for the start of boating season this spring.
"We deal with that every year, municipalities calling us and asking us to assist them in getting the shacks because they're getting ready for the spring, they want to get their boat launches up and going, and the shacks tend to linger there in the parking lots too long and create a problem."
Cherney reminds people to be very careful while dealing with ice while the weather is warming, especially with the recent weather swings and more likely on the way in spring.