NEWPORT — While locals wait for the ice to go out by watching the vanilla extract mascot placed on Lake Memphremagog to sink, the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is reminding ice fishing enthusiasts not to play the same game with their shanties.
Vermont state law requires that all ice fishing shanties be removed from the ice before the ice weakens.
The shanty must be removed before the ice becomes unsafe or loses its ability to support the shanty out of the water, or before the last Sunday in March, whichever comes first.
That date this year will be on March 31.
All contents, debris, wood, and supports must also be removed so they do not become a hazard to navigation in the spring.
The fine for leaving your ice fishing shanty on the ice can be $1,000, and shanties may not be left at state fishing access areas.
