Fish Houses and Wheelhouses Will Require License Purchase for Ice Fishing
If you plan on ice fishing this winter, remember the Minnesota DNR has expanded the definition of a portable shelter, which means more structures will now need to be licensed prior to hitting the lake.
According to the DNR, anglers using a wheelhouse type of ice or dark-house shelter are now required to purchase a license to place the shelter on the ice, even when occupying it.
This updated definition for portable shelters, which is provided in law, states that a portable shelter is one that collapses, folds or is disassembled for transportation. This means that wheeled fish houses are no longer considered portable and must be licensed.
If you have a shelter that meets the new definition of portable, you only need a license if it's left unattended, meaning you are farther than 200 feet from the shelter.
For 2017, an annual resident shelter license is $16. A three-year license is $43. Owners of houses to be rented pay $31 annually or $88 for a three-year license.