Registration and Removal of Ice Huts
December 17, 2013 (Updated March 10, 2014)
(Information below was taken from a media release produced by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources on December 17, 2013 and updated with information from the 2014 Ontario Recreational Fishing Regulations Summary)
To protect the environment and ensure safety, anglers must register new or previously unregistered ice-fishing huts on area lakes.
Registration is free and helps discourage anglers from abandoning their huts, which can end up in waterways and washed up on shorelines when the ice thaws.
- Huts must be registered in Fisheries Management Zone 9 to 12 and 14 to 20. To register your ice hut, call your local ministry office. Generally, this may be done over the telephone. Once registered, an ice-fishing hut can be used anywhere in Ontario.
- Registration numbers on ice huts must be at least 6.3 centimetres (2.5 inches) in height and clearly displayed on the outside of the hut.
- Tent-style ice huts made of cloth or synthetic fabric that have a base area of seven square metres (75.4 square feet) or less when erected do not need to be registered.
- It’s a good idea to place huts on 15-centimetre (six-inch) high wooden blocks to make it easier to remove them at the end of the season. Ice hut owners must keep the area around their huts clear of garbage.
Removal of Huts
- Anglers must remove ice huts from the waters of Fishery Management Zone 17 and 20 by March 1, 2014. Fishery Management Zone 14,16,18 and 19 ice huts must be removed by March 15, 2014 and in Fishery Management Zone 9,10,11 and 15 ice huts must be removed by March 31, 2014.
- In Fishery Management Zone 12 ice huts above Lake Timiskaming Dam must be removed by March 31, 2014 and ice huts below the dam must be removed by March 15, 2014.
- Ice huts must be removed from lakes before ice break-up, even if it is before the specified removal date. It is an offence under the Public Lands Act to leave an ice hut after ice break-up.
Learn More
- For ice hut registration in other districts, refer to the Recreational Fishing Regulations Summary at ontario.ca/fishing.
- For more information on ice hut registration and requirements, contact your local ministry office.