CONCORD, N.H. — Attention ice anglers: According to state law, all bobhouses (also known as ice shanties), must be removed from the ice no later than the end of the day on April 1. Please remember to use all precautions to ensure your safety when taking bobhouses off lakes and ponds.
Once bobhouses are removed to the shoreline, take care to move the structure to your own property. Do not leave bobhouses on public or private property without permission – that is also a violation of state law.
“The law is designed to ensure that bobhouses and their contents do not fall through the ice and become a hazard to boaters, or get left behind on shore,” says Lt. Heidi Murphy of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Law Enforcement Division.
Failure to remove a bobhouse from public waters, public property or private property by the deadline can result in a fine and a one-year loss of the owner’s fishing license. In cases where Conservation Officers cannot identify the bobhouse owner, Fish and Game has the authority to seize any bobhouse not removed by the deadline, along with its contents.
One final note, if you’re tired of that bobhouse and are planning to upgrade, you are not allowed to make a bonfire out of it. Burning a bobhouse on the ice is illegal and will result in a fine and one year loss of your fishing license.
For more information, contact your local Conservation Officer or Fish and Game’s Law Enforcement Division in Concord at (603) 271-3127.
