Ice fishing season ends on Lake Simcoe with ice hut removal deadline at midnight
March 15 is known in the fishing business as 'moving day,' with ice hut removal happening across the lake, with a midnight deadline.
"Any of the permitted huts that are out here - they have to be off today. They have until the end of the day to do that," said Donny Crowder, Hot Box Ice Huts in Innisfil.
Ice hut operators and ice anglers have been busy removing huts from the lake for the past few days, with the decent weather conditions making the task a little easier than usual.
The ice fishing season started later than typical due to mild temperatures, with some ice hut operators kept off the lake for stretches of time.
Despite this, many operators consider this season an average one.
Chad Paiero of Lucky Sons and Lake Simcoe Outfitters said they chose to keep their larger huts and bungalows off the ice this year.
"Because of ice thickness and obviously that mid-season rain that we don’t see a lot, but that’s what happens," he noted.
While permanent huts have to be off the ice Wednesday, catching certain fish is still possible. Whitefish and trout will be closing for the season, but perch and pike can still be fished until the end of the month.
Portable fish huts made of cloth or synthetic fabric are permitted, but hut operators remind everyone to be cautious.
Ice hut operators encourage those planning to head out onto the lake to check conditions and always bring safety gear.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.