If you have a fish house on one of Minnesota's frozen lakes, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is urging you to start making plans to remove it before the deadline.

For anglers in the lower two-thirds of Minnesota, the deadline to remove shelters is fast approaching: March 3. Those further north have a bit more time, with a final removal date of March 17.

With warmer weather arriving, anglers like Ryan Lenski and Jarrod Baadsgaard took advantage of the near-50-degree temperatures Sunday. 

"I went outside and my hands were comfortable without gloves. It doesn't feel like February!" said Lenski.

While recent cold temperatures helped build up a strong ice layer, the DNR warns that stability can change quickly as warmer weather sets in. The first areas to begin deteriorating are usually the access points near the shore.

"With this really warm weather we have, all of a sudden, the first place to really start to deteriorate on the ice is the access points by shore. People think there's good ice on the lake and that's true, but they might not be able to get to the good ice. That's the problem," said Alexander Birdsall, a Minnesota DNR Conservation Officer. 

If fish houses aren't removed by the deadline, the DNR says owners could face prosecution and the structures could be confiscated, removed, or destroyed by conservation officers.

The DNR is also reminding anglers to be aware of the risks of falling on melting ice. This weekend, Birdsall says two people have been seriously injured from slipping. Ice cleats are strongly recommended to prevent accidents.

Conservation officers will be out in full force, making sure that people follow the removal deadline and that any trash left behind is cleaned up as well.

As for anglers like Ryan and Jarrod, even though they may not have caught many fish Sunday, they certainly caught some much-needed Vitamin D.

"There were people fishing, people out walking the dogs, skiing, everybody was trying to get out today, trying to get some sunshine," said Lenski.