Marathon County authorities are warning anglers to be aware after a string of ice shanty break-ins.

They can't say how many victims there are, but do say the crimes occur every winter.

To prevent a crime happening to you on the ice, sometimes all it takes is a little common sense.

"If you don't want your shack broken in...take everything with you when you go," said Ray Olson, a dedicated ice fisherman.

Sounds simple, and it's exactly what law enforcement suggests.

"Most crimes are crimes of opportunity. If you have five ice shanties and one of them has an ice auger in it...and the rest don't...guess which one they're gonna hit," said Dept. Darren Grauden, with the Marathon County Sheriff's Dept.

Along with taking your ice auger and other expensive equipment with you when you go, another way to protect your property is to use a portable ice shanty, that way there's nothing left to steal.

"Unless I would leave it on the ice..that would be kinda dumb," said Olson, who uses a portable shanty himself.

But if your shack is there to stay all winter long, Dept. Grauden recommends keeping it unlocked.

That way a criminal can go in, see nothing's there to steal, and be on his way.

Olson has another suggestion.

"Leave the windows open and uncovered so they can look in, and if they see nothing they have no reason to break in," he said.

But if your property still is damaged or stolen, don't hesitate to call police.

"Report it because you never know how many are going on. Most of the time if your ice shanty gets broken into, it's not the only one," said Dept. Grauden.

Although these crimes happen all over, they're especially common in areas like Eagle River and Minocqua.