In the bed of the frozen river, hundreds of cabins with colorful walls are installed and cars drive slowly.
In Quebec, in the middle of winter, ice fishing enthusiasts can finally take out their lines.
This traditional fishing, practiced only for recreational purposes, is authorized from December 26 to February 18, but the length of the season actually depends on temperatures and the onset of cold weather in Canada.
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This year, the kickoff was only given on January 15, in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade, 90 kilometers south of Quebec City.
It is impossible to start without a minimum thickness of 30 centimeters of ice.
“We are in the top 5 for the latest seasons
,” assures Steve Massicotte of the Association of Fishing and Hunting Centers (called “outfitters”) of the Sainte-Anne River.
With three weeks less, the
“(tourist) benefits are halved”
for the region, falling to three million Canadian dollars, he emphasizes.
Fishing centers are also suffering
“significant losses”
due to not being able to rent their heated cabins where lines and bait are provided.
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1000 fish per day
Winter temperatures were milder across the French-speaking province, depriving Quebecers of snow for Christmas: in December and January, they were on average 4 degrees Celsius above seasonal norms, according to the Ministry of 'Environment.
Inside one of the cabins, Alexandra St-Yves, a 27-year-old from Quebec, gives a sharp tug on the fishing line then pulls up in a few moments her catch caught under the ice: a small fish has bitten.
“When we see that the line is moving, we are happy!”
, exclaims this doctoral student in anthropology, who has come every year with her family since childhood.
“There are years when we catch more than a thousand fish”
in a day, she assures us.
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Chinese tourists
Christian Hivon, who took over from his father at the fishing center, recounts the
“sawtooth”
winters which prevent him from opening during the holiday period, causing him to lose
“a minimum of 25%”
of income .
that he gets from this activity.
“There aren't many solutions because if we don't have ice, we can't set up cabins
,” sighs this gray-haired man.
“You can’t fight against nature.”
This fishing for small channel fish, or small cod, usually attracts around 100,000 visitors to Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade, mainly Quebecers but also tourists from far away, such as Chinese and Russians.
Amateur who came with family and friends, Simon Provencher, 36, rejoices:
“We catch fish much more easily here than in real fishing”
.
“It bites on its own!”
.
When the weather permits.