'Tommy Cod' ice fishing
Created | Updated May 27, 2003
Origin
The small town of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade is really small and uninteresting. However, it is widely know in adjacent towns and cities for its really popular ice-fishing season, aimed at a particular species of fish named 'Tommy cod' wich is located exclusively below the iceds surface of the Sainte-Anne river.
The official discovery of the presence of those tommy cods originated from winter 1938 when a men named Robert Mailhot was on the iced river to cut off some big ice cubes to power their old-tyme freezer when summer comes. Through the resulting hole, they saw the water was swarming with fish.
Known Ice fishing variants
Ice fishing is widely known in the form of somebody waiting near a round hole holding a traditional fishing rod. Or even using a more sophisticated device that doesn't need olding and standing near.
The part about standing on an flat, windy and iced surface, waiting for fish to be caught is what makes ice-fishing hard for most poeple. It can become very cold and really, really boring.
Ice Shacks (or chalets)
As elsewhere in the world, the Ice fishing pioneers of Sainte-Anne found out that it might actually be much sweeter if they had a shack (or chalet) to stay in while the fish came and the wind blew. And why not make a hole in its floor, so you can fish from inside? The result quickly became a growing village of wodden shacks spreading all over the river. Every fishing shack has a hole that goes from front to back, and about two feets wide. Above it, fifty or more vertical fishing lines are attached near the ceiling, leaving the weary task of holding the bait to the structure. Two kinds of baits can be used, the traditionnal pork liver cubes, or the more expensive, more stinky and so-claimed efficient shrimp.
Today's Ice fishing
Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade is known as the worldwide tommycod fishing capital. It is not uncommon to encounter alcohol beverages and festive behaviours all over the Ice town. Several fishers prefer to shut the hole in their shacks after a while, to avoid drunks to take a dive and fall under the ice.
The fishing season ends february 15th, when the tommy cod goes back to the Saint-Laurent river it comes from. It begins on december 26th, on the base that when it began sooner, fewer men came to the Christmas eve celebration at the local church.
