About ice fishing in Ste-Anne

When you think of ice fishing in Ste-Anne-de-la-Pérade, you imagine a beautiful village with winter colors and a festive atmosphere on Boxing Day. But that’s not always the case…
In November 2023, on a cold night, the Ste-Anne River freezes over. The next day, the outfitters, having foreseen that this might happen, are at the river’s edge to hear the good news. The good news was that, with the ice freezing over so quickly, the installations would be able to proceed without haste, given the opening of the channel fishery scheduled for Boxing Day, December 26, 2023. From then on, the ice is watered to a safe thickness, and the poles and wires are installed to bring electricity to the fishing village, which will be erected very soon and will create a festive atmosphere until February 2024.
The poles have been planted, the wires installed and the next step will be to lower all the cottages onto the ice – we’re almost there… With the arrival of winter, people are happy, and are reserving their little cottage to enjoy a day of fishing for the little channel fish with family and friends. The Christmas vacation period promises to be rich in encounters and festivities.
By mid-December, things were looking pretty good and we were right on schedule, but that’s without taking into account the tricks Mother Nature can play on us, and no one can go against nature.
And now the weather forecast has changed completely, with millilitres of rain predicted. The question is… what to do? On December 17, 2023, all installations were removed from the river. By the end of the day, the river was deserted, with not a single pole or electric wire left, in anticipation of the weather bomb. And bombs it is, because the next day, Monday, at lunchtime, the ice, although about 12 inches thick, is swept away by the strong current. The only solution for the outfitters on the Rivière Ste-Anne was to roll up their sleeves and start all over again as soon as the river froze over again, as it did on the night of December 31, 2023. Mother Nature has given us this gift, allowing us to believe that a new season of fishing for small channel fish in Ste-Anne-de-la-Pérade is still possible.
Here we are, and rest assured that no outfitter is discouraged by the situation because, as you may have guessed, this isn’t the first time Mother Nature has played tricks on us.
Happy New Year and see you on the Ste-Anne River in 2024!