You probably guessed that the tomcod ice fishing phenomenon is not just recent. Documents from the first French pioneers have shown the presence of the \u2018\u2018winter fish\u2019\u2019 in Trois-Rivi\u00e8res and in the St. Lawrence River. In fact, people have been fishing there since 1600. Every cloud has a silver lining. When the tomcod left the Saint-Maurice River, which was polluted because of industrialization, it adopted the Sainte-Anne River as a safe place to spawn. When did the move occur? Who knows\u2026?<\/p>\n
The tomcod was only discovered in 1938 by Eug\u00e8ne Maihot when he was cutting some ice blocks for his family\u2019s icebox. It wasn\u2019t long before fishing shacks were installed on the river. Even if they were quite small and basic, they kept the fishermen safe from the cold and the snow. Little by little, the good news spread throughout the region. In the 40s, visitors would come by train to enjoy this Christmas manna. The outfitters provided the transfer from the train station with their dog sleighs.<\/p>\n
The first carnival was organized in the 50s and the event\u2019s popularity has increased over the years throughout the whole province. At the peak of the fishing seasons, there were more than 1200 fishing shelters on the river. In the late 80s, the activity began to suffer from the effects of commercial fishing. The number of fish caught decreased and several outfitters had to shut down their businesses. At the worst of the crisis, only 230 fishing shelters could be numbered on the site. The hard times ended when a moratorium forbidding commercial exploitation was enforced in 1992.<\/p>\n