The best period for tomcod fishing!

To increase your chances of harvesting Atlantic tomcod on Sainte-Anne river in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade, try fishing at night, in the middle of the week, between January 15 and February 1, especially if there is a rising tide during the night. It's scientifically proven!

For two years, during the winters of 1993-1994 and 1994-1995, Normand Bergeron, professor at the Institut national de recherche scientifique (INRS-Géoressources), carried out a study on this topic, which confirmed hypotheses issued in 1979 by biologists of the Quebec government.

Atlantic tomcods wait for a rising tide to enter the Sainte-Anne river because there are sandbanks at its mouth that block the passage. During low tide, the water level barely submerges these sandbanks and the current increases as the water flows through certain restricted passages between these sandbanks. The fish must therefore try to find the least violent currents in this maze that is created between the sandbanks, under the ice. During receding tides, the current increase and this has the effect of limiting the migration of the tomcods toward their upstream spawning grounds; the fish will wait for the tide to begin to rise to enter the Sainte-Anne. A higher water level and a decreased flow rate increases the probability of tomcods finding their way, as well as that of anglers harvesting more fish!

In 1979, biologists of the government of Quebec also pointed out that anglers harvested more fish at night than during the day, especially when the tide was rising. They also highlighted that fishing during weekdays was more productive than on Saturdays and Sundays. They hypothesized that the increased number of anglers and vehicle traffic on the ice of Sainte-Anne river during the day and on weekends would frighten the Atlantic tomcod and make them less eager to bite.