Three times more fishermen than last year on their lake

Photo Amélie St-Yves
The outfitter Claude Desaulniers in front of dozens of cabins that have not been installed this winter.

Amélie St-Yves

Saturday, 10 February, 2018 01:00

UPDATE
Saturday, 10 February, 2018 01:00

Look at this article

LOUISEVILLE | Enable the ice fishing without a licence this winter is a failure on the lac Saint-Pierre, where providers continue to see the number of fishermen melting away like snow in the sun.

There were about 1000 fishermen on lake Saint-Pierre since the end of the month of December, which is three times less than last year, according to the president of the Association of fishermen of lake Saint-Pierre, Jean Lévesque, who speaks of a catastrophic season.

Prior to the moratorium on the yellow perch fishing has been put in place in 2012, 10 000 people travelled there every winter. It remains only two weeks before the arrival of the icebreaker, which will mean the end of the season.

Jean Lévesque

Photo Amélie St-Yves

Jean Lévesque

President

Losses

Provider for 26 years, Claude Desaulniers is disheartened to see dozens of huts and sleep on his land next to the lake. People don’t even take the time to install them this winter. He is said to have lost 2000 $ from the beginning of the season.

“The graveyard of huts that I have, what do I do with it ? I don’t know. The government has destroyed. It is deplorable, ” he said.

However, the department of Wildlife announced in November that the people of Quebec could exceptionally go ice fishing without a permit until march, a measure to stimulate the interest of the population. A failure, according to Jean Levesque.

“It has not had a significant impact on the fishing this winter. Those who come already had their permits. Perhaps he would have had to announce it earlier, ” he said.

Conducted dead

In addition to the moratorium on the perch, this is the first year that the use of live minnows as bait is prohibited. Now, fishermen do wriggle their own lines to make us believe that the walleye and pike that the minnows are alive, one of the knockouts on the industry, according to Claude Desaulniers.

“As long as to operate the same, the government is also good to just close the fishery here,” he says. It calls for new independent expert opinions on the lake.

It bites

On the ground, however, some followers appear to be very happy. “It bites when even I don’t see a difference with the live minnows. Yes, I found that there was not a lot less of the world, but it, it also helps us to get out (of the fish), ” said Denis Tremblay Gagnon, 22 years.

In 2012, there were nine outfitters on the lake.

They are more than four and some may not return next year, because it is not cost-effective.