There is lots of info on the internet.....in french....about fishing through the ice on Baie des Ha! Ha!. Since I was the one that really started the ball rolling in the 70's, I think I can give you a lot of info right here.
First of all, it's deep water fishing for salt water species. There is a layer of fresh water that floats over the top of the salt water so a person can catch smelt and brook trout in shallow water. The quota is 120 smelt and 5 brook trout per day per person. The average size of the brook trout is about 14 inches. Quebec residents do not need to buy a fishing licence.
Most people fish deep water (100 to 400 feet) for Atlantic cod, halibut, ocean perch, lingcod and a bunch of other species. The quota is 5 fish. Here again, Quebec residents do not need to buy a fishing licence.
The season starts around the 10th of January but if the ice is thick enough close to shore, some people walk out on the ice to fish smelt a bit before this date.
What sets apart the ice fishing in Ville de la Baie from other sites is the number of fishing huts. Over 3000 huts. Many are quite large and people spend more time in their "winter cottage" than at home.
The gear I use for deep water fishing is a good short rather stiff rod and a reel loaded with 10 or 12 lb Fireline. I found that 14 lb Fireline is a bit too wiry. 20 to 30 lb test braid also works great.
The more successful fishermen use good sonars to spot cruising ocean perch (called sébaste) at mid depth and then present their bait (usually a small dead smelt) just above the ocean perch. The ocean perch are not large (average 1 lb) but are great eating. There was a time (back when I was one of the first to fish for this species) when a person could catch over 100 perch per day. Almost everyone just threw the ocean perch on a pile of dead fish beside their fishing hut. They all regret doing that now that this specie's population has been drastically decreased. The populations of all the other species have also been drastically decreased over the years.
Cod, halibut and lingcod are caught on the bottom. The best bait is fresh smelt, fresh shrimp or night crawlers.
I rarely go deep water fishing anymore. I am content to just go fishing for smelt when the weather is nice. I use a portable pop up shelter. I prefer going to St-Fulgence which is upstream from the Baie. Here, it's quieter and the fishing for smelt and brookies is better. I love to eat fresh smelt. I keep the real small smelt for bait. When the smelt are really biting, you can catch about 4 or 5 on a set of 10 hooks in about 10 seconds.
I would say that the best fishing is on a rising tide.
What attracts so many people to Ville de la Baie is the fact that you can drive right up to your fishing hut and the socialising is fun.
There is far better fishing for cod if a person gets further away from the fishing villages. You will need a snowmobile. Having a shelter and gas ice auger does simplify things a lot. The ice can get to over 3 feet thick.
There is a fishing boutique in Ville de la Baie that specializes in ice fishing. Just about everything imaginable can be bought there for very reasonable prices so don't buy anything before you get to Ville de la Baie unless you know exactly what you will need. It's called "Accommodation des 21". They have a great website and lots of info about the ice fishing.
It is real cold on the ice. Wear the warmest clothes and boots you can find if you do any fishing outside of a fishing hut.
There are many huts that can be rented.
As I said before....don't expect to catch many fish unless you decide to use snowmobiles to ride to remote areas of the Saguenay River.
