Surfers catch winter waves in Lower St. Lawrence

Surfers catching waves in the Lower St. Lawrence have been able to do some January surfing nearRimouski thanks to the mild winter weather.

• Surfing the Great Lakes, no matter the temperature
• Climate change, ElNinobring balmy December in parts of Canada, scientists say

Jean-Christophe Girard-Lemaywas able to go surfing in the Ste-Flavie area.

"It's pretty unusual," he told All in a Weekend of surfing in January.

"Last year, I was surfing on Christmas day but usually in January, most of the time, we can't even access the water because it's too icy out there."

Girard-Lemay says it's not the temperature of the water that keeps them from surfing, it's the ice.

"The difference in temperature between summer and winter really isn't that bad. It's always cold," he said.

"But the ice. We can't get by that."

Girard-Lemay combines his love of surfing with his love of photography, capturing the crest of waves whether it's in Ste-Flavie or in Maine.

Check out his photos here.