Fishing at Bills Pond, Cow Head, Newfoundland and Labrador

• Overview

  Bills Pond is listed under Cow Head, Newfoundland and Labrador. Salt water lies 19 km off. With some 20 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Bank access stretches around 2.4 km in total. Compared with other Newfoundland and Labrador water on our list, it sits high. The nearest place of any size is Deer Lake, 73 km away. St. John's sits 436 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Bills Pond

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Across Cow Head, recorded fish include American eel, brook trout and rainbow smelt. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. Bills Pond gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from -11°C in February up to 14°C in July. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around mid May. Average temperatures cross freezing around mid May in spring and again near mid November in autumn. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. It sets the rhythm of the year at Bills Pond.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Inner Bottom Pond at 3 km is the sensible second choice. Where Bills Pond is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.