Hat Pond in English Harbour East: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Hat Pond stands in English Harbour East, Newfoundland and Labrador. Salt water lies 3.4 km off. At 8 hectares it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. Marystown lies 56 km from the water. The big place round here is St. John's, 166 km distant. In the same area: Billys Pond lies 1.2 km on, 1.2 km away is Curve Pond, First Pond lies 1.4 km on, 1.7 km away is Big Deadfall Pond and Old Joes Pond lies 3 km on. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Hat Pond

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. English Harbour East records list bull-rout among the fish reported. County data is a starting point rather than a guarantee. The shape of Hat Pond decides where the fish sit.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from -6°C in February up to 16°C in August. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. The lid arrives early and lasts until roughly late April. Break-up sits around late April on average, with the water closing again about mid December. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. Expect Hat Pond to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. One rod, a handful of hooks and floats, and a few small lures are enough for this water. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Billys Pond, 1.2 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Nothing here settles the position at Hat Pond for certain.