Fishing Lance Cove Pond in Hant's Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador

• Overview

  Look for Lance Cove Pond in Hant's Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador. The land about it is rolling bush. At some 1.09 sq km it is far too large to cover on foot in a day. The perimeter runs near 5.2 km, so plan the walk before you start. Size puts it in the front rank of our Hant's Harbour list. Victoria at 28 km is the nearest place to stop. St. John's sits 61 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Lance Cove Pond

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. Time trips to the tide table rather than the clock here. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Across Hant's Harbour, recorded fish include Atlantic cod, American eel, bull-rout, capelin and polar cod. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. The near bank of Lance Cove Pond is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical August readings run about 16°C; by February the average is down near -5°C. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from late April. In an average year the thaw lands around late April and the freeze near mid December. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. Lance Cove Pond runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. A light spinning outfit with a small box of lures and some bait covers most of what swims here. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. The nearest alternative is Seal Cove Pond, 1.3 km out. Nothing here settles the position at Lance Cove Pond for certain.