Fishing Southwest Pond in Mary's Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador

• Overview

  The Mary's Harbour end of Newfoundland and Labrador holds Southwest Pond. Around the bank it is mixed forest. At 1.87 sq km this is proper open water rather than a pond. There is roughly 9.1 km of bank, more than one visit can cover properly. The nearest place of any size is St. Anthony, 80 km away. St. John's sits 549 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Southwest Pond

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Open biodiversity records for Mary's Harbour list brook trout, American eel and Arctic charr. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. At Southwest Pond the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 13°C; by January the average is down near -12°C. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around mid May. The water is typically free of ice between mid May and late November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Plan around that when you fish Southwest Pond.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Yankee Brook, 14 km away, makes the obvious fallback. The position on Southwest Pond is worth confirming on the day.