Starkes Pond Fishing Guide, Goose Cove East, Newfoundland and Labrador

• Overview

  Starkes Pond is a Goose Cove East water, in Newfoundland and Labrador. The shore lies 0.7 km out. The water covers some 34 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. Shoreline comes to about 4.2 km, small enough to learn in a day. St. Anthony is the closest place, 6.6 km off. After that come Baie Verte at 160 km and Twillingate at 198 km. Being near a boundary, it pays to know which side you are fishing.

• Where to Fish on Starkes Pond

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. 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. Work Starkes Pond in sections rather than trying to cover it. Snags are worth the risk if you fish them carefully.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 14°C and January about -11°C. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. The lid arrives early and lasts until roughly mid May. In an average year the thaw lands around mid May and the freeze near late November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. It holds true on Starkes Pond more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. For a change of water, Jacks Pond is 3 km distant. Treat Starkes Pond as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.