Windbound Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  The Happy Valley-Goose Bay entry here is Windbound Lake, in Newfoundland and Labrador. The water sits 466 metres up. It is high ground by Newfoundland and Labrador standards. The closest town, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, is 210 km distant. The nearest city of size is Saguenay, 823 km away. Also within reach: Pike Lake the better part of 24 km and Disappointment Lake out at 54 km. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Windbound Lake

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Open biodiversity records for Happy Valley-Goose Bay list brook trout, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and longnose sucker. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. On Windbound Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 11°C in August and bottom out at -22°C in January. Winter runs most of the calendar, and everything worth doing happens in the gap. Ice is part of the season here, ending near early June. The season between ice runs from about early June to early November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Windbound Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Pike Lake at 24 km is the sensible second choice. Where Windbound Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.