Old forge fishing

[315angler4life]

I have been making annual trips to old forge every year since I was a kid, hiking hanging out in town, going to the dump years ago and just overall enjoying the place, I'd done a lot of recreational fishing near town and have caught a few decent fish in years past, but I would really OK,e to go and catch some good fish for once. Anyone have any suggestions on where to fish up there that's not to far from old forge and what to use, I'd prefer not to fish trout, but bergers can't be choosers lol thanks

[papa]

Years ago rented a cottage for a week on fourth lake did well on the small mouth and perch.i fished from the boat all the way down to old forge  in those 5 days lots of water to cover and decent fishing.had the best luck on fourth lake .

[rnksurfnturf]

If you figure it out please share....I stayed at 8th lake campground. This past labor dayfished 7th with no luck...and went to 4th for day and struggled ..fished around algers island.small smb..rockies and pperch...nothing over 6 inches

[315angler4life]

If fished from the docks in town but might rent a little paddle boat with my gf and give a few spots a try

[MickeyFinn]

Where 3rd and 2nd lake meet is kinda and all around spot, bass,pike,tigers etc etc..... 4th can be a tough lake to fish especially in the warmer months, majority of the fish go deep and unless you have down riggers and a fish finder forget it.... But with cooler days and nights ahead the fish should start moving up in the column.....

[xc600]

MK don't feel bad about 7th fished up and down dropoffs all around the lake even into 6th only caught a small smally and a couple of rockies. I drowned a ton of worms and lost $20 worth of harnesses and bottom bouncers.  I have tried drifting in my yak with my transducer down 20' looking for cold spots where I marked fish that were tight lipped.

[bluemountainlaker]

I do well on  numbers of fish in 7th. ill catch 15 lakers in a trip but not one will  be over 15 inches....but thbe bows and salmon on the otherhand r worth a look. I get ally lakers runnin the shoreline with the leantos in about 80 feet of water working north. yanking lead with Sutton spoons and my go to last time was a orange with black dots moosloock wobbler of a downrigger. always watch your riggers in 7th cause those small lakers in the summer wont trip your releases and you will drag around a fish for an hour   if you want big lakers look at 4th but the action will be slower and 4th has a do not eat warning on fish. they have ddt barrels sunk in the lake from what im told. eighth lake is also fun but again smaller Lakers with nice bows and salmon. e8th is tough cause of the sharp drops it has in a few spots so down rigging solo can be a pain. there's also raquette lake near by if you want awesome laker fishing and top ranked bass fishing. you may also have a chance at a monster brooktrout or salmon n there to. have fun up in that area! its my favotite place to be in the fall. hunting in the am fishing in the pm. good luck and take pics! ill expect a full report

[315angler4life]

Well I won't be doing a down rigging or anything of that sort  I'm not much of a trout fisherman,I do all my trout in small streams  not far from my house. But I did land a Landlock salmon that was about 17" some years back, I thought it was a cool fish.the only lakes or ponds that have produced for me was, big bad luck lake, whortleberry, and Ross ponds. But these are almost a 5 mile hike back and a ride from old forge. I caught a real nice northern,a bunch of brook trout and noticed a huge largemouth 5+lb sitting near shore but I spooked him when I approached. I'm not expecting anything crazy but I will let you guys know

[redarrow61]

going up to Fourth Lake tomorrow gonna run downriggers deep and run planer boards with flat line Mickey Finns , Grey Ghosts, and some muddlers , probably run some christmas trees with a hard to resist fat night crawler ,that is our plan ,gonna be a nice day will let you know how we make out

[bluemountainlaker]

sweet I fished big bad a few times. my friend has a 44 inch pike on his wall from there. ive got some  pig smallies and a few mid teens pike 3 years. my friend belongs to the northern frontier camp I belive. ross is a fun but hard lake to acess. its a rugged swampy hike of 5 miles. but the fishing is worth it if the black flyes don't carry you away! god luck guys!

[redarrow61]

As my buddy said you never know what your gonna catch out of Fourth it has alittle bit of everything in it we mainly fish Raquette a few times a year but we are changing up this year lol ....we used to do our "He mans womans hater club " weekend on eighth lake in the 80s for Columbus day weekend and caught many fish but it has gone down hill for some reason and we say New York Sportsman magazine featured it and everyone came and kept all they caught .... doesnt work for a small lake like eighth 

[pieman1998]

fish from Wednesday to sunday fish 4Th 8 Th and raquette lake  4 Th sunk 8Th 2 bows 1 blowhead 2 small lakers and  raquette lake   4 Small lakers

[315angler4life]

sweet I fished big bad a few times. my friend has a 44 inch pike on his wall from there. ive got some  pig smallies and a few mid teens pike 3 years. my friend belongs to the northern frontier camp I belive. ross is a fun but hard lake to acess. its a rugged swampy hike of 5 miles. but the fishing is worth it if the black flyes don't carry you away! god luck guys!

 He when I went it was me and a couple of my buddies who arnt  so I only managed a couple hours of fishing. I'd like to fish them again, but like you said its a rugged 5 min walkabout 1000ft elevation total and the black flies are crazy up there ! Funny you mention a 44inch northern. Just cause a notherthn that was 44inch in baldwinsville ,NY. Wanted to keep him for a mount. But I let him free after 4 or 5 pictures. Might get a replica mount made.