Every named lake, pond, river, and stream worth fishing in the Adirondack Park — with the species you'll find, the access you can count on, and the regions they sit in.
Mad Tom Lake is a two-acre pocket water in the Old Forge township — small enough that it might be more accurately called a pond, though the name stuck. The size suggests private shoreline or limited public access, typical of the smaller named waters scattered through the working forest and seasonal camps west of the Fulton Chain. No fish species on record, which either means it hasn't been surveyed or it doesn't hold a sustainable population — common for waters this size in the central Adirondacks. If you're tracking it down, confirm access and ownership before you bushwhack.
Maple Lake is an 18-acre pond in the Old Forge township — small enough to canoe in an hour, large enough to feel private once you're on the water. No public fish stocking records on file, which usually means wild brookies or nothing at all; local anglers would know. The lake sits in the working forest west of the main Old Forge corridor, part of the patchwork of private timberland, club property, and state easements that defines this stretch of the southwestern Park — access and use rights vary by parcel, so confirm before launching.
Mill Creek Lake is a 51-acre water tucked into the Old Forge area — a region dense with small lakes and ponds that tend to get overshadowed by the bigger destinations like the Fulton Chain. No fish survey data on record, which usually means either light stocking pressure or none at all, though small Adirondack lakes in this zone often hold resident brookies or perch populations that don't show up in DEC records. Access and launch details are elusive — check with local marinas or the Town of Webb office for current conditions. This is classic Old Forge territory: forested shoreline, likely private camps mixed with undeveloped stretches, and the kind of quiet water that pays off if you're willing to do the legwork.
Mink Lake is a 13-acre pond tucked into the Old Forge backcountry — small enough that you won't find it on most touring maps, but named and mapped by DEC, which means there's legal public water here if you know where to look. No recorded fishery data, which typically signals either marginal habitat or a pond that doesn't get stocked and doesn't get surveyed — sometimes both. Old Forge has a lattice of old logging roads, snowmobile trails, and unmarked footpaths that connect dozens of these smaller ponds; Mink is likely accessed via one of those routes rather than a marked trailhead. Worth a look if you're already working a loop in the area and have a topo map that shows the surrounding wetlands.
Monument Lake is a small 15-acre water in the Old Forge corridor — quiet, tucked away from the heavier summer traffic on the Fulton Chain, and the kind of pond that gets fished by locals who know where the access is and don't advertise it. No stocking records and no species data on file, which typically means wild brookies if anything, or it's been written off by DEC. The name suggests some marker or boundary stone from the old surveying days, but the history isn't documented in accessible records. If you're poking around Old Forge backcountry and find the put-in, it's worth a paddle — but don't expect a trailhead sign or a boat launch.
Mountain Lake is a 14-acre water tucked into the Old Forge area — small enough to hold intimacy, big enough to paddle without feeling boxed in. No fish species data on file, which likely means it's either unstocked and wild (brookies possible in the inlet/outlet if there are any), lightly fished, or simply off the DEC stocking rotation. Old Forge waters tend to break into two camps: the heavily trafficked Fulton Chain corridor and the back-pocket ponds that require local knowledge or a willingness to bushwhack. Worth a call to the Old Forge Visitor Center or a local fly shop for current intel on access and what's actually in there.
Mud Lake sits in the Old Forge chain-of-lakes district — a 27-acre backwater that lives up to its name. No public fish stocking records on file, and no maintained trail system on the maps, which tells you most of what you need to know: this is the kind of shallow, weedy pond that paddlers pass on their way to deeper water. The Old Forge area is thick with better-known destinations — Fourth Lake, the Fulton Chain, the Moose River — so Mud Lake stays quiet by default. If you're looking for solitude and don't mind a soft bottom, you'll find it here.
