Lake Ohrbach

I have not  fished this lake in a few years but it is on my "to do list" this year.

Only Staten Islanders fish this lake on a regular basis and it is a gem.  This is a quiet
lake with few people fishing when it is open to permit holders in the spring.

Since it belongs to the Boy Scouts, a permit is needed to fish here and the permits are limited.

At it's deepest point it is 16  feet deep.  Wading is permitted.

It is known for it's big Large mouth bass and trophy size pickerel!

I made these " flies" by gluing small soft baits to bass hooks.  I have caught a number of
fish with this; including white perch, bass and panfish.


The 65-year-old Lake Ohrbach covers approximately 17 acres of the 143-acre Pouch Camp facility, which is actually an entity that is separate from the surrounding Greenbelt.
A secret treasure of the West Shore, most residents aren't the least bit familiar with it.
Formerly Flagg Pond, the lake was renamed when the now-defunct Ohrbach's department store funded a man-made dam in the early 1940s.
The blockage allowed the flow from adjacent ponds -- Hourglass, Pump House and Long, to name a few -- to turn the shallow swimming hole into a body of water with some real body to it.
On the outskirts, the lake consistently runs from 3 to 7 feet deep, but averages out anywhere from 7 to 11 near the middle. The lowest trench bottoms out at about 16 feet.
Fishing is the main attraction here with bass, pickerels, catfish, freshwater eels, crappies and sunfish swimming beneath the surface. And the floating docks provide an ideal spot for 125 prospective anglers.
Why that amount? Because the Greater New York Councils of the Boy Scouts of America only make that many permits available to fisherman prior to the season.
Scouts and YMCA campers make up the largest portion of the near 40,000 people who enter the gates each year. They have the distinction of being allowed to take advantage of the safe zone for swimming in the summer months, as well as canoeists and kayakers.
Overlooking Ohrbach are not only a portion of the camp's 52 leantos, but also Berlin Lodge. Named after legendary composer Irving Berlin who donated all the proceeds of "God Bless America" to the New York Scouts, the meeting hall is deserving of its serene location.
Senior Camp Ranger Gil A. Schweiger cares yearlong for the entire facility and often treks up and down the blue and yellow trails around Ohrback. Despite being partial to warmer weather, he admits that the chill of autumn adds a whole new dimension to the lake.
"It's a great place in the fall when the colors change. It's just incredibly beautiful."