Macedonia Brook

The Macedonia Brook that rolls through a state park and then meanders through the Kent meadows is arguably the prettiest 8-mile stretch of water in the state. It's not just the sight that is so idyllic as this picturesque stream, barely 10 feet wide in stretches, slips beneath the treed canopy in the center of the park. The sound also is therapeutic. The rolling rapids, their water levels raised by recent rain, slip over rocks and boulders to form small, gentle waterfalls.

"It's such a healthy little stream," said Mike Humphreys, the DEP fisheries biologist responsible for overseeing wild trout management in the northwestern corner of the state. "It has good water quality. It's clear. It's cold. There's a watershed forest and not much development. The percentage of trout that make it to the next year is 30-40 percent, and that's a good survival rate.

"In the lower Wild Trout Management Area, the growth rate is pretty incredible. There are wild brown trout in there up to 23 inches long. It's hard to fish, and [anglers] definitely need waders, but there's not much canopy to get in the way of fly fishermen. There's a great opportunity there to catch some monster trout."

Even the access to Macedonia Brook is picturesque. Routes 44 and 341 take anglers past classic horse farms, old barns, vintage farmhouses, miles of old fieldstone walls and, in mid-spring, large daffodil fields. The lower portion of the brook bisects land owned by the National Park Service. The Appalachian Trail crosses the farmland that borders the brook, with anglers gaining access by climbing steps that cross a fence. In summertime, the park campsites that line the upper sections of the brook are filled with overnight campers, and many tent sites and picnic tables are only 10 feet from the water.

Signs in the state park mark the two Trout Management Areas, reminding anglers that they are fishing in a special wild trout area and that there is a 9-inch length minimum. The waters are stocked three times in the spring with the DEP beginning at the Keeler Road bridge in the Sharon section of the park and working their way downstream.

The state has had so little rain this spring, Macedonia Brook was just a trickle on Opening Day. Last weekend's rain raised the stream to more normal levels - ideal for the two more adult trout stockings it will receive before Memorial Day. The brook already has had one visit from the state stocking truck, which also released its annual allotment of 1- to 2-inch trout fry. Besides the 9-inch minimum length limit in the wild trout management area within the park, fishing in the wild trout management area from the confluence with Bog Hollow Brook to the Route 341 bridge is limited to catch-and-release. "There are two different TMAs and two different management areas," Humphreys said. "There is no stocking in the lower TMA, but there are plenty of trout, and it's easily accessible by the Appalachian Trail on National Park Service land.

"It's a great spot for kids and young fishermen," said Joe Macritchie, campground manager. "It used to be a secret. Not anymore." "There were probably 60 to 75 people fishing here Opening Day, but it's not unheard of to find nobody there weekdays this time of year. Now, with the rain, the streambed is full. There are a lot of pretty streams, but not many are as pretty as this one." [Hartford Courant, Tommy Hine]