
To counter boring photos of fish in nets, I offer this exciting photo of a fish waiting for me to get my act together and release it.
Patrick L. Sullivan
To counter boring photos of fish in nets, I offer this exciting photo of a fish waiting for me to get my act together and release it.
This time of year the angler has to be alert. Because America needs more lerts. Hahaha.
The preceding joke is courtesy of James Fenimore Cooper Middle School, McLean, Virginia, ca. 1975.
Between Thursday, Feb. 15, and Saturday, Feb. 17, the weather warmed up considerably. This coincided with a lack of rainfall.
So I shifted the schedule around to allow for a couple hours’ worth of fishing on those days.
Thursday at the Blackberry was a bust. It was a bust mostly because I forgot things and had to trudge back to the car. Twice. Also the fish didn’t get the memo.
Friday I trundled down to Macedonia State Park in Kent. This stream gets stocked pretty heavily by the state in the spring, meaning April or May. Maybe March if conditions allow.
There are two distinct sections of interest and accessibility. The first is below a series of boulders and rock shelf that’s not quite a waterfall but is definitely more than a bunch of big rocks. There is a big inviting pool that is just a short scramble from the small parking area right by the sign announcing you are in the park.
As far as I can tell, you can fish downstream of here for maybe 200 yards before posting appears. The stream just above this formation is posted for a little bit.
This too was a bust, although I gave it a good going over.
Undeterred, I proceeded upstream into the area that is unambiguously open for fishing. It was also open for hiking and for day-tripping.
So I had company as I prowled the dirt road that runs right by the stream.
On the first pass, my shadow fell on the water just below this bridge, and dark shapes darted for cover. On the way back, I low-crawled up to it and horsed up a brown trout.Patrick L. Sullivan
I used a Tenkara rod, the Dragontail Mizuchi if you care. A dry-dropper technique proved effective, in this case a Chubby Chernobyl up top and a series of weighted nymphs below.
I lost the Chubby to a tree branch that snuck up on me. Cunning creatures, those bare tree branches.
So I deployed a Parachute Adams, which generated a couple of strikes and one hook-up.
All told, in two hours, four extremely skinny brown trout in the 10-12 inch range came to the net, except I forgot the net.
I went back Saturday and used an old bamboo fly rod instead, a 7-foot five weight Phillipson I’ve had for 40 years.
Same thing, pretty much, except I had more company.
The strategy is to look for soft water, as opposed to roiled up, foamy white water. This means covering a lot of ground fast, and not pausing to beat a particular run or lie to death.
An old adage: If they haven’t taken your fly after three tries, you’re just boring them.
The tricky part at Macedonia, especially on Friday, was that at between noon and 2 p.m. standard time, the sun was right behind me as I worked up the stream from the roadside. Two or three times, my shadow sent fish scurrying for cover.
Keeping a low profile was critical.
This means kneeling, often on rocks.
This never used to bother me, but I am old and creaky now.
I went to Herrington’s the recently and described what I was looking for — a lightweight, non-bulky set of knee pads with Velcro fasteners for choice that would fit over waders.
The young man who helped listened intelligently and supplied the desired item.
They are sturdy, easy to put on and take off, and cost $30 and change.
The only catch is that it looks goofy, somewhere between Mad Max and Yogi Berra.
“Game-changer” is an overused term, but it applies here.
As I type this, the temperature outside has plummeted and there is snow in the forecast.
So the lesson is to be ready to take advantage of these opportunities.
A brief aside: I was asked recently, and not for the first time, about how I decide whether or not to name a stream.
It’s worth repeating, so here goes.
If a stream is listed in the state Angler’s Guide, I will name it. It is public information, easily found, and I am not giving away any secrets.
If a stream is not listed, I do not name it. The curious will have to find it the way I did — by word of mouth, by looking at maps and by getting out there and trudging around.
Charlie Castellanos, left, and Allegra Ferri, right, sitting in the HVRHS library to talk about their experiences in the U.S.
“I would say if you are thinking about doing the program, do it because you get out of your comfort zone and learn so many things...” —Charlie Castellanos
Every year, Housatonic Valley Regional High School welcomes foreign exchange students to attend classes through the AFS Intercultural Programs. This school year, two students traveled to Northwest Connecticut to immerse themselves in American life and culture. Allegra Ferri, a 17-year-old from Italy, and 16-year-old Charlie Castellanos from Colombia sat down to reflect on their experience at HVRHS. As the academic year is coming to an end, they shared a few highlights of their time in the U.S. and offered advice to prospective exchange students.
Allegra: “My favorite part of this exchange year was coming here and experiencing an American high school.”
Charlie: “My favorite part is coming to high school and living the American dream and probably going to ski [for the first time].”
Allegra: “I played volleyball in the fall and I really liked it because everyone was so nice. Then during the winter, I was part of the crew for the musical and now I’m doing tennis. I really enjoy it because it’s a good team. I love how American high school has sports and activities after school.”
Charlie: “I did soccer in the fall, which was my favorite. I did the play in the winter and right now I’m doing track and field. We don’t have school sports in Colombia. This is one of the things I’m going to miss the most.”
Allegra: “I would say do it because living in another country is a great experience to grow and improve another language. It improves your skills of being by yourself.”
Charlie: “I would say if you are thinking about doing the program, do it because you get out of your comfort zone and learn so many things like culture, language and it’s just a completely new experience. It will stay with you your entire life.”
Students from Housatonic Valley Regional High School wrote and produced the inaugural edition of HVRHS Today, a new publication by and for students in the Northwest Corner.
This inaugural issue of HVRHS Today marks the first student-led journalism effort at the high school in several years. The program is a collaboration between the Lakeville Journal, the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation and the 21st Century Fund.
Anna Gillette, Mia DiRocco, Shanaya Duprey, Madelyn Johnson and Ibby Sadeh volunteered to form the first group of students comprising the staff of the HVRHS Today.
The five girls got to work just before spring break, meeting as a group of reporters for the first time at the Lakeville Journal office in Falls Village on Wednesday, April 9. That night, the team hit the ground running throwing out ideas for their first reporting projects and discussing the basics of gathering news and reporting facts.
In the following weeks, the students gathered weekly every Thursday at the Lakeville Journal office to discuss interviewing, writing and reporting and plan their coverage for the paper. The students took the lead at every turn, choosing which topics they would like to cover and deciding what sources were best for each story.
Anna Gillette, of Lakeville, joined the program out of a passion for research writing and a desire to learn about a potential career path. “I don’t really know what I want to do in the future and I don’t know what career I want to pursue,” Gillette said. “So I think that this is a good opportunity to, kind of, test the waters to see if this is something I would be interested in.”
Gillette contributed reporting on the latest production of the high school’s Unwritten Show, a completely student-led annual production written this year by Sara Huber and co-directed by Huber and Alex Wilbur. Gillette also reported on and profiled the winner of this year’s “Next Top Mountaineer” pageant, a senior named Manny Matsudaira.
Madelyn Johnson, of North Canaan, said she joined the program to hone her writing skills. “My English teacher calls me a ‘stupendously boring writer,’” Johnson said. “There’s not much emotion or anything in my writing. It’s pretty much just fact, fact, fact.” This is a good thing, Johnson said, for Advanced Placement tests, but not necessarily for more creative assignments.
The program pushed Madelyn Johnson out of her comfort zone, something she said her mother has spent her whole life teaching her to appreciate. “My mom has always had me facing my fears,” Johnson said. “Even if I didn’t always like them, I was always sort of forced to try new things. So I’m trying to continue that with the new independence I get as I grow up.”
Johnson profiled the seniors of the HVRHS track team that will be going on to run for their collegiate teams after graduation, and Richie Crane, who won a Sondheim Award for his performance of Old Man Strong in this year’s production of “Urinetown.”
Mia DiRocco, of Cornwall, said she wants to pursue a career in journalism after graduation. “I’m really passionate about politics, and now is a great time for that,” DiRocco said. “And I’m really interested in international relations, linguistics — and I love writing — so, it’s a career that I think encompasses all my interests in one.”
DiRocco focused her reporting on the no-longer-imperiled tennis team and sports involvement at HVRHS in general. Her reporting dug into the benefits of the brand new tennis courts and the efforts required to bring back previously dissolved groups — like the recently reformed cheerleading team.
Ibby Sadeh, of Falls Village, said she expected the program to help her with her social skills. “From the first meeting I definitely thought it could be fun and valuable to learn new skills and build on my social skills,” Sadeh said. “And also help with my writing skills. I’ve only done essays and reflections for class. I haven’t actually written in this form before.”
Sadeh contributed the inaugural reporter’s notebook report, reflecting on this year’s trip to Europe. Sadeh also worked with DiRocco to recap the first year behind the scenes with the Bias Education and Response Team, and with Gillette to produce a Q&A with this year’s foreign exchange students — 17-year-old Allegra Ferri from Italy and 16-year-old Charlie Castellanos from Colombia.
Shanaya Duprey, of North Canaan, like many of her compatriots in the program, wanted to seize an opportunity to improve her writing, but for a career in marine biology. “I’ve always been really interested in animals,” Duprey said. “I’ve found a new passion for the ocean. There’s not a lot of attention on marine conservation so I’d like to do that.” Duprey said style of researched, journalistic work she produced for HVRHS Today could help her in a future career as a scientist writing and submitting grant proposals and research papers.
Duprey focused her reporting over the past six weeks on the 21st Century Fund, a nonprofit organization that provides funding for educational opportunities and scholarships to HVRHS students. Her reporting focused on Silas Tripp, a student at HVRHS that could attend multiple educational engineering camps thanks to money from the 21st Century Fund.
HVRHS Today can be found online at www.lakevillejournal.com/hvrhs-today.
WATERTOWN — Housatonic Valley Regional High School girls lacrosse played Watertown High School for the Western Connecticut Lacrosse Conference championship Wednesday, May 28.
The cold, rainy game went back and forth with three ties and three lead changes. Watertown was ahead when it counted and earned a 6-4 victory to claim the league title.
Under the lights in Watertown, both sides displayed defensive discipline in a hard-fought match. It was the third meeting between these two teams this season and Watertown completed the sweep in the title game.
Watertown scored first in the opening minute. Housatonic quickly evened the score when freshman Annabelle Carden tucked a shot past the goalie on a fast break. The first quarter ended 1-1.
Freshman Annabelle Carden, no. 9, scored the first two goals for HVRHS in the title game May 28.Photo by Riley Klein
HVRHS pulled ahead with another goal from Carden in the second quarter. A few minutes before half time, Watertown tied it up again at 2-2 going into intermission.
Watertown regained the lead in the second half before HVRHS answered with a goal by senior Tessa Dekker. With seconds left in the third quarter, the Warriors went up 4-3.
As the sky darkened and rain intensified in the fourth quarter, Watertown built a lead. They scored twice in a row to start the final period and entered clock-management mode to drain time. Senior Lola Clayton scored once more before time was out and the game ended 6-4.
Housatonic's defense held Watertown to six points in the championship game. Watertown, the number one team in the WCLC, averaged more than 12 goals per game this season.Photo by Riley Klein
The championship’s most valuable player award went to Malia Arline of Watertown. HVRHS had five players chosen to the 2025 all-league team: Lola Clayton, Lou Haemmerle, Mollie Ford, Neve Kline and Georgie Clayton.
“Incredible finals. Incredible game to watch,” said HVRHS Coach Laura Bushey to her team post-game. “You should all be very proud of yourselves.”
“Holding a team to six points is something to be really, really proud of. Especially a team that’s as good as these guys,” said assistant coach Erin Bushey.
HVRHS qualified for the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Class S lacrosse tournament. The Mountaineers got matched against Wolcott High School in round one May 30. HVRHS won 13-6 and advanced to the second round to play top ranked Lauralton Hall June 3 in Milford.
Lou Haemmerle created offensive opportunities for HVRHS in the league final.Photo by Riley Klein
“Some I prefer are the grilled cheese. Pizza’s okay with some sauce. Hamburger too, I guess. The least favorite that I’ve tried is probably the hot ham and cheese. I don’t like that. I’ve started to see that they’re doing French fries, which I kind of like. They should probably start doing more of that.”
“My favorite lunch is probably the mac and cheese and popcorn chicken. I’d like to see it more frequently. Grilled cheese, cheese quesadilla, french toasts sticks, and chicken fajita
can all go.”
“My favorite is beef nacho grande. My least favorite is probably the fajitas.
I wish we had chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes more often.”
“General Tsou’s chicken is my favorite lunch. Also, the popcorn chicken and mac and cheese.
I really don’t like the French toast sticks or that we have pizza every Friday. We need some more variation.”
Photos by Ibby Sadeh and Mia DiRocco