Management Success on Stoney Brook

Author: Carl Haensel

For those who have not explored the small, trout stream called Stoney Brook in central Minnesota, it is a shaded brook trout stream that flows into Upper Gull Lake northwest of Brainerd. Full of rocky riffles and runs, it averages only about 22 feet in width. Certainly it is not a “destination” stream like some of our other waters like the South Branch of the Root, the Straight River, or the many streams of the North Shore. Regardless, the Minnesota DNR has put forth tremendous effort in the past few years on the stream, including habitat improvement and special regulations prohibiting the harvest of brook trout. These regulations, first implemented in 2006, have been extremely successful in retaining quality brook trout in the stream as well as significantly increasing their average size. The numbers in the graph at right clearly show the success.