Fishing in Small Pennsylvania Trout Streams during the month of January catching & releasing large wild brown trout on spin gear while using Mepps spinners
You ever thought about building your own spinners? Old buddy of mine got me on to it about 30 years ago for steelhead. I ordered enough shit from the fisherman’s shack to probably set me up for life. Heavy stamped blades, superior clevises, easy as shit to build, cheaper and crap all over mepps in performance. Spin on a dime and will up your game. Some of the biggest browns I’ve caught here in the smokies are on my spinners. You might give it a try👍
How do you not get snagged? Everytime I go out and try my Mepps spinner I lose one. At $5/ that hurts. I might switch to single hook. Have you tried a single hook?
Lol….. oh make no mistake, I get snagged 😂 I have gotten halfways decent at not getting them too….. 😉 Never tried the single hook though….. just pinch the barbs on the ones I use! 👌
Hey Dusty! I love your videos man. I fish Mepps spinners pretty exclusively too. I’ve began to notice that pretty often if I don’t catch a fish in a hole with a gold blade,and switch to a silver blade and fish the same hole I tend to get a hit. I was wondering if you’ve ever tried this or found the same thing to be true?
Appreciate the compliment my man….. that is one that I honestly never tried much…… I don’t honestly think I’ve ever even got one on a Silver blade…… I typically run my streamer down through if the spinner doesn’t work👌🤙😁
Always appreciate your compliments brother….. glad you’re enjoying my stuff man! Definitely could possibly pick up a few things from watching my vids too….🤙👌😁🎣
My PB wild brown (profile pic) was also out of a tiny stream like this up in the Appalachians, albeit West Virginia. Blows my mind there is enough biomass in these tiny streams to sustain wild fish of that size. Amazing video my friend, tight lines 🙏
That’s so awesome my man, super great fish….. some super great fishing down in WV too from what I’ve seen……. Yessir, it’s truly amazing where & how these big fish are where they are…… as long as they keep doing what they’re doing, we’ll keep doing what we doing! Lol🤙👌😁🎣 Tight Lines my friend!!!🤙
Love your videos Dusty. For frame of reference, since we can't always see what you see with glasses, how deep are the normal runs you're fishing? 4-6? Obviously the plunge pools are deeper.
It all depends, certain streams I’ve had big trout come out from a 2 foot deep undercut & then yes many of the spots I get them are 4-6 feet deep or deeper!
Hey Dusty, firstly, I love your content. You're a big part of the reason that I bought a Go-Pro this past October and started filming. I fish the Laurel Highlands on west side of the state, and have a mix of stocked creeks, mountain headwaters, and what I'd call valley/farmland headwaters. Some of the mountain streams have a mix of Browns and Brooks, which is great, because I'm always trying to catch a 15" Brook Trout, but an 18" Brown is excellent as well. The waters are normally crystal clear. My approach is similar to what I see you do in most videos, camo up, stealth, fish upstream, cast from as far as possible. My rod and line are lighter than yours, 5' St. Croix Ultralight with 2 lb test. I haven't had any troubles with snapping line... yet. The biggest brown I hooked into last year with 2 lb was 15 or 16 inches. The 18 inchers I caught last year were on 4 lb. I went to the 2 lb because I'm always paranoid about spooking the fish in clear water. I use 2 lb not so much because I'm worried about line shyness from the trout, but the added weight I need in order to be able to cast effectively. I had a Native Brook that was about 14" take one look at my two split shot and say nah uh, and swam away about two years ago, and it's haunted me ever since. I'm throwing night crawlers. 2lb test plus Night Crawler gives me as much casting distance as I can want. So I guess here's where my question/statement comes in. You're using spinners from the videos I've watched, and I wasn't sure if you were dedicated to not using live bait, didn't like going through the hassle of getting and keeping it, or you just found spinners to be more effective. I suspect the latter. I generally have a hard time in the cold mountain streams when I'm using a baitfish imitation, or a even a live minnow. Its like the wild trout know they're not supposed to be in water that cold. But, I could be using the wrong stuff. Kastmaster spoons and Joe's Flies are what I keep in my vest on any given day. Anyway man, sorry for the wall of text. I could just BS about pursuing wild trout in our state all day. Maybe we'll run into each other one of these days on a stream somewhere and we can talk shop. Until then, have a good one! And thanks for all the awesome fishing content again! Clint
Hey my brother super appreciate the compliments & glad you’re enjoying & also looking forward to seeing some of your content🤙😁🎣……& that’s so funny that you mention that tactic for fishing….. was literally just thinking about putting a video out on this very topic since I have a fair amount of content containing these exact methods! Coming soon I guess is my answer! Lol
@@chasingthewildwithdustyrho2620 Oh cool man! Well, that makes me feel a bit less nuts, haha. Can't wait to see it. I'm gonna try to get some video out soon. I have a privately listed video of me fishing for Brooks with worms on a fly rod, haahahhaha, but I don't know if anybody wants to see that. I think the fly purists would track me down and crucify me. You know how it is man, I have probably 14 trips worth of footage from the go pro, and I feel like all of it is crap, haha.
I won’t toot the own horn but I’ve got some pretty Epic content on there! Lol….. the problem was I had like two years of content archived that I never edited and I’m just putting it out now haha…… so everybody’s busting my balls about a net and not pinching my barbs when in fact I’ve been doing it all for a few years now! Haha oh well. 🤷♂️😜😁
@@chasingthewildwithdustyrho2620 it happens I had good intentions you were just a refuse to use a net guy with big fish that can spell disaster. Keep on fishing
Because it’s too thick to walk the bank edge and the fish always face upstream so if you walk upstream you’ll never spook anything upstream of you! 👌🤙👍
At the beginning of the film Dusty has a beard, but later in the film he doesn't have one ,also in in the beginning his net is held on by only a few zip ties but later the net has zip ties all around holding the net on
@@benjaminyoung1746 yeah if you’re not using a fly rod you’re just a piece of 💩👌🤙😂🤣 I’ve really been enjoying your videos too….. the ones where you’ve been catching All of the Big trout on a fly rod…. Epic👌😂
I fish a creek with some monster browns in it but unfortunately I don't seem to be able to get them to eat only a few strikes and they were absolutely gorgeous. Any tips on what I should do to get them to eat? I use spinnners and rapalas. Heavy structure and somewhat deep holes some reaching 8 1/2 feet deep.
@@chasingthewildwithdustyrho2620 Not usually but has been on opening day but other than that no. I've seen to me what look like a 30inch trout in this creek and I can't even fathom on how to catch it.
@@AceTheFishingPlace If you can see them, they can see you. Try to be stealthy or when the water is off color from rain. Trout go on the feed before streams blow out from shit getting washed into it like bugs worms, etc. Maybe try at dusk when visibility not as great for them, and nocturnal ones start their hunt. Some big fish only feed at night in many systems. Add something else to your tackle box like hair and marabou jigs. Many times if fish shut down to a flashing thumping spinner or spook, a small plain quiet jig dragged by their face or close may draw a vicious strike. Fish are opportunist, how they survive, take advantage of that and beat em at the game🤘
Nice job. 622 know stream well😊
You ever thought about building your own spinners? Old buddy of mine got me on to it about 30 years ago for steelhead. I ordered enough shit from the fisherman’s shack to probably set me up for life. Heavy stamped blades, superior clevises, easy as shit to build, cheaper and crap all over mepps in performance. Spin on a dime and will up your game. Some of the biggest browns I’ve caught here in the smokies are on my spinners. You might give it a try👍
Any day you put out a new video is a great day! Thanks for more quality content sir.
Your kind compliments always put on a smile boss…… really glad you’re enjoying my stuff! 😁😁😁🤙😉
Definitely try to put good stuff out for you guys!! 😁
NICE VIDEO AND GOOD NARRATION THANKS FOR YOUR HARD WORK!!!
I thank you very kindly Good sir, glad you’re enjoying and hope to keep the good content flowing for all of you guys.👌🤙😁🎣
Tight Lines my friend😊🤙
How do you not get snagged? Everytime I go out and try my Mepps spinner I lose one. At $5/ that hurts. I might switch to single hook. Have you tried a single hook?
Lol….. oh make no mistake, I get snagged 😂
I have gotten halfways decent at not getting them too….. 😉
Never tried the single hook though….. just pinch the barbs on the ones I use! 👌
Hey Dusty! I love your videos man. I fish Mepps spinners pretty exclusively too. I’ve began to notice that pretty often if I don’t catch a fish in a hole with a gold blade,and switch to a silver blade and fish the same hole I tend to get a hit. I was wondering if you’ve ever tried this or found the same thing to be true?
Appreciate the compliment my man….. that is one that I honestly never tried much…… I don’t honestly think I’ve ever even got one on a Silver blade…… I typically run my streamer down through if the spinner doesn’t work👌🤙😁
Man I would love to spend the day watching you and learning! Always enjoy your videos.
Always appreciate your compliments brother….. glad you’re enjoying my stuff man! Definitely could possibly pick up a few things from watching my vids too….🤙👌😁🎣
My PB wild brown (profile pic) was also out of a tiny stream like this up in the Appalachians, albeit West Virginia. Blows my mind there is enough biomass in these tiny streams to sustain wild fish of that size. Amazing video my friend, tight lines 🙏
That’s so awesome my man, super great fish….. some super great fishing down in WV too from what I’ve seen……. Yessir, it’s truly amazing where & how these big fish are where they are…… as long as they keep doing what they’re doing, we’ll keep doing what we doing! Lol🤙👌😁🎣
Tight Lines my friend!!!🤙
Love your videos Dusty. For frame of reference, since we can't always see what you see with glasses, how deep are the normal runs you're fishing? 4-6? Obviously the plunge pools are deeper.
It all depends, certain streams I’ve had big trout come out from a 2 foot deep undercut & then yes many of the spots I get them are 4-6 feet deep or deeper!
great job! love trout fishin in the appalachians! nothing beats it. in pa or down here in tn nc and sc. awesome video keep up the great work!🎉
Thank you kindly my friend, & yes absolutely some of the best fishing ever to be had! 🤙😁🎣
Wish I could be with you, nice job at 14:00. Loved them log jams if you can get a bait to them.
Yessir & Yessir…… logjams are definitely some of the best big trout holds!! 👌🤙😁
Hey Dusty, firstly, I love your content. You're a big part of the reason that I bought a Go-Pro this past October and started filming.
I fish the Laurel Highlands on west side of the state, and have a mix of stocked creeks, mountain headwaters, and what I'd call valley/farmland headwaters. Some of the mountain streams have a mix of Browns and Brooks, which is great, because I'm always trying to catch a 15" Brook Trout, but an 18" Brown is excellent as well. The waters are normally crystal clear.
My approach is similar to what I see you do in most videos, camo up, stealth, fish upstream, cast from as far as possible. My rod and line are lighter than yours, 5' St. Croix Ultralight with 2 lb test. I haven't had any troubles with snapping line... yet. The biggest brown I hooked into last year with 2 lb was 15 or 16 inches. The 18 inchers I caught last year were on 4 lb. I went to the 2 lb because I'm always paranoid about spooking the fish in clear water.
I use 2 lb not so much because I'm worried about line shyness from the trout, but the added weight I need in order to be able to cast effectively. I had a Native Brook that was about 14" take one look at my two split shot and say nah uh, and swam away about two years ago, and it's haunted me ever since. I'm throwing night crawlers. 2lb test plus Night Crawler gives me as much casting distance as I can want.
So I guess here's where my question/statement comes in. You're using spinners from the videos I've watched, and I wasn't sure if you were dedicated to not using live bait, didn't like going through the hassle of getting and keeping it, or you just found spinners to be more effective. I suspect the latter. I generally have a hard time in the cold mountain streams when I'm using a baitfish imitation, or a even a live minnow. Its like the wild trout know they're not supposed to be in water that cold. But, I could be using the wrong stuff. Kastmaster spoons and Joe's Flies are what I keep in my vest on any given day.
Anyway man, sorry for the wall of text. I could just BS about pursuing wild trout in our state all day. Maybe we'll run into each other one of these days on a stream somewhere and we can talk shop. Until then, have a good one! And thanks for all the awesome fishing content again!
Clint
Hey my brother super appreciate the compliments & glad you’re enjoying & also looking forward to seeing some of your content🤙😁🎣……& that’s so funny that you mention that tactic for fishing….. was literally just thinking about putting a video out on this very topic since I have a fair amount of content containing these exact methods! Coming soon I guess is my answer! Lol
@@chasingthewildwithdustyrho2620
Oh cool man! Well, that makes me feel a bit less nuts, haha. Can't wait to see it.
I'm gonna try to get some video out soon. I have a privately listed video of me fishing for Brooks with worms on a fly rod, haahahhaha, but I don't know if anybody wants to see that. I think the fly purists would track me down and crucify me.
You know how it is man, I have probably 14 trips worth of footage from the go pro, and I feel like all of it is crap, haha.
@@lerb21 Lol….. yeah man, put some in & you’ll round up that good footage! Definitely gotta work for it sometimes lol
What size jighead/hook size do you use for your streamer ?
Jig heads are 1/4 oz. & I believe the hooks are size 4 or 2🤷♂️
Not 100% sure on that, my buddy makes them for me! 🤙😁
nice close combat action! landing them quick with the net. ;)
I won’t toot the own horn but I’ve got some pretty Epic content on there! Lol….. the problem was I had like two years of content archived that I never edited and I’m just putting it out now haha…… so everybody’s busting my balls about a net and not pinching my barbs when in fact I’ve been doing it all for a few years now! Haha oh well. 🤷♂️😜😁
@@chasingthewildwithdustyrho2620 it happens I had good intentions you were just a refuse to use a net guy with big fish that can spell disaster. Keep on fishing
Why would you walk up in the stream
Because it’s too thick to walk the bank edge and the fish always face upstream so if you walk upstream you’ll never spook anything upstream of you! 👌🤙👍
At the beginning of the film Dusty has a beard, but later in the film he doesn't have one ,also in in the beginning his net is held on by only a few zip ties but later the net has zip ties all around holding the net on
Very observant…… that would be because this video was compiled of a couple different outings! 👌🤙😁
Is that an acceptable response? Lol😉😜
Never trust a guy with a spinning rod.
@@benjaminyoung1746 yeah if you’re not using a fly rod you’re just a piece of 💩👌🤙😂🤣
I’ve really been enjoying your videos too….. the ones where you’ve been catching All of the Big trout on a fly rod…. Epic👌😂
I fish a creek with some monster browns in it but unfortunately I don't seem to be able to get them to eat only a few strikes and they were absolutely gorgeous. Any tips on what I should do to get them to eat? I use spinnners and rapalas. Heavy structure and somewhat deep holes some reaching 8 1/2 feet deep.
Fish when the water is a little colored or a lot…. They feed much better then typically!
Is the stream heavily pressured by other fishermen?
@@chasingthewildwithdustyrho2620 Not usually but has been on opening day but other than that no. I've seen to me what look like a 30inch trout in this creek and I can't even fathom on how to catch it.
@@AceTheFishingPlace Persistence will or should eventually pay off…… knowing where they are is half the battle! 🤙
@@AceTheFishingPlace If you can see them, they can see you. Try to be stealthy or when the water is off color from rain. Trout go on the feed before streams blow out from shit getting washed into it like bugs worms, etc. Maybe try at dusk when visibility not as great for them, and nocturnal ones start their hunt. Some big fish only feed at night in many systems. Add something else to your tackle box like hair and marabou jigs. Many times if fish shut down to a flashing thumping spinner or spook, a small plain quiet jig dragged by their face or close may draw a vicious strike. Fish are opportunist, how they survive, take advantage of that and beat em at the game🤘
@@serpent6710 I do and I've been fishing the creek for about 7 years but these big boys are hard to get
Another one ! Great video dusty!
Thank you my Brother 👌🤙😁
Do the streams you typically fish get stocked every year?
The majority of the fish Dusty catches are wild
The large majority of the streams I fish are not stocked at all!!!
yea you can def tell they are wild fish. Clear difference in fight and look
They’re eatin good in that creek
Indeed…… Eatin good in the neighborhood lol👌😁
High water makes for damn good eating and fiesty fish
This man is a legend swear
You’re too kind! Lol
Definitely appreciate the compliment! 🤙😁
Wish I knew where any of these streams are. But I don’t!
@@RBS314 These streams are all across Pennsylvania my friend! 👌🤙😁