My First 20 Inch Trout of the YEAR! (Streamer Fly Fishing for Brown Trout)

I finally caught my first 20 inch wild brown trout of the year!!
Last weekend I went streamer fishing during a rain storm in search of a big wild brown trout. Fly fishing during the winter can be frustrating, and this video is meant to show both the struggles and the triumphs of a winter's day in the Appalachian mountains.
I didn’t really have a plan for this particular day of fishing. I Just wanted to get out of the house after an awful string of winter weather. I sort of felt like streamer fishing but with the snow melt and overly cold water temperatures I wasn’t sure if it was the best idea. You see for the past week or two we had gotten sub zero temperatures and over a foot of snow, something that almost surely shut the fish down. So I started the day throwing around a jig streamer trying to gauge how active the fish were.
I caught 2 wild rainbow trout in one little section of water but that was about it. The scattered rain showers were making sure that what little snow was left was getting washed into the creeks. At some point during the day I just decided I’d rather risk not catching anymore fish at all and go for a bigger brown trout than I would continue down the path I was headed… which was that of a sub par day with nothing much being caught. Despite the cold weather the water levels were outstanding… they were just the right clarity to give me confidence that if I could find a big active brown trout I might stand a chance at getting him to eat. But finding one of these big fish that is willing to eat in 35 degree water temperatures isn’t that easy… So out came the 8 wt and the articulated streamer box.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… I’d rather be lucky than good. But I think a lot of times what I equate to luck is really just perseverance. I mean sure I get lucky, but I wouldn’t get lucky if I didn’t spend so much time on the water. And because so much time is spent on the water I’ve got years of experience about how the weather, water levels, and water temperature effect fish and where they might be hanging out. There is no substitute for time on the water, no amount of reading, no amount of youtube videos, and no amount of podcasts will make you put a big fish in the net for you. So get out there and enjoy some time on the water.
#fishing #flyfishing #outdoors #troutfishing #nature

[@ThreeAnglers]

“You’re a rainbow trout, you don’t like to relax “ is the most accurate statement I’ve heard regarding rainbow trout.😂

[@MrRourk]

Relaxing is for catfish

[@ThreeAnglers]

@@MrRourk true that🫡🤷‍♂️😂

[@hardmanfishing]

If they'd just relax for one second they'd make it back home a lot quicker 😂

[@doctordrommos6432]

@@hardmanfishingbrownies love to flop around too🤣 the only trout I never had much issue with was natives

[@Outdoor_Adventures570]

Love your content! Winter fishing can be humbling. Its sometimes hard to lower expatiations of fish numbers caught, but the big ones make it all worth while. Your videos light my fire to go out instead of being lazy! Tight lines!

[@hardmanfishing]

It's so easy to be lazy in the winter! I know I am all of the time, thanks for watching!

[@user-ib3le3cm8l]

Amazing moment comes suddenly🎉

[@daveschlom4033]

SO many good things to learn from this video. Perseverance is definitely something we fly anglers need but it can get tough mentally when you just feel like, as you said, the river beats you back down. And then...magic happens!!!!

[@hardmanfishing]

For sure!! Glad you enjoyed the video

[@briljantje9583]

Hi John, I admire your patience (I have not) and you perseverance.I saw you did not use a sinktip nor extra weight to sink your streamer. That means that when you are stripping in that weighted streamer it is no more than 20 inches below surface. And still you are catching your browns. I find it amazing.

[@hardmanfishing]

Yep! I do it on purpose. I love to see the fish eat... but also I get more control over what the streamer is doing. You'd also be surprised at how deep the streamers will run.

[@briljantje9583]

I understand. But I still wonder how many browns you would have caught when lowering your streamers.@@hardmanfishing

[@gregoryk.tanaka4285]

Great storytelling-and at times even poetic! Thank you!

[@hardmanfishing]

Thank you so much!

[@daveschlom4033]

And I love that you and I wear the same waders. DRYFT waders are awesome and you gotta love the denim look!

[@user-ib3le3cm8l]

CELEBRATION 🎉 Your First 20 Inch Torout Of The Year!! 👍 You seem to fish 30inch trout this year 😁

[@charlesnicholson2591]

The more you 🎣 the lucker you get!! Lol !! Great video!! Thanks for sharing!! Can't wait to see what you can catch this year!! ❤️🙏🎣

[@maxsaltern5421]

I really appreciate your videos man. You bring the reality of streamer/winter fishing to life. And you are right about time on water=bigger fish to the net. Amazing video and fish.

[@southerlandstation]

I enjoy watching your channel. I’ve been a fixer upper all my life.I learn a lot from you

[@tonywalkingstick8883]

Awesome, awesome brownie. Your perseverance says it all. Congratulations 💯. You are an awesome fly fisherman. Don't ever forget that especially when the elements including the river wants to beat you back down. Great video and always tight lines.

[@dwboat8]

great content love it no matter if you fishing or hunting. thank you for sharing.

[@henryleslievermont6004]

Awesome winter Brown! Enjoyed👍

[@hardmanfishing]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@plsullivan62]

Lots to like here. Especially getting those fish back in the water without unnecessary fuss.

[@user-gl1yf8wr5y]

Never caught a trout. I catch sog,s and small mouth. What a great video. West Wheeling.

[@frankmertz8366]

Awesome Job Great Fish

[@michaelsmith7193]

Quite an enjoyable adventure - and those were all pretty wonderful trout. Well done!

[@hardmanfishing]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed

[@aleta5873]

I like your narration of fish life in your world.

[@hardmanfishing]

Thank you!

[@davidbalderston2751]

My definition of luck is when preparation meets opportunity.

[@hernandezknives]

Nice catch. 🎣

[@pennyhigbee]

God is awesome, his creatures are amazing and fishing is the best therapy anyone could ask for! Enjoy your god given day.

[@uni_shadow164]

Love it!

[@dawnfirephotography]

Great narration on this!

[@hardmanfishing]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it

[@janicamoore9583]

Nice video Jon. I swear man you are so good at making videos.

[@hardmanfishing]

Thank you so much!! Glad you enjoyed

[@larryhudson4511]

Outstanding!

[@hardmanfishing]

Thanks Larry!

[@twinairplane1469]

Nice Man!!

[@davidleimeister5027]

I'm still looking for my first trout period.

[@landonedwards7504]

Great mid-winter adventure! You can't catch 'em if you ain't out there!

[@hardmanfishing]

That's the truth!! Thanks for watching!!

[@M3n24]

great video and beautifull river, I wish the places where I fish also had those fish, instead I have to settle for 10 inches maximum. btw what is the rod u where using i the first part of the video? I'm in love with that grip.

[@tonycamplin8607]

What a fish it was worth all of your perseverance and effort, well done. If it isn't a closely guarded secret it would be nice to have more details of your set up. In the uk we do not use the term streamer here they're're called lures, how heavy was that "fly"?

[@troutfishing6623]

Great day on the water, ….

[@bb-fe9ur]

Awesome

[@ChristianGossFishing]

I’m still looking for my 20 inch brown😭 Good vid tho😆

[@robertfortin213]

Love the content. I've got good news and bad news. Good news nice fish. Bad news is its not a brown trout it's a brook trout. Still a nice fish.

[@BackwoodsAnglers]

How are you liking that Streamer X rod? I've been considering buying one for a little while! Awesome Vid by the way!

[@devinshook3289]

Do you guys ever fish with fiberglass rods? If so, whats your opinion on them?

[@Micah_george]

Are you using floating line or sinking line it’s hard for me to tell lol. Great video love the steamer fishing.

[@hardmanfishing]

Floating line! Thanks for watching

[@Stevensfishingreel]

Fishing high water conditions is so frustrating

[@PlayinNgaming]

Been watching your videos and motivated me to go fly fishing today and got not one bite ha

[@hardmanfishing]

We all have those days!!

[@PlayinNgaming]

@hardmanfishing went again today and got some cutthroat and rainbows made up for it forsure!

[@robertmorgan1132]

great fish, is that a streamer x 8wt?

[@hardmanfishing]

Yep

[@jeredzank5332]

I am a very new trout fisherman. Yesterday I was out and fishing near me was a fly fisherman and a gentleman fishing with worms. Me on the other hand I was using mepps and rooster tail spinners. I was getting a lot of action. The biggest was only about 12" hut it was a blast and I lost more than I caught. My question though is, does your chances of catching a bigger fish go up when fly fishing or worm fishing compared to spinning reel and spinner? Like I said at the beginning I very new to this. On another sad note. I had a 20"+ brown "I think" swim about 3 feet from me. It was very dark orange on the side, but his jaw was dangling like it had been broken.

[@hardmanfishing]

I mean it depends I guess. If you're going for wild trout I think your chances at a big fish go up a little bit. But regardless of whether you fly fish or spin fish you have to be a good angler to Catch a big trout because they're not stupid. I've caught many big fish on both 😂

[@HalfInsaneOutdoorGuy]

how often do you go out fishing, and how long do you stay out streamer fishing? I go out almost every week, (except when the wife is being a b. like today) and usually fish about 6 hours on saturday morning, again, when the wife isnt being....yeah. that said 3 hours of chucking my streamer X rod and my whole right side is pissed the fk off at me and can hurt for days.

[@hardmanfishing]

I go probably 1 or 2 times a week, usually on the weekends. At least this time of year. In the summer it's a lot more. But I'll streamer fish for a full 8-10 hours. Definitely is tough the first time or two you do it, but you get used to it.

[@terrysowards3379]

Where is this. Im in Oklahoma

[@BACON850]

What’s your setup!?

[@bengibson2383]

I was proud of my 14-15 inch brown today, I will hit 20 one day, tempted to just run streamers tomorrow but not sure yet.

[@bengibson2383]

It was also my first time on a Euro rod so that was really cool to!

[@Mattytube18]

What state?

[@bigpardner]

Is it a secret where this is, general area ?

[@pkflyfishing4803]

Hi, it's polite to answer when someone asks you something, believe me, it's not that difficult 😉😄. So I'll ask one more time: what kind of rod do you use for streamer fishing? I see Redington but I don't know what version, length and weight # . Or another fly rod for a streamer. Thanks for the reply and good luck.

[@hardmanfishing]

It's not a Remington it's a Echo Streamer X

[@user-gl1yf8wr5y]

Fly fishing looks like a lot of work.

[@tristanlewis6493]

what the song at 2:20 ?

[@davea5150]

Patients Right?

[@mtb_flyfish_skate]

Nice suse

[@gaemrpaterso-ri2jd]

this was crispy, not sure why?!

[@hardmanfishing]

crispy??

[@gaemrpaterso-ri2jd]

yes crispy, just a clean eat by the biggie @@hardmanfishing

[@FeathergirlLimited]

Hey man, what is your secret to getting so many subscribers?

[@hardmanfishing]

I don't know 😂 Post consistently decent videos every week for 4 years

[@Bentley-bq6ml]

I want a ride please

[@crazydeadhead420]

can't catch em if you don't try all day 🤣

[@johno1356]

Hey jon check ur recent gram post, 🔥 vid btw

[@johno1356]

I commented on the recent post and sent u a message, if u could get back to me eventually id appreciate it

[@user-te6dk5zi6u]

I streamer fish pretty much every day I’m out(4-5 days a week), especially in the winter. Slow everything down, use streamers with that have less weight and flash, and it is usually my most effective method. I was in CO for the last couple of weeks, three streamers all day a few times I was out and did great. The warmest day we had was 36 degrees. NEVER be afraid to throw a streamer.

[@user-yg3um5hc2x]

Let’s goooooooo

[@TimE-bc9ez]

Good job on turning a 45 second video into nine and a half boring minutes