Tridelphia - Sneak Preview

[UnkleRob2020]

Late last week, a colleague took me to Tridelphia after work. He has a reservoir runner. We launched at Greenbridge and mostly fished the area adjacent to the buoy line near the dam. In ninety minutes, I caught 5 crappie, 3 pike and around 5 white perch.

If it were not for him, I would likely not have caught much. I probably would not have fished in that area and also I would have been using different lures. He was exclusively using crankbaits that dive between 10' and 15'. I am stubborn and I tried my go to lures and got nothing.

I look forward to getting to know the lake better and fishing with Cliff and Mark. It was nice to catch a few fish so close to home and get rid of the bad taste in my mouth that I have had from years of getting skunked at Tridelphia and Rocky Gorge.

[Red_Beard]

A couple months ago I watched a guy land a 40" muskie in Tridelphia. He was trolling crankbaits along that buoy line for striped bass (the state stocks them). A couple buddies fished it this weekend, and were catching bass in 12-15 feet of water around mid-lake. Had to use some real finesse presentations. Pounding the bank isn't doing it right now, but they will move shallower with the bait as it cools down. Water temps are still in the mid-70s.

[dsaavedra]

What is the water clarity like in Triadelphia? I run straight braid on all of my rigs 90% of the time since almost all of the water I fish is very stained and has limited visibility. This has burned me a time or two while fishing lakes out in Western MD where the water was much clearer than what I'm used to and I think I'd have done much better with a nice long fluorocarbon leader.

[Mark]

Dave,

Triadelphia is a water supply reservoir. The water clarity is very high.

However, I seriously doubt your braid will inhibit strikes of the predatory fish we'll be chasing. Bass and pike typically hit lures from behind or the side. If they see your line at all, you're giving them a lot of credit if you believe that their tiny brains can distinguish it from other suspended debris that they routinely encounter in the water.

Case in point: Last weekend I fished with a guide in VA in an exceedingly clear river. The guide used no leaders in his gear. He tied lures directly to braid. I caught bowfins and bass and even a bullhead using his leaderless rods. Others on the trip caught snakeheads, white perch and even a redfish.

When I fish with my own conventional gear, I use mono leaders. I do that only because the mono serves two purposes. One, it saves me from cutting back expensive braid when I change lures. Two, I can grab the mono boat-side when I have a fish on in lieu of grabbing braid which may cut my fingers when it's under tension.

Think also about fly lines. They're much thicker than braid and certainly more visible than braid. Yet, anglers catch lots of fish on the fly even with sinking fly lines that are very visible underwater. And those sinking lines typically use short mono leaders, sometimes only 3 or 4 feet long.

So, I think most of the fish we pursue key on the movement of the lure. They have no idea what a jighead, a split ring, a connector, a visible hookpoint, indeed a line is. I don't think they worry about much else than attacking the lure.

[Red_Beard]

Dave,

I regularly use braid with a light mono or flourocarbon leader when fishing on Triadelphia. I tend to keep my leaders long, I pull off two arm lengths from the spool, but that's mostly so I don't have to tie on new leaders too often. It is very much a finesse lake. Most of my bass are caught on 4 inch plastics, although I also get them on small crankbaits and spinnerbaits. The pike really like the spinnerbaits too.

[DanMarino]

For fun, if you want to avoid a skunk. Get a bottom bouncer rig. Tie that thing on to your bait caster. Attach a mono leader that is 5 or 6 feet long. Then attach a floating rapala minnow or a night crawler worm harness. You can even attach a gulp night crawler or small curly tailed grub on a plain hook. Troll that baby around and see what happens.

[Red_Beard]

Oh a bottom bouncing rig will catch a ton of stuff in there! That is assuming you don't loss it any of the standing timber in there. They're great for avoiding getting snagged between rocks, but trees will eat them up!

[DanMarino]

haha. Yes! I haven't tried the bottom bouncer since Triadelphia re-opened. I can see the it getting hung up in the vegetation that grew. haha.

Before it was closed down, I used the bottom bouncer a lot to avoid getting skunked. Trolling through schools of crappies and white perch was always a lot of fun. Plus the occasional walleye, largemouth, and yellow perch were fun.

[Red_Beard]

I'm sure it would still work in a lot of places in the lower lake that remained submerged through the draw down. Just have to be careful!

[Mark]

During the cicada hatch in Triadelphia, the larger carp pulled my kayak to the shoreline like this:

IMG_1245.jpg

When I looked down, I could see fully leafed shrubbery completely submerged in the clear water. The carp made a beeline for it. One broke me off by tangling in the branches.

In time, those land plants that sprouted during the drawdown will surely die. But their woody branches will remain for years and will continue to provide excellent structure for fish.

[UnkleRob2020]

Sorry....i have to ask. What is a bottom bouncer rig?

Also, based on my colleague's recommendation I just purchased my first whopper flopper...i had never heard of it before

[DanMarino]

Sorry....i have to ask. What is a bottom bouncer rig?

https://www.fishing411.net/single-po...bottom-bouncer

I'll try to take a photo of my bottom bouncer set-up and post here. I can't remember what weight bouncer I use there.

[thatsnotaknife]

Slightly off topic but does anyone eat anything out of Triadelphia?


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[Red_Beard]

I mostly fish for bass and pike there, which I always release, but its got a heck of a crappie fishery. I've seen plenty of people keeping them and the occasional perch as the lake has both white and yellow perch as well.