Cicadas - A Bust

They're everywhere I fish and the fish are on them. I caught fallfish,panfish,trout and smallmouth bass that were feeding on cicadas. I wasn't ready the last time this brood hatched,but I am this time. It's great.
 
I have n't seen or heard one anywhere in western Lehigh Valley.
 
I'll "spot burn", but the Lehigh Gorge is full of them. From just below Lehigh Tannery to at least Rockport, they are crossing the Lehigh and the fish are eating them willingly. The tricky part is (as Sbecker knows) is getting to them on the Lehigh... If you can access the banks, or are brave enough to float it, you can get on some nice fish.

Hickory Run SP is also full of them...

Coming down the NE Extension of the turnpike, they were all over the place just before the Blue Mountain tunnel heading south.

 
Here I thought they would be everywhere in SE Pa,but it seems it is a very spotty localized hatch.
 
Fished my local in Harriman State Park in NY, and had one of the greatest days on the water ever. The cicadas are intensifying up there and I've been fishing size 8 cicada imitations. Normally you'll catch a handful of seven or eight inchers, but today I hooked three absolute slobs, landing two of them. The biggest was about 17 inches and was one of the best fights I've ever had fishing, period. Three pools later I landed a 14 incher, just as I was already feeling like the luckiest dude ever.
 
I fished a wild trout stream in Schuylkill County on Friday. The Cicadas were there. I didn't see many along the creek, but the buzzing was intense. I didn't have a Cicada pattern, but the wilds definitely have been eating them. Most of their stomachs were protruding. I had a great day using a size 12 Royal Wulff.
 
wgmiller wrote:
I'll "spot burn", but the Lehigh Gorge is full of them. From just below Lehigh Tannery to at least Rockport, they are crossing the Lehigh and the fish are eating them willingly. The tricky part is (as Sbecker knows) is getting to them on the Lehigh... If you can access the banks, or are brave enough to float it, you can get on some nice fish.

Hickory Run SP is also full of them...

Coming down the NE Extension of the turnpike, they were all over the place just before the Blue Mountain tunnel heading south.
Click to expand...

Yea I dunno if it was the time we floated, but fishing wasn't epic as I thought it would be. Picked up a few trout and some nice smallmouth. Whatever you do, do not float the upper gorge on Sunday afternoon when they decide to cut the flow back from 750cfs to 235cfs in a hard body drifter. The flow change might have had a major factor on the fishing.
 
Yeah, I can attest to what Troy is saying. Started discussion in newbie jam brush up thread. General Lehigh drainage. Bugs everywhere. FAT brookies with lumpy bellies.
 

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Love that brookie pic. That one is gonna need a Pepcid :-D
 
I agree Pat. Lots of fish with full bellies!

One thing I have to remember to do next time with cicadas is give the fish more time to get the fly in its mouth. My hookup/landing ratio has not been very good. Either the fish inhales it, or it's a swipe. The fly is so big that it really is different than fishing your typical terrestrial.
 
wgmiller wrote:
I agree Pat. Lots of fish with full bellies!

One thing I have to remember to do next time with cicadas is give the fish more time to get the fly in its mouth. My hookup/landing ratio has not been very good. Either the fish inhales it, or it's a swipe. The fly is so big that it really is different than fishing your typical terrestrial.
Click to expand...

When I give Turd Campbell some goldfish or minnows, he literally has them coming out of his gills he eats so many at once. I want to see that picture with a wild brookie or brown. Cicadas pouring out of him.

Anyway, to your point, not only are the cicadas big, the fish are just stuffed with them. I hope you guys can post more pics like the one above. Neat stuff, no pun intended :-D
 
It's easy to see why they are "smitten" for them. The energy they'll expend chasing a tiny trico versus the amount of calories and protein in a cicada makes it fairly obvious. There are going to be some nice, large fish in areas that have been seeing cicadas.
 
....and some really large fish turds ;-)
 
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