Chasing the Cicadas

[dudemanspecial]

Fished Spring on Saturday and caught over a dozen just by prospecting with a cicada.

Out of curiosity, were you catching these in an area where you could hear cicadas loudly?

I was there all day Saturday, and I had one caught fish on a cicada. I only fished a cicada for maybe an hour and a half, and it involved bouncing down the creek in my car stopping at easy to access spots, so obviously I wasn't trying too hard. I spent most of my day up above bellefonte where I heard no cicadas looking for rising fish and nymphing.

The reason I am asking though is that I ran into a group of guys that claimed they were "catching some fish on cicadas" (numbers were not mentioned) and that they were fishing around and above the paradise area, where again I heard zero cicadas so I never bothered tying one on. This would lend credence to your theory that they weren't really on them, just saw something big to eat like a beetle and went for it.

 

[Tiogadog]

Out of curiosity, were you catching these in an area where you could hear cicadas loudly?

I was there all day Saturday, and I had one caught fish on a cicada. I only fished a cicada for maybe an hour and a half, and it involved bouncing down the creek in my car stopping at easy to access spots, so obviously I wasn't trying too hard. I spent most of my day up above bellefonte where I heard no cicadas looking for rising fish and nymphing.

The reason I am asking though is that I ran into a group of guys that claimed they were "catching some fish on cicadas" (numbers were not mentioned) and that they were fishing around and above the paradise area, where again I heard zero cicadas so I never bothered tying one on. This would lend credence to your theory that they weren't really on them, just saw something big to eat like a beetle and went for it.

I fished in the wading section of Paradise on Saturday. You could hear cicadas in most of the spots. There were also a few on the gravel road. Like I said, it may have just been a general terrestrial bite.., my pattern was basically a size 6 fat head beetle with an orange body and a little flash in the wing.

 

[dudemanspecial]

I fished in the wading section of Paradise on Saturday. You could hear cicadas in most of the spots. There were also a few on the gravel road. Like I said, it may have just been a general terrestrial bite.., my pattern was basically a size 6 fat head beetle with an orange body and a little flash in the wing.

That's interesting, I never went to the paradise parking lot but fished the cabin stretch down to the stretch below the handicap access and never heard cicadas until I got down below the 550 bridge. Also fished around the rock and didn't hear them either. I'm sure they were spotty. It was unreal how loud they got as you went further towards bellefonte.

 

[Broodstock]

My experience on Saturday was hit or miss. With some sections of stream loud with a chorus and flying bugs, the fish were sure keyed in on them. Other sections where we heard them had little flying or on the water and the fish were not yet wise.

Also, the section that had active cicadas also was shallow enough at the bank for fish to come up the column. In the middle it was deep. The other section was more deep and the fish were very deep and didn’t come up.

Where the fish were wise to them, they were gorged and cicada parts were regurgitated upon landing.

 

[jifigz]

Yesterday, I decided to go exploring and fishing. I knew it rained a decent amount, but it had apparently rained way more than I realized. Pretty much every stream was blown out, and this includes mountain streams. I was able to find some fishing in a small first-order stream. I am a small stream guy, but this stream was even smaller than what I like.

Regardless, I checked out several streams, and I found cicadas all over the place. I think that when I first discovered that group a week or so ago that they were actually earlier to emerge than most. There are now cicadas practically everywhere. Yes, they were localized and in pockets, but you could hear them signing as I drove 70 mph down 322.

I found cicadas in the valleys and in the mountains alike. Also, I stopped by a lake, and the lake was covered in cicadas. I didn't really see anything trying to eat them, though. I made many casts into the lake trying to catch bluegills or small bass, and I observed for a while. I saw exactly two cicadas get pulled under by something. But most of the cicadas just floated on the surface and struggled. Fish really didn't seem to care.

I think in about another week, if rain slows down a bit and stream levels stabilize, that we are in and ready for some serious cicada action.

 

[SmittyTheSquatch]

Got out on sayer’s yesterday chasing carp while on a boat. We did pretty well! Was my first time ever targeting them and after a few missed inhales, we figured it out and landed a few. They are super spooky and we definitely were moving around trying to find them, but they are definitely floating around looking for cicadas. Sight casting to them is a blast.

 

[jifigz]

Got out on sayer’s yesterday chasing carp while on a boat. We did pretty well! Was my first time ever targeting them and after a few missed inhales, we figured it out and landed a few. They are super spooky and we definitely were moving around trying to find them, but they are definitely floating around looking for cicadas. Sight casting to them is a blast.

Which part of the lake, if you don't mind me asking? I'm about to leave in about an hour to head to Sayers. Maybe I'll throw my 6-weight in with some cicadas.

 

[lycoflyfisher]

Do it jifigz, a buddy caught 2 ~5lb largemouth out of a kayak on cicada flies last week

 

[SmittyTheSquatch]

Not too far from the bridge. I’m sure they are all over. The inlet was super muddy from all the rain. We just floated along the clear forested edges that had the wind blowing against the shore. We found some of the deeper coves tougher to get a bite.

 

[pugdom]

Rare because trout don’t eat them? Cicadas hatch every year. Even the 17 year variety hatch often because of the number of different types. Nothing rare about cicadas hatching.

Rare because of the number was overwhelming 17 years ago.

 

[wildtrout2]

I have to wonder if the Cicadas aren't just too big a meal for a lot of trout?

 

[Nocktavius]

Rare because of the number was overwhelming 17 years ago.

While its true that some straggler cicadas hatch each year, the localized periodical broods (such as the one in 2025) that are timed at 13 and 17 year intervals create such a massive surge in population that wild trout are much more likely to key in on them as a food source. For the same reason that you usually won't have a ton of luck throwing a big foam beetle during the cornuta, invaria/dorothea and Isonychia hatches of June, the cicada will probably not be a super effective searching pattern for pressured fish in a non-brood year.

What's fascinating is that since these things have such long intervals between broods, they manage to outlive their major predators (there's not a single trout in Penns, LJ, etc that was alive the last time these things emerged). This means that the next generation that coexists with them is completely ignorant of what they are and where they came from- leading to the phenomenon we're seeing now- Why aren't these stupid fish eating these things, or just starting to.

It's even cooler to think about how and why they evolved the 17-year lifecycle. Since most cicada predators have lifespans of 2-8 years, this high-teens prime number ensures that (a) they outlast any generation that is educated about their existence and (b) no predator population that booms due to the excessive amount of food available during a cicada year will sire a subsequent boom generation that will feast upon their emergence, since their lifespans are indivisible by anything but 17 and 1.

 

[jifigz]

There are annual cicadas that hatch every year. I can hear them every year at my parents' farm. Annual cicadas are also a different color than periodical cicadas.

Fish in certain places can and do see cicadas every year. Also, I think a fish will eat someone that looks alive, and they don't have to recognize it and know what it is. Some lures and flies and what they look like should be enough to explain that.

I'll post my cicada update for the day later when I have more time to get out my laptop and type..

 

[wildtrout2]

Also, I think a fish will eat someone that looks alive, and they don't have to recognize it and know what it is.

I'll have to avoid streams that hold such fish. 😉

 

[wgmiller]

While its true that some straggler cicadas hatch each year, the localized periodical broods (such as the one in 2025) that are timed at 13 and 17 year intervals create such a massive surge in population that wild trout are much more likely to key in on them as a food source. For the same reason that you usually won't have a ton of luck throwing a big foam beetle during the cornuta, invaria/dorothea and Isonychia hatches of June, the cicada will probably not be a super effective searching pattern for pressured fish in a non-brood year.

What's fascinating is that since these things have such long intervals between broods, they manage to outlive their major predators (there's not a single trout in Penns, LJ, etc that was alive the last time these things emerged). This means that the next generation that coexists with them is completely ignorant of what they are and where they came from- leading to the phenomenon we're seeing now- Why aren't these stupid fish eating these things, or just starting to.

It's even cooler to think about how and why they evolved the 17-year lifecycle. Since most cicada predators have lifespans of 2-8 years, this high-teens prime number ensures that (a) they outlast any generation that is educated about their existence and (b) no predator population that booms due to the excessive amount of food available during a cicada year will sire a subsequent boom generation that will feast upon their emergence, since their lifespans are indivisible by anything but 17 and 1.

They truly are marvels of the natural world. They breed in such numbers because lots of living things do eat them, so the common thinking is with such high populations, they ensure their survival by sheer numbers. It really is wild to think that all of the trout in the water now have never seen them before. It's no wonder it takes them a bit to understand how tasty they are. It sounds like things may be starting to heat up a bit in the Centre County region with respect to trout starting to key in on them. I'd have to guess that the next 1-2 weeks will be prime time on many of the streams, then only sunken cicada patters will work.

 

[nymphingmaniac]

although you can, and I did, catch a couple on a cicada pattern, fish weren't quite keyed in on them yesterday on a centre county stream. One more thing I forgot from 17 years ago. Despite others and my own attention to the abdomen color/stripes etc, most (8 or 10) of the ones I saw on the water were doing the "backstroke". Fish probably just saw all black. I guess they are like a turtle. Their legs and wing angles keeps them from escaping the water on their backs

 

[jifigz]

First and foremost, this is not a fly fishing post, but it is relevant to cicadas.

Yesterday, I took my stepson and my 1436 jon boat to Sayers Reservoir in Howard. Cicadas were humming very loudly in the trees the entire time I was there, which was from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm. Now, we were using spinning rods, and we were fishing for crappie. We had a very successful day, and the kid had a lot of fun, so that is what matters.

Now, onto the cicadas. They were on the water in pretty fair numbers. I saw smaller carp jumping out of the water and eating them. It wasn't with extreme regularity, but they could be targeted, no doubt. So, there were cicadas all over the water, and carp were eating them. I plan to take the boat back and my 6-weight with cicada flies so that I can try to catch a carp on a cicada fly.

Lots of cicadas, and yes, they are on the water. I only observed carp eating them, but I was crappie fishing, so I might have missed a lot.

 

[tomgamber]

From my time at Pymatuning, this is also the time that carp were doing their "showing off for the gals" breaching. Unless you could actually see them consuming the cicadas. Carp on a dry fly would be serious fun.

 

[jifigz]

From my time at Pymatuning, this is also the time that carp were doing their "showing off for the gals" breaching. Unless you could actually see them consuming the cicadas. Carp on a dry fly would be serious fun.

Tom, I'm pretty familiar with watching carp breed. They used to do it in my Juniata at the island in front of my parents' place before the population seems to have disappeared. Either way, I don't think they were spawning. I spoke to another boat, and they were catching carp on cicadas the day before. I think they were actually hooking cicadas on bait holder hooks.

 

[SmittyTheSquatch]

Jifigz, long casts and finding pods was the key the other day. Was pretty wild watching them eat my flies. Told my brother it looked like they were making out with it before they would take it. Often, one would come look at my fly. Then the group would come over and one would snag it. They are definitely cruising around looking for them.