Chasing the Cicadas

Last emergence, I found significantly more cicadas around Spring creek and the Little J. I was down there every week. This emergence, the weather and stream levels have been a major hinderance. But if you're taking a shot, all things being equal and you're looking for numbers of bugs, my personal experience says more towards the West of the overlaping area of our big limstoners and the current cicada brood.
One thing to rememeber, and I get as fixated or more as anyone does, it doesn't take all that many cicadas to inspire good trout activivy. These big beasties have been plopping into the water for about a month by now. Fish recognize that pattern/thing/fly is a big meal. Think about fishing the water with other terrrestrials. How often do you see a fish rise for a terrestrial? How many beetles do you see floating on the surface? But it is a good pattern. Just because you don't see them crashing into the water or fish up hammering them on the surface doesn't mean its not worth fishing a cicada.
Syl
 
Learned a valuable lesson today. If you bring your 5wt, use it. Tried to use my 8'4" 4wt while at Penns with a 9ft leader, left my 9' 5wt in my truck. Hooked into 2 much larger fish and both broke off the second they tried to run once the loop hit inside my last eyelet. But it was still a good day and my first cicada experience since i picked up fly fishing. Caught 14, hooked 6 or so others. Seems the key after about 8am was to seek out fast water. Fly was only on it for about 2-3 seconds before it was smacked.
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Duriensbane said:
Learned a valuable lesson today. If you bring your 5wt, use it. Tried to use my 8'4" 4wt while at Penns with a 9ft leader, left my 9' 5wt in my truck. Hooked into 2 much larger fish and both broke off the second they tried to run once the loop hit inside my last eyelet. But it was still a good day and my first cicada experience since i picked up fly fishing. Caught 14, hooked 6 or so others. Seems the key after about 8am was to seek out fast water. Fly was only on it for about 2-3 seconds before it was smacked.
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Why was your loop doing inside the top eyelet? Aren’t people using like 6-7’ leaders for these things?
 
Nocktavius said:
Why was your loop doing inside the top eyelet? Aren’t people using like 6-7’ leaders for these things?
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His loop was probably in his eyelets because he was either using a shorter rod, a longer leader, or was trying to get the fish very close to him to net. Those are only three possibilities, but I'm sure there are more. When I was chasing them and staying focused, I used a variety of leader lengths.

I don't know, but we all have different ways of doing things.

Edit: After reading his post, he was using a shorter rod and a longer leader. There you have it. Maybe some people are using a 6-7' leader, but he was not.
 
fished the last two days. The J and lower end of LBE. Fish are on the cicadas still. Your chances are better throwing to rising fish. I noticed today that they are getting wise to us- starting to get pickier than the last two weeks. It happens.
LBE had a good temp. 18C at 12:30 PM. slight stain. Came close today, but still have nor cracked the 20 inch mark.
 
Anyone gotten a mid to late afternoon temp on Penns over the last couple of days? Can’t make it back out there til Friday and hopeful that waters stat cool enough for a decent day.
 
800meters said:
Anyone gotten a mid to late afternoon temp on Penns over the last couple of days? Can’t make it back out there til Friday and hopeful that waters stat cool enough for a decent day.
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Until someone posts the actual number, let’s place our bets. 67F for me.
 
It was 60° around 8:00 this morning. I forgot to take a temp when we left midday.

I finally got my fifteen year old some cicada action. He found some of the early emergers over a month ago. Since then, he hasn't been able to go with me much. Today it happened for him. I'd say they are getting full. The action was nothing like Tuesday but we caught some nice fish.
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I made it up to the Bellefonte area yesterday to chase the end of the cicadas. I fished a few smaller steams that feed into Spring and Bald Eagle. Unfortunately, I worked way too much in June and didn't leave enough windows open to catch the prime time. They were still on cicadas yesterday, but as mentioned above, they're starting to get full. I was able to fish into mid-afternoon, when it just got too warm for it to be enjoyable. I had plenty of hookups, inspections, and lost fish. I'm already looking forward to 17 years from now, when god-willing, I'll still be able to get after 'em with a fly rod. Perhaps by then I'll have explored Penns, where the big fish are! 🙂

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Tiger with a full belly. Watching this guy come up from the depths not once, but twice, then nail the fly was a rush. He was full of life and a formidable foe!

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Hot days call for streamside hydration!
 
That's a pretty big tiger trout!

I was also out yesterday. I mostly fished cicadas, and then when I missed a fish on top, I ran a pair of nymphs through and usually got them to eat. I would say that it is still pretty good fishing, when you find moving water holding fish, and good temps. I saw a decent amount of splashy rises, and through mostly blind casting put 20+ fish in the net. I think we have another week or so for those who did not get out in "prime time" to experience this.
 
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