Cicadas Spring of 2021 in PA

[Dave_W]

riverwhy wrote:
Are they mainly in forested areas? My mom lives in clay township at the foot of the Furnace Hills. They are all over the Hills but I only saw one at her house.

Yes, along with scrub brush and thickets.

 

[Dave_W]

The cicadas are on the downswing now, noticeably quieter, and starting to die in large numbers. I think Brood 10 is past its peak, although cicada fishing will continue to be very good for a short while, even after the buzzing has stopped.

 

[sarce]

All done in northern VA, and progressively ending from south to north in MD. Still plenty near the Gunpowder but probably only for another week. Very curious how much longer fish will still go after cicada flies. I only managed to fish the hatch twice so far for about an hour each time. I caught 5 wild browns one day and one carp the other day.

 

[DGC]

As Canoetripper reported, they are in southern Huntingdon county in spots. For those curious about LJ, they were not at either the twin bridges or Spruce Creek a few days ago. I was not in the gorge or around rt. 305 so I can't confirm anything for there.

 

[Fly-Swatter]

They were present on the water and audible in the trees on the Susky between Liverpool and Clemson Island. Not "cicadamania" but fishable. Check out my Stream Report.

 

[Canoetripper]

I am headed back to Raystown Lake to do this all over again with the Yurt Tent Glamping, Pontoon boat rental, and a Sunday night stay at the Raystown Lake Resort.

I will be "toughening it out" in one one of my tents like I have have always done forever. The big problem now with that is as I am getting older, my bladder is getting weaker and I have to get up more often to relieve myself.

Maybe a trip to the Little J on Monday.

Silence with Cicadas so far in Lancaster County. I am ready for them though if they are attracting fish on Raystown Lake.

 

[poopdeck]

Was out on the Delaware in Point Pleasant. Lots of cicadas in the water, some dead some kicking about and I didn't see one of them get eaten by anything. We caught fish so it wasn't that they had their fill.

 

[timmyt2]

What did you catch down there poop deck, smallies?

 

[poopdeck]

Correct!

 

[wgmiller]

I had a VERY busy June and only was able to make it out once to chase fish on the cicadas. With time limited, I opted to find the closest source of them to me, which happened to be in the Mt. Gretna/Lawn area of Lebanon County. There really is no "trout water" in this area and the only "trouty" water is Conewago Creek, which is stocked trout water.

The cicadas were thick in Gretna/Lawn and were all over the place. I fished Conewago Creek and found some holdover trout and other species "keyed in" on cicadas. The takes were deliberate and aggressive, with fish inhaling the fly. I landed several rainbows, chubs, etc., as everything swimming was enjoying their short-lived feast. Water temps were in the upper 60's, which isn't ideal for trout, but alas this was STW, which rarely holds trout through summer.

Those "in the know" kept their cicada waters close to the vest this time around, as can be expected. If you were lucky enough to find good trout water with cicadas, you were in the minority. It takes some work (and luck) to find good trout fishing during the cicada emergence as there distribution is not uniform. I always consider landing any fish on a cicada pattern a success, even if they aren't wild trout. There's nothing more fun than plopping a cicada on the water and waiting for the explosion!

 

[Canoetripper]

I saw a few Cicadas on Raystown Lake today. Maybe a dozen total rises. I didn't fish. Maybe I will explore the Little Juniata while I am here.

 

[laurelrun]

Had a great morning before the mercury rises and the tube hatch on the yellow breeches. Once I got into the trees, I found eager wild browns crushing each plop into a new holding spot. See my stream report for pics.

 

[larkmark]

Saw about a dozen float by when fishing Susquehanna. Watched as one was eaten and threw at the spot with a streamer and caught a small bass. I guess there were not enough on water to call it a real "hatch" but at least got to see that they do eat them occasionally. Seems trout and carp get more interested than bass from what I have seen and heard so far.

 

[Dave_W]

The cicadas are pretty much over in my neck of the woods. Heard one here and there on my morning hike but the loud buzz tone of previous days was over. The ground is still littered with dead cicadas in many places I looked today, especially at the base of trees with evidence of their activity.

Since cicadas lay their eggs in the tips of tree branches, keep an eye out for trees with spots of dead leaves as this is evidence of cicada activity. For at least awhile, fish will likely continue to be keyed on them and you may wish to try a cicada pattern if you see trees with these dead leaves.

 

[wgmiller]

It may also be a good time to fish a "sunken cicada" pattern, as George Daniel mentions in his video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uvXuK9Seic

 

[fritz]

That sunken pattern was very good to me over a week ago.

 

[CLSports]

I got a carp on a cicada in June, so I can check that off my list.

 

[laurelrun]

Seeing lots of dead bugs now and not hearing them anymore. I think we’re about done, but the fish still were aggressively taking them. I had a lot of misses and some foul hooks today. I think the large amount of wing material on my ties gave them something to bite besides the body/hook.

Next time around I’ll go a little sparser on the wing and size down to a 10. Crushed barb helped a lot. I lost a big one that ran me quickly into slack line after a porpoise of a take. This was a fun hatch!

 

[Canoetripper]

Nothing seen or heard here on the Tobyhanna Creek bordering Carbon and Monroe counties in the western Poconos.

 

[wgmiller]

Canoetripper wrote:
Nothing seen or heard here on the Tobyhanna Creek bordering Carbon and Monroe counties in the western Poconos.

That area was pretty ripe with them back in 2013, so 2030 or so they should reappear.