Cicadas Spring of 2021 in PA

[coyoterahn]

I'm curious as to what changes you would make to your leader/tippet configuration to turn over such a big fly on your trout set up. When I fish big bugs on the river for smallmouth I use quite a stiff leader/tippet along with a 7wt rod. Just wondering what your trout set up would be.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Personally for me not much.
3x or 4x on a 5wt should turn a cicada

 

[Acristickid]

I would use the biggest tippet you can get away with. during the big Central PA in 08 I used zero X you fire that baby into a bush then rip it right back out and never have to change that thing.

Leader shyness is not an issue in my experience

 

[Bruno]

I used my left over salmon flies the last time they were on in WPA - last year or the year before. I stupidly bought way too many for the Madison River.

I agree with akid 0x or 1 x does the trick.

I have seen a few monsters break heavy tippet.

 

[coyoterahn]

Thanks guys for the responses! I appreciate it.

 

[skybay]

Cicada Time, PA

Can't forget the hatch and fishing time

 

[skybay]

Cicada Time, PA

Can't forget the hatch and fishing time

 

[SurfCowboyXX]

I hope to be on some trout water when that happens this year. I've seen it on the smallmouth rivers of Virginia-it's the most awesome thing you've ever experienced. I can't wait to see how many 8" trout think they can swallow a cicada whole. That, and I imagine like Green Drakes, they bring up the biggest fish in the river with abandon. If you can find it, Blane Chocklett (of course) makes the best cicada imitation you'll ever see.

 

[wgmiller]

Skybay - that's an annual cicada :lol:

 

[JerryC]

They were a bust last time on the streams I fish around here. They were certainly in the area, as they made the evening news almost every night during the emergence. Just couldn't locate them on any streams. I fish the Wissahickon a lot and the annual cicadas bring out some of the bigger fish, mainly bass. It's a trip to watch the sunfish trying to drag down one that's splashed down in the creek.

 

[Salmonid64]

Clarks has a smaller size trout for the most part right? Thinking the bugs were just to big for them.

 

[LongLineRelease]

I fished them the last time they were in centre and Clinton counties. Unfortunately I was out of the country for most of it. I got to fish the very end and it amazed me how I would get a hit on almost every cast. I was very educational seeing trout coming from places I would never have suspected. The downside was the really low hook up ratio. Maybe my hook gap was a problem?

I swore next time I would take a week off for the emergence

 

[troutbert]

LongLineRelease wrote:

The downside was the really low hook up ratio. Maybe my hook gap was a problem?

Yes, that was probably the problem.

I had the same problem and had to make some adjustments, such as going to a larger hook size, and trimming the deer hair more to make sure the hook gape wasn't being closed off too much.

 

[rrt]

Sal64 has it about right for many fish; they just aren't big enough to grab a whole locust. (I dislike the word "cicada," though I would probably offend some people if I stated why.)

 

[afishinado]

Tips on FFing the cicada hatch by Tom Baltz and George Daniel >

https://www.fieldandstream.com/story/fishing/how-to-fish-a-cicada-hatch/

 

[tomgamber]

wgmiller wrote:
Everything you ever wanted to know about cicadas (and more): Cicada Mania

:lol: ,
was just gonna post this same link. A lot of people don't know that there are annual cicadas not just the 17-year kind. All I know is we used to be able to find the shells every summer. and a lot more of them.

 

[JerryC]

With all this talk, I went looking for the patterns I tied up for the last time they made an appearance. I had tied up three different patterns. The only one that caught any fish, several bass, was the attempt at a realistic pattern. I found a couple of the other two but not the realistic one. Working off of a couple of fuzzy, blurred pictures I came up with these two. I've got enough of that color foam and the orange map pins to do two more. I think I'm going to widen the abdomen on the next two. FWIW.

 

[MarkC]

17 years ago: The Gunpowder had lots as did the North Branch of the Potomac (I was living in MD). The most fun I had was with the carp on the Susquehanna and Codorus State Park, 20 lbers were cruising the edges looking for them.

Mark C

 

[jifigz]

MarkC wrote:
17 years ago: The Gunpowder had lots as did the North Branch of the Potomac (I was living in MD). The most fun I had was with the carp on the Susquehanna and Codorus State Park, 20 lbers were cruising the edges looking for them.

Mark C

This is what interests me the most with them, too..I want to catch carp on top on cicada patterns.

 

[Oregon_OwlII]

afishinado wrote:

troutbert wrote:
It's a little hard to see what counties are shown on that map.

When you all fished this brood in past years, were you targeting mostly trout, or bass, or carp?

I've mostly fished the cicadas in Centre County. But I think that's a different brood.

As others said, the distribution is spotty, not uniform. They seem to prefer deep fertile soils. There are a lot in limestone soil areas. And few to none in sandstone soils areas.

The distribution is spotty, but they will likely show in many of the same places as their last appearance.

From the link above, here is a list of counties in PA and "places" they were found 17 years ago >

Pennsylvania counties: Adams, Bedford, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Columbia, County, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, Mercer, Montgomery, Northampton, Perry, Schuylkill, Somerset, York

Pennsylvania places: Archbald, Artemas, Bedford, Carroll Valley, Coopersburg, Dinosaur Rock, Downingtown, Gettysburg, Green Lane, Kintnersville, Lake Nockamixon, Lancaster, Lititz, Malvern, Mertztown, Mohnton, Mt Gretna, Oaks, Oley, Perkiomenville, Phoenixville, Pittston, Quakertown, Red Lion, Roaring Spring, Solebury, Spring Mount, Stewartstown, Topton, Upper Black Eddy, Warwick Park

I lived in eastern Berks in 2004. The hatch on our property was a phenomena I will never forget. Never tried to fish it. I could see it being hit or miss on streams.