Small Stream Magicicadas

With the action for magicicadas slowing down considerably, I decided to check out a nearby small stream to see if it's resident trout were just as eager to hammer the 17-year insects. The nearby stream averages 5-10 ft. wide and has some very heavy cover. Packing a 9ft. 5wt. I was not prepared for some close quarters combat, but I had no other option. I also decided that the best way to fish the stream was to fish downstream. This allowed me to present my fly with a dead drift, using the current and slack line to feed the pattern downstream. A simple roll cast allowed me to re-present the fly with ease and decrease snags. I caught a mix bag of stocked and wild fish but managed to catch a brown, brook, and bow on top.

The next week, with magicicadas nearing their end, I guided my buddy Eric, who came up from Delaware specifically to catch a wild brown on a cicada dry fly. With a lot of water blown out from heavy rains, I took him to a spot that was miraculously uneffected by the rains. We ended up missing several takes by smaller fish. Defeated, I took him to a small stream that I had yet to target with cicada patterns. I took him immediately to the deepest pool on the stream and he caught a few fish that seemingly hit the dry flies as soon as they touched water. The majority of fish caught had bulging bellies where you could feel the indentations of cicadas in their stomachs. They were gorged.

Although not as rewarding as bigger fish on larger bodies of water, the small streams and small fish were just as exciting. Cicada fishing in general is just plain awesome.

You got to do what you got to do...

In one of my last posts I mentioned that my waterways have become fully choked with weeds and when a fish is hooked it streaks through the weeds like a down hill skier weaving through moguls. The only way I can land these fish is to dig them out with my feet and hand-line them to the surface. Here is a photo sequence of how to land a fish that has buried itself in the weeds...

- A special thanks to my cousin Ryan for providing the photos

Finding Brood II

When I arrived stream side for my first time fishing magicicadas, I could hear them in the trees. The noise was unmistakable and resonated from a hill covered in pines. The sci-fi sound came and went hourly throughout the day. Interestingly enough, the hill was the only section in the area where the sound was coming from. It was also where cicadas could be found in bushes, leaves, and littering the ground. Occasionally, you could even find a live cicada struggling as it floated downstream. Elsewhere,  you wouldn't even know that there were cicadas in the area. A half-mile downstream, I found another grouping of cicadas at the base of the mountain. In between those two areas is where I decided to concentrate my fishing efforts.

After my first cast into the stream, I knew I was in for a good day of fly fishing. A 17 inch wild brown gently sipped my size 6 cicada and the battle was on. As the day progressed, I had vicious attacks on my dry fly in every single good looking lie. On several occasions, fish would miss on their 1st, 2nd, and sometimes 3rd attempts before wising up to the folly at the end of my line. It was phenomenal fishing, and I was clearly the first person to toss a cicada on the stream. My brother finally got his act together and met me on the stream to catch a few beautiful browns of his own. Thunderstorms finally drove us off the water, but not before we were both satisfied with the action. We found out later that we weren't alone. Other anglers had keyed in on the insects as well and found success upstream of us.

When I fished the cicadas for the first time, I couldn't help but think about western hopper fishing. In Pennsylvania, terrestrial fishing can be good, but it never approaches the level of intensity of a western stream where trout hammer large hoppers along grassy banks every summer. It was nice to be able to experience something similar on my home waters and have some good sized wild browns willing to play in the middle of the day. Normally, summer days on streams like this are mostly hatch-less and the big trout don't show themselves too often. It was great to be able to experience it first hand.

Subsequent outings proved to be much less successful. Although eager to devour our large dry flies one day, future trips produced slow outings with the occasional nice fish. Waters nearby provided some action but everything failed to live up to that one afternoon. Myself and a few other anglers just timed it right and reaped the rewards. As the days went by, I began looking for other waters that held cicadas so I could replicate that experience of being the first to cast a cicada dry fly into a body of water.

Targeting areas of shade and structure proved to be highly effective...

Good male brown...

Fish also struck at the end of the drift as the cicada swung in the current...

Popping was effective too...