Fly tiers await the arrival of the 17-year cicada
The last time 17-year cicadas crawled out of the ground George W. Bush was president and a clunker romantic comedy called “Flyfishing” was dying at the box office.
The Brood VIII periodical cicada (Magicicada septendecim) is a remarkable bug that lives only in eastern Ohio, southwestern Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia. In the next couple of weeks, billions are expected to emerge almost simultaneously, offering trout, bass and panfish a once-in-a-lifetime terrestrial entree.
“There are six species of periodical cicadas, three with a 17-year cycle and three with a 13-year cycle,” said Greg Hoover, a fly fisherman, entomologist and associate of Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. “The three species in each life-cycle group are distinctive in size, color and song. For convenience of reference, each ‘brood’ has been designated by a Roman numeral. There are at least 13 broods of 17-year cicadas and five broods of 13-year cicadas.”
Science doesn’t know the “undetermined signal for emergence,” but when it occurs nymphs crawl out of the ground and up a tree or other upright object. A foot or more up, they shed their skins. Males “sing” a haunting mating song made all the more eerie when the choir numbers in the millions.
“About 10 days after emergence, females will mate and begin depositing eggs in twigs and branches of nearly 80 different preferred species of trees and woody shrubs,” stated Mr. Hoover. “Adults live for approximately three to four weeks above ground. Most are usually gone by the beginning of July.”
Many regional fly tiers are at their vises preparing for the big cicada event. Dave Zielinski of Saltsburg, Indiana County, has been waiting for this for years.
“The last [cicada emergence] in 2015 in Fayette County and fringes of Westmoreland was epic,” he said. “Perhaps the best emergence I have fished was the 2008 Brood XIV in Centre County. The state’s best fly fishing trout waters had billions of bugs, up to an estimated 1 billion per square mile. The fishing was easily 70fish days.”
He’s anxious to tie on his wildcat pattern.
17-year Itch Cicada
Hook: Gamakatsu B10s, Nos. 8-2 (preference is a No. 4)
Thread: UTC 210 denier, Fire Orange
Underbody: 2 millimeter foam, black
Overbody: 5 millimeter foam, black
Underwing: Crystal
Flash, Pearl
Overwing: Cow Elk
Body hair
Eyes: 2 millimeter foam, orange, cut into a small strip
Legs: Sili-Legs, Barred
Orange
Mr. Zielinski applies glue at key locations where the foam joins other materials. He recommends fishing the fly with a 6- to 8weight rod, floating line and 1x or 0x tippet.
“The biggest mistake flyfishers make is that these are land-based terrestrial insects, not aquatic [insects]. They correlate ‘hatch’ with bugs on the water,” he said. “Locate the bugs by sight and sound on hot sunny days, the hotter and sunnier the better. You want to be in the areas where it’s really screaming.
“Windy days are great because [cicadas] are clumsy flyers and often get blown into the water.”
Mr. Zielinski dead-drifts the pattern along shorelines, banks and areas with a mix of mature trees and undergrowth. Fish seem to remember the bugs, he said, and will continue to take the fly long after the cicadas are gone.
View Mr. Zielinski’s short film on tying the 17year Itch cicada at youtube.com/watch? v=ZPhVw17jDjc.