Cicada time...

[Tim Negronida]

I’m curious if anyone remembers fishing during the last cicada outbreak, were the smallmouth on a cicada bite? I would think some top water baits would be productive during the cicada run.

 

http://chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/spr...07/cicadas.html

 

http://www.landbigfish.com/articles/default.cfm?ID=2095

 

http://www.fishinginvirginia.net/Fishing Reports from 2004 smallmouth bass guided trips.htm

Fishing: Over this two month period (which is a summer pattern period so I'm lumping) the fishing has slowly but steadily improved. Near the end of may, our Brood X cicadas found that crossing a 200 yd wide river was difficult and we caught very few smallmouth while these fat bugs were around. I know they were eating them though because the bass we did catch were fat fat fat and pooping orange legs and wings. So for three weeks I took everybody carp fishing with fly rods, a few smallmouth resulted.

[Steve S.]

I remember a "few" outbreaks ago, fishing as a boy at the Sag Quarries in Lemont. At the time I lived in Chicago, and my Dad would take us fishing in the Cook County FP lakes in Palos all the time. I remember watching fish take the cicadas off the surface, but I don't recall if the fishing was any better or worse. It always seemed good when I was that age. My best memory was getting hit in the neck while cruising through the preserves with the car windows open. SPLAT! The only part left crawling was the head and legs. Good thing my mouth wasn't open!

 

Looking forward to the event. It will be the first one for my youngest and second for my oldest, though she does not remember the first, since she was only 2. This may be good for us topwater junkies!

[Guest Don R]

I hope this shows up on the post. Mike Clifford will smile at this for sure

 

An opossum eats a cicada...just add a hook and yer set!

 

 

[Jim J]

I lived in Hinsdale then.

 

Had to use the wipers on some days.

 

[Tim Negronida]

The last big outbreak that I remember was in the late ‘70’s. I know that there have been others “good years”, and it seems that some areas get them heavier than others, but as a kid that was something else back then. They would be climbing all over the place and the noise at times would be deafening.

 

Check these out, of course the fish are not seeing these from above, but they sure do look tasty.

. http://www.luresfishing.com/hardbait/cicada.html

[Tim Negronida]

Jim, you beat me to the punch.

[kend]

"Cicada's", by Reef Runner Tackle,

are some great SMB catching lures.

 

They give the fish a real "buzz".

The "buzzing" sound given off, either attracts them, or,

perhaps drives them nuts, and they just want to kill it.

 

Very productive lure---

fished shallow or deep---

still or moving waters.

A steady retrieve or verticle jigging.

 

HINT: A top notch producer, verticle jigging for deep water smallies.

[Steve SPIZ]

top water was great for the out break in IN 2 years ago

 

last time her they were gorging on them (they got sick of eating them ) so need to hit when they first come out

 

if you got the ich they tast like potatoes when cooked MMMM not chicken LOL

[Norm M]

Try fishing underneath the bugs for the big fish eating the little fish eating the bugs . It holds true for any type of bug event . There will be a certain percentage of larger fish taking some bugs but most want the bigger energy return from energy expended a fish provides over a bug .

 

The last big event on my flow saw just about every species partaking of the bounty in large mats that collected in slackwater areas .