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Brood X Cicada

The last time it happened, George W. Bush was not far into his second term and LeBron James was nearing the end of his rookie season. Netflix wasn’t streaming, Twitter and Instagram didn’t exist and Facebook was only available on the campus of Harvard University. The first iPhone was still three years away and I was still five months away from meeting the woman I would eventually marry.

Brood X cicadas have missed a lot in the 17 years they’ve been underground, but this is the year they come to the surface to see what’s been going on. And there will be a lot of them coming. Tens of billions of Brood X cicadas are expected to emerge across 18 states, including Tennessee. But we see cicadas every year. What’s so special about these?

There are, in fact, 13-year cicadas and even annual cicadas that can emerge in pretty significant numbers. But the 17-year cicadas emerge in mind boggling swarms, and the Brood X is supposed to be one of the biggest yet.

They typically begin to emerge when the ground temperature reaches 64-degrees. In Tennessee, that’s expected to be around Mother’s Day. Once they begin emerging, expect them to hang around for about 4-6 weeks. While they’re here, in addition to catching up on all of the latest tech and social trends, they will damage a few young trees and plants, make a hell of a lot of noise and end up in the bellies of a lot of fish!

Unfortunately, we don’t typically see many of them in the mountains… but I’m hopeful. And there doesn’t tend to be a lot of them near tailwaters. Where they are going to be of most significance to fly fishers is on warmwater lakes and rivers. I hope to get out at least a few times on the mud flats to cast to rising carp!

I spent part of the winter tying a bunch of these in preparation. I tied most of them on bass hooks but tied several trout versions, too… just in case…

Get ready. The cicadas are coming!

Brood X Cicada Fly Pattern

Rob’s Cicada (Trout Version)

  • Hook: TMC 5212 #10
  • Thread: Black 6/0
  • Eyes: Red glass beads burnt onto 15lb. red Amnesia
  • Underbody: Golden brown Ice Dub
  • Body 1: 2mm black foam, folded over to layer Body 2
  • Body 2: 2mm orange foam
  • Underwing: Pearl yellow Krystal Flash
  • Wing: Mix of orange and white antron yarn
  • Legs: Orange and black Sili Legs
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Poppers

Fly Fishing Popper
Hard Body Popper

A popper, or popping bug, is a type of topwater fly commonly used for warmwater species like bass and bream. Unlike the often delicate and diminutive dry flies used in trout fishing, poppers are typically bright and robust. While topwater trout flies are commonly designed to discreetly drift down a feeding lane, popping bugs are designed to make commotion.

Deer Hair Popper
Deer Hair Popper

Poppers are most often made with a hard, cork body but more and more frequently are being constructed of foam. Softer variations are also made by spinning deer hair on a hook. The hair is tightly packed and trimmed to shape. Using different colors of deer hair allows for some pretty cool color and design variations. However, color and design variations can also be achieved on cork and foam poppers with paint and markers.

What they all have in common is a flat or cupped “face” and a body that usually tapers slightly, getting smaller toward the rear of the hook. When fishing with them, the idea is to pull your line with a short, quick motion that jerks the fly abruptly. As a result, the flat or cupped face of the fly will make a “pop” on the water.  A popper could certainly resemble some sort of insect, but most often it is designed to suggest a struggling baitfish.

Sneaky Pete Slider
Hard Body Slider

A diver or slider is frequently lumped into the popper category. However, while made with similar materials, these have more of a bullet shaped face. The body tapers in the opposite direction of a popper. You use similar fishing methods with this style of fly but when the line is pulled toward you, the bullet head causes the fly to dive or erratically slide through the water.

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Flies: Borger’s Fleeing Crayfish

Borger's Fleeing Crayfish Fly Pattern.
Borger’s Fleeing Crayfish

The Fleeing Crayfish was originated by fly fishing legend, Gary Borger in the 1980’s.  He noted that while many crayfish pattern with ultra realistic, outstretched claws and the like looked great, most fish would eat them as they were retreating or fleeing.  The design of his pattern imitates the crayfish in this moment.  It has unbelievable movement and motion in the water and is a killer pattern for smallmouth and large browns.

I’ve included the recipe for my most common version of this pattern, but I tie it in a number of different color combinations.  You should substitute colors that best represent crayfish in the waters you fish.

I should mention that this fly’s greatest strength is also its greatest weakness.  The loose piece of rabbit hide that provides so much “action” in the fly will inevitable tear off after numerous fish.  Since the rest of the fly is so durable, I carry a package of rabbit strips with me so that I can replace that piece when necessary.

Borger’s Fleeing Crayfish

Hook: 3x long streamer #10 – #4
Thread: 6/0 Brown
Eyes: Barbell matched to hook size
Tail: Light green medium marabou
Body: Crayfish orange dubbing
Legs: Pheasant rump feather
Pinchers: Natural rabbit hide strip – medium
Other Materials: Super glue to secure eyes

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Flies: Wooly Bugger

If you ask any fly fisherman with any experience at all to name his top ten, “must have” flies, I guarantee that 9 out of 10, at least, will include a Wooly Bugger. And the handful who don’t mention it are likely just contrarians. But why? Why is this such a popular fly that is a staple in nearly every angler’s fly box?

I suppose everyone might have their own answer to that question, but for me, the short answer is versatility. The Wooly Bugger was one of the first flies I ever learned about and with it, over my many years of fly fishing, I’ve caught rainbow trout, brown trout, brook trout, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, white bass, rock bass, mooneye, carp, catfish, crappie, bluegill, striper, gar, walleye, and salmon. And I’ve caught fish with it in lakes, ponds, deep rivers, shallow mountain streams, and tailwaters. I suspect the only reason I’ve never caught fish on it in saltwater is because I’ve never tried.

Beadhead Wooly Bugger Fly Pattern
This one could easily pass for a crayfish

What’s it supposed to be? That’s the beauty of it. Depending on how you tie it and how you fish it, it can represent a number of food items. For instance, in black and retrieved slowly, it probably represents a leech. In lighter colors and stripped more quickly and erratically, it looks like a baitfish. With a combination of olive and/or rusty colors, it resembles a crayfish. In darker colors and fished on a dead drift, it could imitate a stonefly or hellgrammite nymph. In bright colors, maybe with an egg on the front, you have a fly for salmon, steelhead, or many stocked trout.

Purple Wooly Bugger Fly Pattern
Try this purple and pink Bugger for winter stockers

Because of its versatility, it is a recommended fly for any month of the year, but I selected it for November for a couple of reasons. One, there are just not many hatches or any unusual flies to single out in November. Two, this is one of the big months to fish for large browns in the park. Post spawn brown trout are hungry and winter is coming soon, so while you can certainly catch them on smaller flies, why not show them a little bigger meal? Wooly Buggers are big fish flies.  Because it looks like a big meal is probably the main reason it’s such a successful fly.

Next time you’re not sure what the fish are biting on, tie on a Bugger. Dead drift it in a riffle or strip it through a deep flat. Slowly creep it along the bottom or quickly skim it across the surface. Play with it. What you find may surprise you!