It’s Time to Talk Cicadas
Cicadas are one of the most misunderstood opportunities that I have observed in flyfishing. The same elusive evolutionary hatch pattern that is used to evade natural predators also works on anglers, widely speaking. If you have any more than a passing interest in fishing the Periodical Cicada hatch, we cannot recommend Dave Zielinksi’s book Cicada Madness strongly enough. It is concise and steeped with knowledge. It doesn’t break the bank and is a quick read.
The following is meant to pique anglers’ interest and provide some insight in terms of what to expect in East Tennessee and the surrounding area this year. For more detail we would strongly recommend Cicada Madness and possibly contacting a guide that specifically targets periodical cicadas on a regular basis or has boots on the ground and knows what to look for.
What’s the Big Deal?
Simple - The fishing can be epic.
Life Cycle Highlights
- Periodical cicadas come in 13 and 17 year “broods”
- Brood XIV (2025) is a 17 year brood
- Periodical cicadas have evolved to overwhelm local predators with numbers. Part of this means spreading emergence out over space and time.
- Cicadas lay eggs in trees. Nymphs hatch, fall to the ground, and burrow.
- Periodical cicadas spend most of their life underground, near the base of the tree they were born. They feed on xylem from within the roots of the tree. Wooded areas are required for healthy cicada emergences.
- Periodical cicadas emerge after 13 or 17 years, depending on the brood, and when ground temperature reaches 64° 8 inches underground. This is often late April to late May depending on the area. Achieving this temperature threshold is often triggered by a warm spring rain.
- They will crawl out of the ground and up the tree.
- The first week or so, following the emergence is largely quiet as the bugs mature. After this, the mating calls begin and females begin flying to the sound of the males. This will be LOUD! Periodical cicadas are clumsy, which accounts for frequent falls into surrounding lakes and streams.
- Cicadas are cold blooded, and activity is highest during the warmest part of the day.
- Populations can be hyper localized. It can feel like they are all over the county or only in a particular cove on a particular lake.
- From the time cicadas emerge, they will die off and disappear in 5 to 6 weeks.
- Each brood has “stragglers”. These stragglers typically hatch 4 years early in the case of the 17 year broods and 1 year late in the case of the 13 year brood.
Takeaways and Steps to Locating Cicadas
- Cicadas are a terrestrial, and their lifecycle has nothing to do with rivers or lakes.
- Find where the emergence is likely to happen by using resources like https://www.cicadamania.com/. This will at least clue you in to county-level areas to focus on.
- The cicada lifecycle revolves around trees that have been in place for 13 or 17 years. When looking for potential fishing spots, look for undeveloped, wooded areas near water.
- Look for old reports of cicadas (news reports, social media posts, or talk to someone…) to confirm more specific locations. For Brood XIV, target 17 year old (2008) reports. Note: sometimes reports are more likely to come from more densely populated areas, because there are more people to do the reporting, not because there are more bugs!
- Remember, if someone says “I saw them at X a few years ago” that means absolutely nothing (unless it was 2008 or you’ve identified stragglers from a target brood).
- Timing is based on temperature, so emergences are more likely to begin further south and at lower elevations.
- Populations can be hyper localized and to complete your scouting you need to drive around and observe different areas (listen and look for bugs).
- Stragglers can make tracking specific broods confusing.
To find cicada opportunities use maps with estimated brood emergences, look for undeveloped areas near water, be ready to drive, and be flexible.
East Tennessee
We will be getting Brood XIV this year - the “Magi” Cicada (meaning within a reasonable drive of here):
http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/fauna/Michigan_Cicadas/Periodical/BroodXIV.html
Counties: Bledsoe, Blount, Campbell, Carter, Cheatham, Claiborne, Cocke, Coffee, Cumberland, Davidson, Grainger, Grundy, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson, Marion, Putnam, Roane, Robertson, Rutherford, Sevier, Sumner, Unicoi, Williamson.
https://utia.tennessee.edu/publications/wp-content/uploads/sites/269/2023/10/SP341.pdf
- In talking with people who lived and fished here in 2008, we are unlikely to have them broadly distributed across the Holston and Watauga (there may be some hyper localized exceptions depending on who you talk to).
- Waterways outside of our major trout tailwaters will offer great cicada fishing opportunities within a reasonable drive of here.
- Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, and West Virginia will be getting them too.
Wait, weren’t we supposed to get them last year?
Nope. We weren’t supposed to get them in East Tennessee. I can tell you first hand that they were around Nashville and west of Knoxville, as predicted:
https://utia.tennessee.edu/publications/wp-content/uploads/sites/269/2023/10/SP341.pdf
In Closing
Hopefully this helps you in your search for the periodical cicada hatch, or at least piques your interest. Don’t expect periodical cicadas lining the banks of the South Holston and Watauga from end to end. You might have do to a little leg work to find exactly where a hyper-localized population of Brood XIV cicadas is going to get the fish of your dreams to rise with reckless abandon, but that’ll make it just that much more rewarding when you set the hook.
Again:
- Identify potential areas at a high level with Brood XIV maps and county-level info from https://www.cicadamania.com/
- Try to find historical accounts for more localized information (2008 for the Brood XIV)
- Look for undeveloped forested areas (near water… since we are fishing)
- Get in the car, drive around, and check places out in person
- Be flexible