Cicadas…Do fish eat these.

I as wondering if fish like Bass , Northern Pike , Crappie , etc eat these bugs when they fall in water? Just wondering. They sure look big. Marty

Bass and bluegills will. So will carp.

Jim

I don’t know of a fish that won’t eat anything that falls in the water.

I find they are better when fished on the bottom than top water
Everything eats cicadas.

Ok thanks for the info. I might use some cat fishing this weekend if I can catch some.

Like a duck on a Junebug. As they say..

Trout love them too.

Pete

Yes

I went fishing with the kids last weekend using only cicadas as bait. Some observations:

When everything goes perfectly, they make a racket on the water and a bass, large bluegill, or catfish comes immediately to investigate and doesn't stare at it too long before striking.

It took a while to get the weight right. Too heavy of a hook or swivel, and the cicada is no longer on the surface and doesn't flap or make any noise. Too little and it flies around over the water, getting attention but no strikes.

Any algae or aquatic plants on the surface and the cicada's wings get gummed up. No movement = no attention.

They are a little difficult to keep on the hook, particularly after a nibble and a miss from a smaller fish.

So it took a little while to get the formula down, which would have been a lot easier alone rather than dealing with a 12 and 10 year old. However, based on what we learned I think I could find the right spot and do very well next time. (Isn't that always the case with fishing?)

A lot of fly fisherman are tying cicada patterns this season..

They actually make a lure called "the Cicada", pretty popular vibrating blade bait.

My granddaughter and I caught dozens the other day just because she wanted to go cicada hunting. We put them in peanut jars and ended up feeding them to the chickens. May have to do another hunt and use them as bait for a weekend fishing trip. Thank you for the excellent report.