By: Marshall McDougal
We saw one of the most epic Brood X Cicada hatches where both the XIII(17 year) and XIX(13 year) cycles emerged at the same time. What better place to go chase this hatch than the White River in Arkansas? While we were there, that area was hit hard with storms and every morning these bugs littered the banks and floated down the river turning them into steak dinners for hungry trout. By late afternoon, the tree came back to life with the constant buzz sounding like a hundred weed whackers chewing up grass and bark. Something we will not see on the White for another 13 years and the double emergence for another 221 years.
The Emergence
Cicadas emerge every year with over 3000 variations of annual cicadas, these variations are very common. Every 13 and 17 years, we see a Brood X emergence where larger cicadas will come out in what is known as a periodic cycle.
The Brood XIX emerges every 13 years and predominantly took over areas in Arkansas, Missouri and Illinois with scattered appearances in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas. The Brood XIII emerges every 17 years and were seen heavily in the state of Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin with a few appearances in Michigan.
Multiple Hatches on the White
The Cicadas were not the only thing these fish were feeding on this spring and into the summer. The other prolific hatch this time of year are the caddis and they are not to go unnoticed. There were multiple spots on the river where blanket hatches were occurring. Hundreds of fish feeding in pods could be found sipping caddis and it was common to anchor the raft and get out to hunt noses with a much smaller elk hair caddis. When you find these rises on the river, it is worth taking a pause from throwing your big foam bugs and pull out the fly box to switch up to an elk hair caddis. Many of the pods we ran into yielded a fun hour of catching fish every other cast. When fishing to a pod of fish, start with the outside risers and slowly pick them off first. Some of the bigger fish typically sit towards the middle of these groups and as tempting as it is to target the biggest emerging nose, working your way from the outside in will produce more fish in the net. Some of these hatches will last a few hours as not only adult caddis buzz around while emergers work their way up to shed their skin and dry their wings out.
Another bug that should not go unnoticed are midges. These are fished year round on the white and are the most productive way to find those big browns. With this being said, if you don’t want to watch a bobber all day and do want to fish the dry flies popping off, throw a dropper behind that big cicada. We were consistently getting subsurface eats on midge patterns like rainbow warriors and zebra midges amongst the top water blow ups. In my opinion, this is the most fun way to fish the White this time of year. You might be sacrificing on the size of fish you are pulling out but the consistency will make up for it as you will put more fish in the boat. For those die hard bobber fishermen, this is still a great time to put some split shot on and secure that indicator 8-9 ft above your fly. There are lots of 20 plus inch browns with full bellies lurking on the bottom still in search of easy food after gorging themselves on cicadas.
Fly Box Selection
Imitating the Brood X with the Brood X 24′
Cicadas have broad heads, large eyes, large tent-like wings, and large forelegs. Annual cicadas can be heard every year, but periodical species only occur in mass every 13 or 17 years. Periodical cicadas are 0.75 to 1.5 inches long and are green and brown, or green and black bodied. Annual cicadas are larger ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 inches long and have black bodies, red eyes, and wings with orange veins.
In order to come close to the real thing, we designed a fly that was really more of a Frankenstein cicada pulling from some other periodical patterns tied years ago for the last big brood emergence in this area. The Brood X 24’ was designed with a thick foam body so that it will float high and hold the profile of these chunky bugs. Segmented thread wraps on the foam mimics the abdomen of these insects while we topped off the business end with rubber legs, thin sprawled out wings and large mono eyes. The final touch was to tie in some poly yarn for visibility. What are you left with? A massive foam monster that is a fish catching machine. There were 4 dozen of these tied up and they sold fast. We still have a few on the website to purchase and we can guarantee they will not be as loud in your fly box as the real bugs are in the trees of the Ozarks.
Fly Box
Since there are only a few notable dry flies popping off this time of year, the fly boxes on this trip consisted of cicadas, a few other large stone flies, a handful of caddis and a bunch of nymphs and midges to tie on as trailer flies.
Dry Flies
- Brood X 24’
- Chubby Chernobyl – Black – Size 6-10
- Elk Hair Caddis – Olive and Tan – Size 12-16
Nymphs
- Pat’s Rubber Legs – Brown or Black – Size 8-10
- Rainbow Warrior – Size 16
- Perdigon – Black or Olive – Size 12-14
- Zebra Midge – Black or Olive – Size 16-18
- Sweetmeat Caddis – Olive – Size 16-18
- Dally’s Tailwater Jig – Olive – Size 14-16
Notable Fly Shops in the Area!
Dally’s Ozark Fly Fisher
Dally’s is your gateway to the White River system and the fisheries of the Ozarks. They are a full service fly shop and guide service in Cotter, Arkansas within walking distance from the White River. Whether you are heading onto the White, local smallmouth creeks, or further afield, Dally’s is there to give you the best advice and the gear you need. Most of the shop staff is also a part of the guide team and is a wealth of knowledge for rivers in this area. They will make sure you have the most up-to-date information and the right flies to tackle a day on the White river.
Natural State Fly Shop
The Natural State Fly Shop has everything you need for a great trip. Located at the White river access point in the heart of historic Cotter, Arkansas, they offer custom tied flies, rods, and a large selection of fishing supplies. Friendly customer service and expert knowledge regarding local waters are two things you will always find when you visit the shop. Natural State is a full guide operation offering trips and lodging packages. Cotter Trout Lodge is a short stroll from many Cotter attractions including the Cotter Public Boat Ramp on the White River, Big Spring Park, the Big Spring swimming hole and gift shops. This is a must visit shop when you are in Cotter!
Gear Recommendations
Photo by Marshall McDougal
Being able to sling larger foam bug patterns and the occasional hopper dropper in the early morning before the fish become active on the surface requires a little extra backbone in your rod selection. My recommended setup is a 5wt or 6wt paired with weight forward floating line. I preferred the 6wt and only switched to a 5wt when throwing smaller dry flies such as caddis or BWOs during a blanket hatch. A 9-foot rod will work just fine but a 9’ 6” or 10’ rod can help with mending your line as well as fishing from a raft should you be taking a guided trip or bringing your own. For fly line, the Rio Elite Gold has always been my go-to for trout fishing and I really enjoyed throwing the new Bank Robber from Rio. I had both spooled on all of my reel setups for this trip. Pair this with a 3X – 9ft leader and 4/5X tippet for your droppers and you will be set for a full day on the water!
Rod: Sage R8 Core 690-4 or TFO LK Legacy 06 90 4
Reel: Sage Spectrum 5/6 or TFO BVK II
Line: Rio Elite Gold WF6F or Rio Premier Bank Robber WF6F
Leader: Rio Powerflex Trout Leader 3X
Tippet – Dry Flies: Rio Powerflex 4/5X
Tippet – Dropper Flies: Rio Flouroflex 4.5X
Conclusion
If you missed out on this epic emergence, don’t worry! We will see the Brood XIX again in another 13 years on the White. However, there are 29 other brood species that hatch all over the eastern part of the country. Didn’t get a crack at it this year? Don’t worry, next year, we will see the Brood XIV emerge and there will be plenty of hungry fish ready for the event as well. Look into where they are predicting this which can be found in my Project Cicada 2024 article and get your trip planned. I have a very strong feeling we will be out there chasing this emergence again. If you are looking for any extra advice on these chunky bugs or have any questions about fishing a brood hatch, feel free to reach out to us. We would love to help and get your fly box prepared for the next one. Until then, we patiently await 2037 when we can go chase big fish gorging themselves on large foam flies on the White again!