When is the New Zealand Cicada most available to trout?

December–February, typically 11:00–17:00 (hot, still days). It picks up from about 13°C, peaks around 19°C and tails off by 25°C.

What flies imitate the New Zealand Cicada?

Cicada, Carl's Cicada, Black Cicada, Chernobyl Cicada, typically on a #4–1/0 hook.

How big is the New Zealand Cicada?

Adult stage: 25–35mm. That matches a #4–1/0 hook.

Terrestrial · Terrestrial

Cicada (NZ)

Amphipsalta zelandica

Size

25–35mm

Hook size

#4–1/0

Hatch window

Season December–FebruaryPeak time 11:00–17:00 (hot, still days)

Water temperature

19° peak

13°25°

How fish feed on it

Nothing about a beetle or an ant belongs in the water, which is rather the point — once it's in, it isn't getting out, and a trout that's spent all summer learning this doesn't need convincing twice. The takes tend to be confident and unhurried, especially along undercut banks and under overhanging branches where windfall has been landing for as long as the tree's been there.

Flies that imitate this

Cicada

Carl's Cicada

Black Cicada

Chernobyl Cicada

Ecology

Rivers & stillwaterFreestone rivers

Where you'll find this

New ZealandPresent

Present throughout

Identification

The chorus cicada , Amphipsalta zelandica , is the most common species of cicada in New Zealand where it is endemic and found in most areas. They typically live in forests and areas with open bush, where their left-over nymph skins can be seen on tree trunks and branches during the summer months. The males produce their cicada sound in unison, which can reach deafening proportions at the height of their population around February. Groups of cicada can...