MK's Foam Cicada

This pattern is a modification of Hoov’s Cicada, that I came up with during a fishing trip to the Spruce Creek, PA area during the periodical cicada emergence of 2008. The pattern worked very well on both Spruce Creek and the Little Juniata. This pattern can also be tied to imitate the annual Dog Day Cicada, simply substitute olive-hued materials for the orange ones. 

Hook: #8 Dai-Riki #730 (Nymph Hook, 1X Strong, 2X Long), or #6 Mustad 94831 
 Thread: 3/0 or 6/0 Uni-Thread, black
 Back/Head: 1/8” black foam
 Belly strip: 3/32” foam, black or orange
 Wing: 5 strands orange Krystal Flash, 4 strands Gray Ghost or pearl, 3 strands black.
 Legs/Wing vein: Orange Flexi-Floss

Tying Instructions:

1) De-barb and mount hook in vise
2)  Lay a thread base from the head position to slightly around the hook bend. Return to 2/3 mark. Apply Flexament to thread base. 
3)   Cut a strip of 1/8” foam about 1/4” wide and about 1-1/2 inch long to form the body strip. Catch in by one end at the 2/3 mark and wrap working thread back over the foam to the end of the thread base. Make a firm spiral wrap of thread forward to the front of the foam on the hook shank and back again to near the tail position.
4) Invert hook and catch in the belly strip at the end of the thread base. Advance the working thread a few turns then catch down the belly strip with three or four soft thread turns to form a sternite segment. Repeat until the front of the foam underbody is reached, forming four segments. Do not trim excess foam yet.
5) Pull the back strip over the top of the hook and catch down at the 2/3 mark. Advance the thread to the hook eye. Take some thread wraps immediately behind the hook eye to close any gap there. 
6) Invert hook and catch down the belly strip at the hook eye, and trim excess closely.
7)  Catch down the back strip at the hook eye with several thread turns, then take one wide diagonal turn of thread over the top of the hook, returning the working thread to the 3/4 mark.
8) Prepare the Krystal Flash strands by stacking them all together then cutting this clump in half, effectively doubling it.
9) Fold the doubled clump of Krystal Flash strands over the working thread and catch down at the 3/4 mark. (This multiplies the original number of strands by a factor of 4.) 
10) Fold the foam body strip back and bind down well at the 3/4 mark.
11) Cut a strand of Flexi-Floss in half. Fold one of the strands in half over the working thread, convex sides facing, and position on the far side of the hook. Repeat on the near side. This suggests the prominent orange vein on the leading edge of the cicada’s wing. The front length of floss suggests legs.
12) Trim the wing and vein to desired length. Wing tips should overhang the back edge of the body by about 1/2 inch. 
13) Trim front legs to desired length.
14) (Optional) If desired, use the trimmed pieces from Step 13 to suggest additional legs. Fold each piece in half over the thread and catch down on each side of the hook at the same point as the previous Flexi-Floss tie-down. If these added legs lay too closely to the previous work to show well, try folding the strands in the opposite direction relative to the curvature of the material; convex sides facing or concave sides facing. Adding these strands will give you at total of three legs and one long wing vein on each side of the fly.
15) Apply head cement to all exposed thread wraps.

--Mary S. Kuss--