Red Canyon Foam Cicada
by @dekasso
Foam Cicada · Terrestrial
A fat bug over green canyon water
A size 8 foam cicada in black and orange with an elk hair wing and rubber legs, tied to float high for trout along summer banks.
A foam cicada with a stacked black and orange back, a pale elk hair wing and long black rubber legs. It is built from laminated foam, bleached elk hair, an orange foam tuft and a short pearl flash tail.
- Pattern
- Foam Cicada
- Imitates
- Cicada emergence, typically late spring into early summer on warm, still afternoons
- Hook
- size 8
- Tippet
- 3Xrule of three
- Laminated black over orange foam
- Bleached elk hair wing
- Four black speckled rubber legs
- Orange foam tuft for sighting
- Size 8 dry-fly hook
On the water
Black foam sits on orange foam like a slice of layer cake. A fan of cream elk hair rides over the back, an orange tuft sits up top, and four black legs splay out at sharp angles. A wisp of pearl flash trails behind.
Slap it down tight to the rocks and let it drift dead along the bank. A twitch now and then makes the legs kick. In clear green water under red cliffs, the dark silhouette reads well from below.
Laminating the foam is the step to get right. Glue the black and orange sheets flat and let them cure before cutting, so the strip stays as one piece under tight thread wraps.
Rigging
- Tippet
- 3Xhook size divided by three
- Leader
- Nine feet, tapered — longer and finer in flat water
- Rig on 2X to 3X tippet; the foam and legs twist lighter tippet on the cast.
- Land it with a soft plop near banks and boulders, then let it drift drag-free.
- Add a twitch mid-drift to make the rubber legs move, then let it sit again.
Where and when
- Water
- Green River, Flaming Gorge, Northeast Utah
- Hatch
- Cicada emergence, typically late spring into early summer on warm, still afternoons
- Target
- Brown trout, Rainbow trout
- Water type
- Canyon tailwaters, grassy banks, seams and riffle edges
- Also fishes
- Works as a hopper stand-in on late-summer meadow water, and as a buoyant top fly holding up a small nymph dropper.
Also on this water
- CicadaJun
- Blue-Winged OliveApr–May, Oct
- CaddisJun–Aug
Fished out of Dutch John and Vernal.
Make it yourself
Intermediate5 materials · 11 steps
- Pattern
- Foam Cicada
- Style
- Terrestrial
- Hook
- Tiemco 5212size 8
- Thread
- Black 3/0
Materials in the order they go on the hook
- TailPearl Krystal Flash
- BodyBlack and orange 2mm foam, laminated
- LegsBlack speckled round rubber legs
- WingBleached elk hair
- IndicatorOrange 2mm foam
Details
- Imitates
- Cicada
- Colors
- Black, Orange, Cream, Pearl
How to tie it
The steps, from first wrap to whip finish (11)
- Glue a sheet of black 2mm foam to a sheet of orange 2mm foam and let it cure flat.
- Cut a strip of the laminated foam about as wide as the hook gap and round off the rear end.
- Mount the hook and lay a firm base of black thread from the eye to the bend.
- Tie in four to six strands of pearl Krystal Flash at the bend, about half a shank long.
- Lay the foam strip on top of the shank, orange side down, and bind it at the bend over the tail.
- Spiral the thread forward and tie the foam down hard at the two-thirds point, leaving a short foam head over the eye.
- Tie a rubber leg on each side at the tie-down with figure-eight wraps so they form an X.
- Clean and stack a small clump of bleached elk hair and tie it on top at the same point, tips just past the bend.
- Tie a short strip of orange foam on top of the wing butts and trim it into two small petals.
- Whip finish at the tie-down point and add a drop of cement to the wraps.
- Trim the legs so the front pair reaches past the eye and the rear pair past the bend.
Proportions (5)
- Tail: pearl flash about half the shank length.
- Body: foam strip as wide as the hook gap, running from the bend to just over the eye.
- Wing: elk hair tips reaching just past the bend, level with the end of the foam.
- Legs: front legs past the eye, rear legs past the bend by roughly a shank length.
- Indicator: orange tuft no taller than the hook gap.
Tips (4)
- Use firm but not crushing wraps on the foam so it stays segmented without tearing.
- Stack the elk hair well so the tips line up into a clean, even fan.
- Speckled legs show more movement in sunlight; leave them long and trim after testing on the water.
- A drop of glue on the shank before laying the foam stops the body spinning around the hook.
Common mistakes (4)
- Cutting the foam before the glue cures; the layers peel apart. Let the laminate set fully first.
- Tying the wing too far back makes the fly ride tail-heavy. Keep all tie-ins at the two-thirds point.
- Too much elk hair flares and hides the foam. Use a pencil-thin clump.
- Legs tied unevenly make the fly spin on the cast. Check both sides match before the whip finish.
Every kit size
Materials only
Size 8 · Materials only · 12 flies
$44.15
$3.68 a fly
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 8 more
Every item in this kit · 9 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$6.50
Thread & wire
- Black 3/0 thread$2.95
Materials
- Pearl Krystal Flash$3.95
- Black and orange 2mm foam, laminated$7.90
- Black speckled round rubber legs$3.50
- Bleached elk hair$5.50
- Orange 2mm foam$7.90
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 8 · Materials only · 48 flies
$106.59
$2.22 a fly
Bought separately $112.20 · you save $5.61
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 8 more
Every item in this kit · 9 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$13
Thread & wire
- Black 3/0 thread$5.90
Materials
- Pearl Krystal Flash$11.85
- Black and orange 2mm foam, laminated$19.75
- Black speckled round rubber legs$14
- Bleached elk hair$22
- Orange 2mm foam$19.75
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 8 · Materials only · 144 flies
$262.90
$1.83 a fly
Bought separately $298.75 · you save $35.85
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 8 more
Every item in this kit · 9 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$35
Thread & wire
- Black 3/0 thread$17.70
Materials
- Pearl Krystal Flash$31.60
- Black and orange 2mm foam, laminated$59.25
- Black speckled round rubber legs$35
- Bleached elk hair$55
- Orange 2mm foam$59.25
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
With vise & tools
Size 8 · With vise & tools · 12 flies
$194.15
$16.18 a fly
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 17 more
Every item in this kit · 18 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$6.50
Thread & wire
- Black 3/0 thread$2.95
Materials
- Pearl Krystal Flash$3.95
- Black and orange 2mm foam, laminated$7.90
- Black speckled round rubber legs$3.50
- Bleached elk hair$5.50
- Orange 2mm foam$7.90
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Tools
- Rotary pedestal vise$79
- Ceramic bobbin$14
- Fine-point scissors$16
- Whip finisher$9
- Hackle pliers$7
- Bodkin$5
- Bobbin threader$4
- Dubbing wax$4
- Canvas tool roll$12
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 8 · With vise & tools · 48 flies
$249.09
$5.19 a fly
Bought separately $262.20 · you save $13.11
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 17 more
Every item in this kit · 18 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$13
Thread & wire
- Black 3/0 thread$5.90
Materials
- Pearl Krystal Flash$11.85
- Black and orange 2mm foam, laminated$19.75
- Black speckled round rubber legs$14
- Bleached elk hair$22
- Orange 2mm foam$19.75
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Tools
- Rotary pedestal vise$79
- Ceramic bobbin$14
- Fine-point scissors$16
- Whip finisher$9
- Hackle pliers$7
- Bodkin$5
- Bobbin threader$4
- Dubbing wax$4
- Canvas tool roll$12
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 8 · With vise & tools · 144 flies
$394.90
$2.74 a fly
Bought separately $448.75 · you save $53.85
Includes Tiemco 5212 · and 17 more
Every item in this kit · 18 items
Hooks & beads
- Tiemco 5212$35
Thread & wire
- Black 3/0 thread$17.70
Materials
- Pearl Krystal Flash$31.60
- Black and orange 2mm foam, laminated$59.25
- Black speckled round rubber legs$35
- Bleached elk hair$55
- Orange 2mm foam$59.25
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Tools
- Rotary pedestal vise$79
- Ceramic bobbin$14
- Fine-point scissors$16
- Whip finisher$9
- Hackle pliers$7
- Bodkin$5
- Bobbin threader$4
- Dubbing wax$4
- Canvas tool roll$12
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
The creator
Remixes
1 remix of this
Where this came from
fly pattern · made
1 remix
25 — from 1 remix, at the Derby's published weights, since . Views are not counted.
- cicada
- foam
- terrestrial
- dry fly
- elk hair
- rubber legs
- black
- orange
- trout
- summer
- canyon
- tailwater