Steve Peach is a passionate fly angler and member of Sydney Fly Rodders Club.

The Peachy Cicada is a fly he designed specifically for targetting Australian Bass. It’s a cicada pattern that, duing the summer months, seems to be the most effective leader for catching bass on the surface.

There are a few challenges in designing this fly, the main one is how to get a cicada where the wings splay outwards from the body in the water. This is the best solution; it seems to cast well, lands the right way up, floats okay, creates a realistic wing profile in the water and it seems to really get the bass going.

Materials

• Hook – Firehole Sticks Size 8, 3xl
• Thread – Rust brown
• Body – Black or green Foam  3mm  two pieces
  1. Two times length of hook size of gape
  2. Eye of the hook to the point
• Tan Chinelle
• Rubber legs
• Pearl Crystal flash
• Deer hair
• UV resin

Instructions

1. Thread on hook.
2. Under body – Small foam from point to eye, fatter in front
3. Zap-a- gap.
4. Tie in chenille back to front and then back then cicada-shaped body
5. Large foam pointed tail at the back of the chenille. Tie in first segment then tie in set of rubber legs, wrap around the segment.
6. Tie in new segment then up to the eye of the hook (four Segments).
7. Tie 8 or more crystal flash strands on the top of the fly – cut half body length past the tail.
8. Tie in deer hair  the length of the body keep it on top of the fly, trim front excess (more zap-a-gap).
9. Cut v-shape in front of the foam.
10. Fold the front over and tie it off.
11. Tie in a set of legs on both sides – shorter legs in front.
12. Whip finish – use half-hitch tool.
13. UV resin around the eye and tie off point to keep fly from spinning on the hook. Trim the legs.