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They began to show up in this area at the end of May, and within the past couple weeks, their pronounced clicking, rattling sound has been heard by just about anybody who has ventured outside.
There are 12 broods of cicadas -- a two to three inch-long black and orange-colored beetle with flies -- and each appears across a variety of Eastern and Midwestern states at 17-year intervals.
This is the year for the Brood X (or Brood 10) cicada, which last appeared here back in 2004 and won't appear again here until 2038.
Fishermen who use imitation cicada fly patterns, cicada lures, and the live insects themselves as bait, are hoping to capitalize on the current cicada frenzy, which lasts only six weeks and will end in early to mid-July.
Cicadas, in any form, are excellent bait for any type of predatory fish.
"A cicada will bring all the fish up, not just bass, not just trout,'' said Creg Strock, owner and proprietor of the Aquatic Imitations fly, bait and tackle shop that is located on Route 22, just two miles east of Hollidaysburg. "Everything feeds on cicadas. Carp like them, too. When you're fishing with a cicada fly, lure or bug, if something comes up to take it, you have no idea what you're in for.''
Strock makes and sells cicada flies at his shop, and they've been very popular since Brood X arrived here in late May.
"I've been tying fly patterns to imitate the cicada,'' Strock said. "I started with 36, and they all sold quickly. Bait fishermen can catch cicadas and put a hook through them and use them that way. Down on the Juniata River at Mount Union, the bass are just tearing (the cicadas) up.''
Shawn Holsinger, who works as a fly-tyer at the Holsinger Fly Shop in East Freedom that is owned by his father, Ron, is also a professional fishing guide and has made over 400 fly-tying videos on the You Tube channel.
Shawn Holsinger books clients from locales like Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Maryland and Washington, D.C., and guides them on fishing trips on area waters like Bobs Creek, Yellow Creek, and the Raystown Branch of the Juniata River.
During a recent visit to Bobs Creek with some fishing clients from Maryland, Shawn said that his cicada flies were very popular among trout in the faster-moving waters.
"I have found that we weren't getting the hits on the cicada flies in slow water and still pools, but we were getting hits on the flies from trout in faster water where the fish didn't have time to inspect the fly,'' Shawn Holsinger said. "The trout has to grab the fly quicker in the faster water, or the fly will pass by the trout.
"We had hit after hit in the faster water, where the trout were busting the cicada flies like crazy,'' Shawn Holsinger added.
Shawn said that he knows of a younger area fisherman who was gathering the actual cicadas as larvae immediately after they had hatched earlier in the spring, and catching a lot of trout with them on a standard line and hook.
Cicada lures are also effective.
"A friend of mine is using popper cicada lures on Raystown Lake and catching carp like crazy on the plugs with a spinning outfit,'' Shawn said.
Ron Holsinger said that the cicada fly patterns having been selling briskly at his shop this spring.
"We've sold around 300 over the last two months,'' Ron Holsinger said.
The billions of Brood X adult male and female cicadas that have surfaced in 14 states from Tennessee to New York this spring are currently mating. They're located in trees and bushes, and many will eventually land on the surface of some streams in this area, including the Frankstown Branch of the Juniata River.
The largest infiltration of the Brood X swarm is taking place in the eastern and southern parts of Pennsylvania, down to the Maryland border, according to Shawn Holsinger.
After this year's mating season concludes, the adult cicadas will die off in July and their offspring will burrow under the ground until resurfacing as adults themselves in 2038.
Four years from now, in 2025, another group of cicadas, known as Brood 14, will appear more prominently in this immediate area, creating opportunities for fishermen on streams like the Little Juniata River, Spruce Creek, and Penns Creek.
But Strock is hoping to capitalize on the presence of this year's brood when he heads out to fish with his cicada fly patterns.
"This hatch only comes around once every 17 years,'' Strock said. "I wasn't living here 17 years ago to fish with them. I've tied my flies up, and yes, I'm going to be throwing them out on the water.''