Hi All,

One of my pet project for about a year now is to
find a fly (I do not tie my own) that imitates an
underwater ovipositing Baetis spinner. I have come
up dry.

My big problem is that nothing I have found actually
looks like what I am after. Here is a picture from
Ralph Cutter's website.

http://www.flyline.com/_images/baetisuw.gif

Note that the winds are straight up and stuck
together by an air bubble.

The idea is to present this fly under the film the
way a real ovipositing Baetis looks after it "falls
upward" when they eventually loose their footing.
And, when they hit the film, to flip on their sides.

Many thanks,
-T

p.s. as an aside, the picture that goes with a fascinating
explanation by Ralph. Those of you that love the
biology behind such things will find the male's
imitating the females behavior fascinating as well.
The code to oviposit must not be on the X-Y gene
sequence. You can never know enough about trout
or their food. (My opinion, yours my vary.)

http://www.flyline.com/tips_trivia/all_that_glitters/

One of the most amazing yet under utilized "glitter
bugs" is the Baetis spinner. Many Baetis mayflies are
unique in that the adult females (spinners), crawl
underwater and affix their eggs to streambed structure.
For some reason, the females will often be joined
underwater by males (mating occurs above water). These
mayflies trap a bubble of air between their upright
wings and look like tiny angels as they roam about the
streambed.

Baetis spinners are very bouyant and seem to have a
difficult time retaining a foothold on the streambed.
They very deliberately pick up and place one foot down
at a time; sometimes they will reach out with a foot
and tap the substrate in front of them as if they are
testing for the best foot hold. When they get lost to
the current it is all over, they don’t struggle, swim,
or attempt in any way to save themselves. Baetis
spinners are unique in that they fall up.

Baetis drift upwards wings first. When they hit the
film they immediately get flipped and adhere to the
meniscus on their sides. The spinners that reach the
surface get stuck under the film, making them nearly
invisible to the angler looking down into the water.
Clots of Baetis spinners will float up and collect
under rock ledges, undercut banks and any other
overhead trap. Trout will take Baetis spinners in
current seams and other "typical" feeding lies; however,
most fish will graze along the riverbed or move to
the Baetis traps during a heavy ovipositing.

Ovipositing Baetis are easy to imitate. They can be
fished dead drift anywhere in the water column but
are most effective along the streambed.