I need better Marabou..

[Simplejack 0]

Where can I find this Marabou or what type is this?
I got some from 3 different places.
1 has no life to it and takes about 8 feathers to make a big tail. (Ebay Skin Patch)
2 is straight with no fluff to it and has a damage strip in the middle of the sweet spot.. (Cabela's strung)
3 is too short and too fluffy and has not much fluff control.. (WB Marabou Hareline)
What I need and I am looking for is what you see in these pictures attached.
Is there a special name for this type or a special brand?

[flytire 0]

look for "blood quill" marabou

 

 

 

http://www.flyfishusa.com/fly-tying/strung-marabou.htm

[Simplejack 0]

I seen that video. The Cabela's stuff I got is blood quill marabou and looks like it's the same brand as what is shown in that video.

Still looks nothing like what is shown in those 2 images I posted.

Maybe just the batches vary or the brands on where they get their feathers from?

[flytire 0]

i dont think you will ever find a package of marabou that will contain every single feather that will be exactly the same as the type youre looking for. that means hand sorting and that also means more cost.

 

your best bet is to head out to your local fly shop with the fly in hand and ask for some similar feathers

 

good luck in your search

[Simplejack 0]

ok thanks. I will probably take a trip to the local fly shop then.

[Piker20 0]

I have found the packs sold by orvis to not be too bad. I like their wrap a-bou but it only comes in barred colours (UK)

[LP ID 66 0]

I really look at what I buy first most shops don't mind you going through theirpackages and looking at the feathers makin sure they are good. Look for the extra select or blood quill.

[Simplejack 0]

I really look at what I buy first most shops don't mind you going through theirpackages and looking at the feathers makin sure they are good. Look for the extra select or blood quill.

Yeah I will check them both, thanks

[Chefben4 0]

The Cabelas stuff is a huge waste of money. My preferred is Rumpf. I get the 1/4oz packs and its the best I've seen.

[Rocco 0]

"In the olden days", there were some catalogue outfits that were highly reliable as they actually inspected the stuff they sold and made sure of the quality. Ed Storey at Feathercraft was always reliable and to tell the truth I can't remember getting low grade stuff from the current management there. The catalogue is much more glitsy with arrays of must-have gadgets, and I miss Ed's personalized touch -- including his refs to his staff with the big "handwarmers" -- but progress must be served.

 

Rocco

[flytire 0]

I bought some of the supposedly "hand picked" by Ed Storey peacock herl and found it to be no better than any other herl somewhere else

[Bryon Anderson 0]

+1 on Feathercraft -- even though Ed Story is no longer there, they still seem to carry on his tradition of keeping a close eye on the quality of their tying materials. I've never gotten bad stuff from them.

 

Also, a tip I picked up from a highly-trusted fly shop owner: buy marabou in 1 oz. quantities rather than the smaller packages. I recently bought a package from him and when I saw it was a whole ounce of feathers I asked if he didn't have it in a smaller quantity and he said he always buys the 1 oz. packages because you get a much higher percentage of the "qualilty" feathers that way. It's a little more expensive, but if you use a lot of the stuff anyway it ends up saving you money.

[JSzymczyk 0]

Here's a post, with pics, I put up a while ago showing how I make good marabou tails. It's only one way, but it works.

 

http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=72670&hl=

 

In every package of marabou, there will be a LOT of feathers which are not ideal for making tails or wings, but that will also depend on what you consider to be "good".

 

as a critique, IMO the tails on your buggers are way too long. they should be only as long as the body. BUT, that's just the way I like them, the fish might feel differently.

[tidewaterfly 0]

Generally, once it's wet it all acts the same, unless you get a really bad feather. Any natural material will not all be perfect, so spending the time to hand select is the only way to get what suits your own needs.

 

That marabou on your fly looks like it might have been stripped from a full marabou plume, not a blood quill. A blood quill is really a marabou feather than is not fully formed, but many of us prefer them for patterns such as buggers. You can get full plumes, but they will have a thicker stem & often much longer fibers. The fibers will also usually vary greatly along the length of the feather. You'll need to strip them from the stem, and if you wish the tail to be somewhat even on it's end, you'll need to sort the fibers to get them even. One of the disadvantages of using the full plumes, and an advantage of using blood quills, as the full feather, or most of the full feather is used.

[Crotalus 0]

I like the Extra Select from Hareline and the Jailhouse from Spirit River. Hareline also has strung blood quill that is pretty good.