Re-discovering marabou ....

[AndrewP 0]

I got away from using marabou for fly tying for a while -- I was using lots of synthetics, etc. But I kinda re-discovered using it in ties.

 

I came up with this fly, which uses a combination of stacking and palmering marabou. Wondered if anyone else had any good ties that use a lot of marabou ...

 

 

AP

 

 

[Adam Saarinen 0]

Marabou is excellent! Messy but excellent! Cheap, comes in a LOT of different colours! The Marc Petitjean magic tool will be your best friend if you like marabou, spin your own hackles in a dubbing loop, any size you like! Veevus makes strong thin thread, yet to try future fly thread yet? But marabou moves in the water excellent! A YES vote for marabou from me!

[Piker20 0]

The only thing I forget is how slim marabou ends up in the water. I tie a fly that looks ace and then it has no presence in the water. Now I use marabou in mixture with other stuff to add movement without more bulk.

[Capt Bob LeMay 0]

I never quit using maribou and love it for working shallow reds, snook, etc. Small maribou flies are my first choice when working baby tarpon (small babies, in the two to twenty pound size range -but only in daylight, after dark I'm not fond of maribou...). Here are a few pics to consider -the first series is a bendback pattern called a Slinky.... the original was in brown and used where you'd use a gold spoon.... The second is that very popular Crystal Schminnow (or at least my version of it, and it's my go to for small tarpon -or any fish feeding on "glass minnnows" ). The last one is a Blacklight Special (on a #2 or #1 hook) and is a personal favorite back in the 'Glades when the water is cold in winter and very clear.... and reds and snook are quite spooky and selective about feeding at all.

 

In every case I like a sparse amount of bucktail laid in first before the maribou is added - the stiffer bucktail almost eliminates fouling, which can be a problem with maribou patterns. By the way all I ever work with is strung (dyed or bleached) blood quill in the 3-4" size range. You can buy it in bulk very cheaply (as long as everyone eats turkey...).

 

[agn54 0]

Great looking flies everyone. I love marabou and use it probably as much or more than anything else. It does slim down, however on slow suspending patterns where you twitch the fly and let it sit for a bit, it fluffs out as it sits and then goes slim when pulled forward. I also often use if with other materials under it like buck tail, not only to prevent fouling but also to help keep a bulkier profile when stripped. I wonder if using a spreader of mylar thing (like in the featherbrain) would work as well? May have to try and find out

[Hatchet Jack 0]

Slighty off topic, but I thought I'd throw this in here -

 

I too have been using maribou more & more lately. It has qualities that simply cannot be mimicked with synthetics.

To 'bulk' up a tail, I stuff a bunch of fibres into my Petitjean magnum clamp, hold it firmly and comb out the

riffraff at the butts, then trim the butts back a tad with scissors. Once the tail is tied in right & snug & a bit longish,

I go back and pinch & tear off the very fine ends to achieve the final desired length. If it's still too wimpy,

I'll unwrap my thread windings and add in more fibres. Takes a while, but the finished result is worth it.

[agn54 0]

I can see how that would be effective at creating bulk. In a similar vein, this one has a body of palmered marabou that keeps a decent profile when stripped

[Betty 0]

Plain and simple yet effective....