tying marabou?

[phly tire 0]

I have only started tying flys this week, and never tied with marabou, so this is a basic question with probably a simple answer. When you are tying marabou for a tail on a fly are you using just the tip of the marabou feather and wrapping the spine of the feaher to the hook or do you use just the fluff from the feather and no spine? how long of a tail do you want to make if you are using marabou?

[Hairstacker 0]

It would seem like an simple answer but there's actually a little bit to it. . . .

 

First of all, not all marabou is the same. On some marabou feathers, the rachis or stem (what you're calling the "spine") extends all the way to the tip of the feather. If you're using this type, you really don't want the stem to be part of the tail because it inhibits movement in the water. So, you can clip the stem out of the tip or use barbs from the side of the feather.

 

If you have what are referred to as "blood" or "blood quill" marabou, there are barbs at the tip that extend significantly beyond the tip of the stem, in which case you can just tie in these barbs without the stem extending into the tail. Makes sense? However, keep in mind that, even in this case, some folks still prefer to strip off the barbs from the side of the feather and use those instead, believing those barbs are softer and provide more movement in the water. If you took a poll, you'll find some folks who prefer to use the tips from a blood quill marabou feather, while others will prefer to use the barbs on the side of the feather. Both camps will have folks who will assert their approach provides better movement in the water. Of the two, though, it is unquestionably easier and quicker just to tie in the tips from a blood quill marabou feather, although I happen to be one of those who prefers to use the barbs from the side of a marabou feather to form a tail regardless of the type of marabou feather employed. But that's just me.

 

As far as length, it depends on what you're tying. Many folks, for example, like the tail on a woolly bugger to equal the length of the rest of the fly. If you're tying a wiggletail fly, the tail may extend to 5 times or more the length of the fly's body. So it depends.

 

As far as tying it in, you could simply apply wraps just in front of the bend of the hook and clip the rest of the feather off. Many prefer to apply thread wraps to the feather stem for the full length of the fly's body to provide an even, level base on which to build the rest of the fly's body so there's no bump at the rear caused by the butt of the marabou being clipped off.

 

Yet another option after tying in the tail, is to wrap the remaining stem of the feather around the hook shank in adjacent turns towards the hook eye to let that become the body of the fly. Of course, that's only an option if the fly you're tying actually calls for such a wrapped marabou feather body or if you're making up a fly of your own that utilizes this approach.

 

-- Mike

[carolinafisherman 0]

Check out the following link, it might help you. The fly featured in this clip is called the Woolly Bugger (Booger) and is probably the most popular fly around. It's simple to tie and incredibly effective. Give it a whirl!

 

 

Good luck and tight lines

-CF

[neoFLYte 0]

For me, watching videos helps. There are many videos available that show how to tie a wide variety of flies. My suggestion is to watch a few different people tie whatever fly you are thinking about. David Cammiss was an inspiration to me when I started tying. Here is a link to his video for the Woolley Bugger.

http://learnflytying.co.uk/the-shipmans-buzzer-2.html

[DoctorD 0]

 

I think of the maraboo as two distinct types. The stuff labeled wooly bugger maraboo with thick stem (rachis) and blood maraboo with a thinner stem. I have used the blood maraboo for leaches and have palmered the feather around the hook. It makes for a very bugger leach. You cannot do this with the thicker wooly bugger maraboo.