Maribou questions...

[FlySmyth]

First how exactly do you spell it?

Second how do you gather it to put/tie it on the hook?

I have been gathering mine from the sides. One bunch from one side of a feather is never enough so I have to pick a bucnh off the second side too. Then there is not enough on the tip to make a fly so I just through the top portion away.

Also I understand that you tie it on at the eye? You do that so it doesn't leave a bump at the end of the hook right?

Thanks in advance.

Ken.

PS Can you tell I have been tying nymphs all winter?

[Trout4x]

Originally posted by FlySmyth
First how exactly do you spell it?....



MARABOU

[steelie]

I don't gather it, I clip the main stem - farther down if you need more, shorter if you don't. I'm sure its pretty wasteful, but marabou is relativley cheap and I don't like to handle the stuff much, especiallly the black - the dye gets everywhere.

[flyty]

"Then there is not enough on the tip to make a fly so I just through the top portion away."

Now that you know how to spell marabou, you can move on to "through".

The tip is the part you want to use. Like steelie, I use one feather per fly.

"Also I understand that you tie it on at the eye?"

You can tie the marabou in at the hook bend, and then if you want a smooth underbody, instead of cutting the butts off wrap the butts down along the hook until you get near the eye, and then cut them off. However, with some materials, like hair, it can be hard to get the butts to behave as you wrap them to the hook, and for those materials you might want to try tying them in at the eye, and then wrapping back to the hook bend as you hold the material and pull it towards you to keep it on top of the hook.

[FlySmyth]

flyty? So how do you spell throw? I mean through? I never proof read my posts but guess I should.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Ken.

[cheech]

I never use the tips of Blood marabou anymore. I got some really good stuff from Dennis. It moves really nicely in the water. 90% of buggers are tied with way too much marabou (My own stat). Fill up the tub and test for yourself, you'll see.

[Trouty]

I, too, prefer sparse tails.

Maybe I'm a horrible tyer but the bump has never really been an issue for me with the patterns I tie that have marabou tails. I just cut the marabou at an angle which causes a little taper which is easy to compensate for.

[FlySmyth]

What does one look for in a "tub test?"

[Jason]

I don't use the tips of my marabou plumes, just the fibers along the sides. It's much fluffier and has better movement in the water. Like Cheech mentioned, Dennis (www.flydesk.com) has some top grade marabou that is the fluffiest, lightest marabou I've ever tied with.

It sounds like you're doing it right. Just grab a clump of fibers off the side of the stem and tear off. It takes practice, but you can grab as much as you need. For tails, tie in your marabou in the middle of your hook shank and tie it down as you work back to the bend of the hook. Trim the excess.

[flyty]

Sorry for the bad info FlySmyth.