Stacking marabou vs. palmering

[OkobojiEagle]

When tying marabou jigs, who among us stacks their marabou vs. palmers the 'bou?  I prefer palmering a couple of marabou plumes on each jig, but I'm having trouble finding plumes of enough quality to accomplish more than a few jigs per bag of marabou!  I may have to stack a few jigs and compare them to my palmered jigs this Spring.  I really hate when ***** makes me change my preferred ways...

 

oe

[MickD]

Have never palmered. Never thought of it. Stacking works well. 

[smalljaw67]

I prefer to palmer the marabou because it seems the marabou has more movement tied like that. I still stack it when I want to use two colors of marabou but keep them separate. 

[MickD]

Nice to get a comment from someone as expert as Smalljaw67.  If you ty jigs and have not seen his videos, you're missing some really good stuff.  I'll try palmering!

[Deleted account]

I dunno, I just tie it on. Fish seem to like it. 

[Bdnoble84]

I prefer palmering as i too feel like there is better action and profile. Definitely have an issue with quality marabou. I need to harvest another turkey. I got awesome plumes from the last couple and they had a really nice mottled coloration to them.

[Fallser]

I'm use to stacking it when tying it in for tails on my flies.  I have palmered it on some flies   I planning on tying up some marabou jigs for bass fishing.  I've already tied a couple and I stacked the marabou on them.  Like everyone else it's tough for me to find quality marabou.  I'll probably use both methods and I'm thinking about stacking one color and palmering a contrasting color over it.

[Bdnoble84]

5 minutes ago, Fallser said:

I'm use to stacking it when tying it in for tails on my flies.  I have palmered it on some flies   I planning on tying up some marabou jigs for bass fishing.  I've already tied a couple and I stacked the marabou on them.  Like everyone else it's tough for me to find quality marabou.  I'll probably use both methods and I'm thinking about stacking one color and palmering a contrasting color over it.

I do stack my tails.

[PaulVE64]

Stack the tails and palmer the heads.

[smalljaw67]

If you are stacking the marabou get the extra select plumes. They are more expensive but worth it. When I palmer the marabou I prefer blood quill and I like Hareline strung blood quill marabou. They have very consistent color and quality. No matter who you get it from there is always going to be 20% - 25% of it that won't be any good, we call this "drop".  Wapsi marabou has been really bad for me, I was getting 40% to 50% drop per package. 

 

No before you throw away any marabou, a lot of it can be fixed. Take a soft bristle toothbrush and you can actually brush out matted fibers and make the plume perfect.

[fishwizzard]

13 hours ago, smalljaw67 said:

  Wapsi marabou has been really bad for me, I was getting 40% to 50% drop per package. 

 

This is good to hear, I have just started tying and was wondering what was going on with the marabou I had bought, it seemed like half of it was either super matted or has a spine so thick it's hard/impossible to palmer it.  

[Will Wetline]

Admittedly I'm a hard-wired perfectionist when it comes to materials and tying, but I've made the same observation as OE:  there are precious few suitable plumes for palmering in a 1/4 ounce bag of strung marabou.

 

Selecting three similar feathers and stacking results in a fairly good looking finished product to my eye, however.

 

 

 

[OkobojiEagle]

2 hours ago, Will Wetline said:

Admittedly I'm a hard-wired perfectionist when it comes to materials and tying, but I've made the same observation as OE:  there are precious few suitable plumes for palmering in a 1/4 ounce bag of strung marabou.

 

Selecting three similar feathers and stacking results in a fairly good looking finished product to my eye, however.

 

 

 

Will... I'm so glad you posted the pic above (beyond my tech ability).  As you've shown with the marabou jig,  today's marabou is far, far less "webby" to the tips of the feather.  I think they harvest the plumes before the turkeys get to a mature age.  Of course that's just my opinion.

 

oe

[Munkin]

I have been making lures for over 30 years and have never heard of palmering? Guess I need to go watch some more of smalljaw67's videos. 

 

Allen 

[smalljaw67]

10 hours ago, Munkin said:

I have been making lures for over 30 years and have never heard of palmering? Guess I need to go watch some more of smalljaw67's videos. 

 

Allen 

 

Allen, palmering is just fly tyers terminology for wrapping a feather around the hook. 

 

 

[nso123]

For those of you looking for high quality marabou, take a look at Fish Hunter marabou from Nature’s Spirit. It is very nice material. Whiting marabou is great too, but can be a little tougher to find. I am a fly fisher, and have tried almost all of the brands.