Is this good marabou for smallmouth jigs?

[dv616]

I saw a couple feathers that to me looked decent.  Is all of the longer portions of these feathers good for tying up a few jigs?

 

I am not certain what to look for when buying marabou.  This came from a hobby/craft store.

 

 

[Fallser]

The quality of craft store marabou is really not that great.  The stems get thick rather quickly so there isn't a whole lot of marabou available for wrapping.  To get the most out of them you have to strip the "feathers" off the stem and then wrap the individual bunches around the shank.  It can get messy but it can be done.  These were tied using bunches of marabou rather than trying to wrap the marabou around the shank.

You're not going to get the "bushy" type of jig you get when you wrap marabou, but you still get a fishable jig.  The jig in the upper left was tied with some marabou I picked up in a craft store.

[TnRiver46]

I’d try it and see what the smallmouth think 

[OkobojiEagle]

OP, I would not tie with those feathers.

[PaulVE64]

It's not "good marabou"  but it can be used.

Edit - have you the skill to tie it on properly?

[casts_by_fly]

That isn't actually maribou.  That's Emu feather in the original picture.  Emu can be used if it's good quality, but just know it behaves differently to maribou.  Its a more delicate feather and the stems break easier.  Maribou has a lot more mini stems (featherules?) so there is a lot more motion while at rest.  Emu is good for a body wrap and good for an accent across the back of a fly/jig.

 

regular maribou can be had easily at any fly tying shop you have near you or you can order for $5 or less a bag.  Don't mess with craft store castoffs, just get a pack of good white maribou.

[PaulVE64]

1 hour ago, casts_by_fly said:

That isn't actually maribou.  That's Emu feather in the original picture.  Emu can be used if it's good quality, but just know it behaves differently to maribou.  Its a more delicate feather and the stems break easier.  Maribou has a lot more mini stems (featherules?) so there is a lot more motion while at rest.  Emu is good for a body wrap and good for an accent across the back of a fly/jig.

 

regular maribou can be had easily at any fly tying shop you have near you or you can order for $5 or less a bag.  Don't mess with craft store castoffs, just get a pack of good white maribou.

100% agreed

[dv616]

Thanks guys.  I ordered some stuff from Barlow’s too.  I will start with that and see where I go from there.  At least those feathers were not expensive.

 

I have been starting to watch some of Smalljaw’s videos and others.  I have some ideas I want to try besides just marabou.  Thinking of playing around with some of the Dragon Tail materials too.  

[casts_by_fly]

17 hours ago, dv616 said:

Thanks guys.  I ordered some stuff from Barlow’s too.  I will start with that and see where I go from there.  At least those feathers were not expensive.

 

I have been starting to watch some of Smalljaw’s videos and others.  I have some ideas I want to try besides just marabou.  Thinking of playing around with some of the Dragon Tail materials too.  

 

There are all sorts of materials out there to play with.  Barlows has a lot.  All of the fly tying shops have a ton also.  Maribou is great for motion without moving.  Rabbit strips are similar (try wrapping a body with cross cut zonker strips over a maribou tail).  Deer and other large animal hair is good for structure, just keep in mind that it floats.  Whole feathers like a chicken cape feather makes for great streamer and jig bodies with a nice blend of stiffness from the feather core and movement from the fibers.  And then there's flashabou/krystalflash/supremehair with varying degrees of flash and floppy.  Fly tyers have been imitating everything that can be eaten for a long time so there's a lot of source material to tie up bass jigs.

 

[thinkingredneck]

Look up Intruder flies for Steelhead. They use Emu and Ostrich.  Wonder if Bass would like them.

[1984isNOW]

On 2/25/2024 at 10:27 PM, Fallser said:

r lef

Looks fishable to me. How'd it do?

 

@dv616 I'm new too, I'd say cut that feather in half. Use the top thinner part to palmer with. Then I'd just stack the thicker part and use as big ol wings or tail or general body like a straight up marabou jig.

 

You can make them look a little better by hitting it with a tooth brush or some velcro. Lay it on a table and brush it out