All articles from section

The Marabou Smelt is a fly pattern created by author Dick Stewart. This pattern can be found on page 107 of Trolling Flies for Trout & Salmon...

Black Ghost Marabou Classic - Petr Haisman Tied by: Petr Haisman Originated by: Herbert (Herbie) Welch Black Ghost Marabou Classic Streamer Fly...

Pinkey Marabou - Petr Haisman Tied by: Petr Haisman Originated by: Petr Haisman Pinkey Marabou Streamer Fly Pattern Recipe Hook: Tiemco 300 #2 6xl...

Black Ghost Marabou Pink Variant - Petr Haisman Tied by: Petr Haisman Originated by: Herbert (Herbie) Welch Black Ghost Marabou Pink Variant Streamer...

Black Ghost Marabou Gold Variant - Petr Haisman Tied by: Petr Haisman Originated by: Herbert (Herbie) Welch Black Ghost Marabou Gold Variant Streamer...

Even though the marabou is a large African stork and the marabou feathers indeed used to come from this bird, the marabou feathers of today come almost exclusively from turkeys and chickens.
The marabou stork (Leptoptilos crumeniferus) is actually on the CITES list of protected animals, and feathers from this bird should not be traded or used for fly-tying or anything else.
What we're dealing with in fly-tying is mainly turkey feathers. Chicken feathers can be found, but are not nearly as often labeled marabou.

While tying up a batch of streamers for a fly swap, GFF partner Bob Petti remembered an old tinsel trick that reduced some of the hand cramping thread wrapping that is all too common with long shanked streamers.

The second streamer swap to have originated from the forums on this site, Doug Saball's Marabou Streamer Swap was a great success! The theme for the swap was that participants would contribute an original or established streamer pattern which used marabou for the wing material.

What's so exciting about a simple white marabou streamer? It doesn't have any exotic ingredients. No epoxy. No goggle eyes. No genetic hackle. You could tie a million of them for the cost of a gallon of milk. There are no fancy techniques in the tying, so everyone who can wrap thread can tie their own.