Marabou ?

GAT

GAT

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I've noticed that the Hareline blood quill marabou has gone downhill. It appears that something has gone wrong with their dying process so the ends of the marabou are not straight but kinked. I tried ordering blood quill feathers from Barlow's Tackle and while they are not kinked as are the Hareline product, they are a little short for what I'm doing.

Hareline used to have the best marabou but now I'm looking for someplace else. Where do you guys who use a lot of marabou get your feathers?
 
Jay Fair Premium Marabou. If your local fly shop doesn't stock it, order it from an online seller.

Consistent colors and good length.
 
Hareline has an 'extra select' grade marabou. Maybe they found a cheaper dye process when they came out with the extra select and use that on the blood quill marabou now....only the bigger extra select gets the good dye. 🤷‍♂️
 
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I've never had a good experience with any Hareline feather or fur products. I have tried their hare masks, dry fly hackle, marabou, soft hackle, peacock herl and probably a few others.

I use Nature's Spirit marabou and it's great. They have a few different types.
 
Thanks guys ! I thought Spirit River sold out to Hareline ?
 
Really? I used to buy much of my materials through Bill Black at Spirit River. Do they still have some manner of retail outlet?

Hareline has always been my go-to supplier for tying materials (their warehouse is only 18 miles from here) but since Bob Borden sold out and I think it has gone through a number of owners, the products are not as consistent as they once were.

Anyway, I also bought from Spirit River until they sold out but if they're still around, I'd like to know how to reach them.

Ahah... I found the Fish Hunter marabou at a Stone River site... I wonder if this is confused with Spirit River? Anyway, I ordered a selection to give them a try.
 
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I'm also going to try some Jay Fair Premium Marabou. I see Bob Marriotts sells it. The local shop pretty much well just sells Hareline tying materials due to the close proximity of the warehouse -- they can simply drive down and pick up what they want.
 
GAT said:
Really? I used to buy much of my materials through Bill Black at Spirit River. Do they still have some manner of retail outlet?

Hareline has always been my go-to supplier for tying materials (their warehouse is only 18 miles from here) but since Bob Borden sold out and I think it has gone through a number of owners, the products are not as consistent as they once were.

Anyway, I also bought from Spirit River until they sold out but if they're still around, I'd like to know how to reach them.

Ahah... I found the Fish Hunter marabou at a Stone River site... I wonder if this is confused with Spirit River? Anyway, I ordered a selection to give them a try.
Click to expand...

This is the stuff I like.

www.naturesspiritflytying.net

Fish Hunter Products

The Fish Hunter product Line is known for its strung product. The leaders in quality and richness in colors are now at your finger tips. Each color is tested and proven in the field and heavily...
www.naturesspiritflytying.net
 
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GAT said:
Really? I used to buy much of my materials through Bill Black at Spirit River. Do they still have some manner of retail outlet?

Hareline has always been my go-to supplier for tying materials (their warehouse is only 18 miles from here) but since Bob Borden sold out and I think it has gone through a number of owners, the products are not as consistent as they once were.

Anyway, I also bought from Spirit River until they sold out but if they're still around, I'd like to know how to reach them.

Ahah... I found the Fish Hunter marabou at a Stone River site... I wonder if this is confused with Spirit River? Anyway, I ordered a selection to give them a try.
Click to expand...
They still have stuff out their. They are big on their UV2 dye process. A lot of shops still carry their products, not sure how to get a hold of them though - probably have to go thru Hareline.
 
You are correct. Some of the materials sold by Hareline do carry the Spirt River logo. ... and as you said, usually the UV2 products.
 
Thanks, guys. I have a number of different products to sample.

Sometimes I'll find a package of marabou I bought long, long ago and the feathers are perfect for tying WBs. I'm not exactly sure why the quality of marabou feathers has gone downhill.
 
GAT said:
Thanks, guys. I have a number of different products to sample.

Sometimes I'll find a package of marabou I bought long, long ago and the feathers are perfect for tying WBs. I'm not exactly sure why the quality of marabou feathers has gone downhill.
Click to expand...
Would love to know which ones you end up liking.
 
I'll let you know. Right now I'm trying marabou I bought from Barlow's Tackle ... they are primarily a spin fishing outlet but they do sell lure and jig making materials and that includes marabou. So far, about a quarter of the package of blood quills is what I like to use for WBs... but that's better than some marabou I've recently purchased.
 
I believe Natures Spirit owns FishHunter. I believe Hareline owns Spirit River. If you want to geek out on marabou Fly Shop UK has nice stuff as does Dave Downie.
 
Hareline did buy Spirit River. However, there are other names out there that include Spirit that I'm pretty sure has nothing to do with the original Spirit River (owned by Bill Black -- who was the brother of Dennis Black, the guy who started Umpqua Feather Merchants).
 
I received the marabou I ordered and it is indeed excellent quality and more like what was available when I first started using marabou.

The Nature's Spirit, Fish Hunter Marabou is exactly what I've been looking for. Thanks to all who recommended the product.

From what I've read, Nature's Spirit does not appear to have anything to do with the long gone company, Spirit River.
 
GAT said:
I received the marabou I ordered and it is indeed excellent quality and more like what was available when I first started using marabou.

The Nature's Spirit, Fish Hunter Marabou is exactly what I've been looking for. Thanks to all who recommended the product.

From what I've read, Nature's Spirit does not appear to have anything to do with the long gone company, Spirit River.
Click to expand...
That is true… no association
 
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