There is no doubt that Barred Marabou is an enticing fly-tying material and has multiple applications across the spectrum of fly patterns. Whether tied in as clumps or wound as hackle, barred marabou lends exceptional mottling and contrasts to patterns that employ it. Clearly the Montana Fly Company (MFC) lines of barred marabou are probably the most well-known barred marabou offerings out there, but Hareline and several Chinese material providers also offer selections of barred marabou. Unfortunately, none of what we find in fly shops or online today is inexpensive. Although the Chinese offerings are cheaper, their quality is far inferior to the MFC and Hareline brands available today. A typical pack of MFC barred marabou might contain 12 feathers and can run as high as $10+ per pack. That’s $1.20 per feather from which you might get 2 or 3 flies out of at the most.
I tie a lot of flies using barred marabou and have probably spent several hundred dollars on the feathers (mostly MFC) in the last few years. When I found myself needing to tie several hundred flies to donate and give away at some FFI shows next year and our local MGTU banquet, I needed to concoct a cheaper solution. So, with a bit of experimentation, I settled on the following technique to create my own barred marabou from strung marabou and blood quills. In particular, strung marabou is available at considerably less cost per feather than the MFC barred marabou. I wasn’t expecting the same precision and quality of barring found in the MFC feathers but soon realized that I could produce my own barred marabou with sufficient resolution that would be suitable for most patterns, and they’ve proved themselves on the water as well. An added benefit was immediately evident. Once I was satisfied with the technique I was no longer bound by the limited color patterns of the MFC barred marabou.
When I first tried to add barring to plain marabou I did it freehand and the results were marginal. The feather itself was much to flimsy to create reasonably straight bars across the width of the feather. Then it struck me that if I could compress and constrain the marabou while I applied the barring with an alcohol marker, I might achieve the results I was looking for. With a wide variety of marabou colors and alcohol marker colors available, you can create your own custom barred marabou with much less expense and very little effort.
The technique I settled on is relatively simple. A two-inch length of small drink straw, a marabou feather and an alcohol marker. The feather is pushed into the straw stem butt first until it comes out the other end. Align the feather so the fibers are at right angles to the stem. Apply the marker across the feather width, pull out the feather in increments of 1/4 to 3/8” and repeat until you reach the tip of the feather. Repeat the process again after rotating the feather 180 degrees. The first application bars should provide sufficient visibility for placement of the second set of bars. Allow the markings to dry completely before using. A quick stroke with a dubbing brush will separate any fibers sticking together.
Making your own you can create barred marabou with multiple color bars. Below an orange feather with alternating brown and red bars.
