Cleaning Marabou

In my opinion, marabou is one of the greatest tying materials of all time. It's easy to work with, dyes easily, readily available, lively movement in the most subtle of currents and cheap.

I was introduced to the practice of cleaning and grading my marabou by a fellow commercial tier and friend. It's pretty easy. A setup that works for me is strung marabou, handheld vacuum, small trash pail, 2 size appropriate Ziploc bags, and a large pair of scissors.

Cut marabou from its string at 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inch sections, separate into 2 piles. One I call “palmering,” and the other is “tails” I find the latter to be of good use for my leech pattern. Be honest with yourself as you clean and throw out anything that you are unhappy with. Don’t be a hoarder of sub-par feathers that will make it look like you have more than what you really do. Before you stand up vacuum yourself off and the area surrounding you. Its gonna be all over your house anyway, but this is a little damage control.

I believe this to be an extremely crucial step in dealing with feathers. It will not only save you time, but it will save you money in the form of less waste. We have all reached into a bundle of strung marabou to pull out that prime thin stemmed beauty only to pull on it and snap it in half. Looking for something to do this afternoon? Take all your marabou, clean and sort it. You'll tie more often, have more fun doing it, and be inspired to tie more undulating marabou beauties. Believe me you’ll thank me for it.