Was older marabou better quality ?

[hays47]

I recently bought an older ( than me even ) gentleman's fly tying materials. Some of the stuff was so old it was it waxed paper bags.

I had to shake my head at some of the old prices too. Tippets for 11cents. But I digress.

Anyway there was some marabou and it all looked so fluffy and full. Wished I had 10 ton of this quality. It makes my recent bought marabou look like garbage.

So to you guys that have been tying for a looooooooong time. Was the quality higher on the older marabou better back in the day ? Or was this just an aberration. The black marabou from this collection was especially fine.

[CrappieKillerJigs]

it was prob. usa marabou witch is alot higher grade but very hard to find...most of the marabou you get now is from china...quality on everything was alot better back then...most of everything came from the states where now 70% or more comes from over seas

[LedHed]

Might be real marabou – from the stork. The stuff used now days is from turkeys and there is also chickabou.

[smoothlures]

What kind of marabou do you buy? Blood quill, strung, ect? That could have something to do with it, too.

[CrappieKillerJigs]

the best marabou i have found is from pheasant but it is grey and can only dye to dark colors...but it has the best movement and the softest i have found

[fish_4_all]

It is all in the seller and what they carry. I have found marabou that was simply awesome as recent as 2 years ago and I have found some that is total jink as recent as a couple months ago.

[hays47]

As far as quality which is the best to buy ? I trully don't know this is why I asked. The only kind of marabou , outside of this one collection , has been the packaged kind from Hare Products. In my ignorance I thought a feather a feather regardless of source. Then I read about how people raised birds and bred them to get the quality they wanted for tying. Didn't even eat the bird just harvested the feathers. Just recently learned this while doing research on hackle.

[fish_4_all]

I don't know personally. All I do know is I paid the price for the quality stuff. 1/8 ounce for like $8 was the best I have seen. Anymore I just use 2 feathers of whatever I have or maybe 3 to get the fullness needed.

[CrappieKillerJigs]

i got some pheasant skins from a member that lives close by that just hunts and doesnt tie...but the under feathers on them skins are the best thing i have found

[smoothlures]

My favorite is the thin long stranded marabou that you get in the regular blood quill 1/4 oz packs...you just have to wade through the crappy thick stemmed short strand feathers...probaby 3 to 1 bad feathers to good...but the price is right and they're available everywhere.