Montana Fly Company’s Mini-Barred Marabou

With sculpin imitations rightly deserving the spotlight for fooling large trout, Montana Fly Company’s Mini-Barred Marabou fills a niche in the fly-tier’s lineup.

Here in Omak, Washington and elsewhere—wherever trout are found—sculpins are an important food source for fish. On our area lakes and streams sculpins rank right up there with minnows for importance. These are the forage that large, predatory fish seek. Indeed, MFC’s new Mini-Barred Marabou is a great tying tool for doing the sculpin job.

Kris Keller’s Nightmare fly is a fine example of imitating the mottled skin and breathing or flaring of the gill plates that a sculpin exhibits when coming to a rest. Keller’s integration of barred marabou in the body of an articulated fly not only matches a sculpin’s skin color, but also produces a large profile.

However, the sculpin is not the only prey accurately imitated by MFC’s Mini Barred Marabou. Kelly Galloup uses barred marabou in a number of his bigger, articulated streamers, not the least of which are his Silk Kitty and my favorite, the TA Bunker. These undulating, large living patterns move stubborn largemouth right off their spot with only a twitch or two of breathing, barred marabou, and they are equally effective for trout.

Come on into the shop and see this innovative new fly-tying material for yourself. At present, we’re carrying the following colors of Mini Barred Marabou: Tan/Barred Black, Yellow/Barred Black, White/Barred Black, and Olive/Barred Black. Rest assured that more colors are on the way.