newbie tyer here, so forgive this question if it is stupid, but is there a decent substitute for marabou or a technique that makes it easier to handle? have about 2 dozen flies tied. feel comfortable doing the woolly bugger, but am never happy with my tail. have some difficulty getting what seems to be the right amount of marabou, either too much or not enough and it seems very fragile. didn’t know if there was a substitute that has a little more beef to it, but still has some good movement. thanks
I sometimes use rabbit fur for tails instead of marabou and it has great action. But you might be limited to small flies since rabbit fur is usually not as long as marabou.
Try wetting the maribou before tying it in. Makes it more manageable.
Dpenrod,
Don’t worry about the durability of maribou. It’s surprising tough. It’s possible to lose the whole tail to a sharp toothed fish but it doesn’t happen often.
Keep practicing with the tails. You will start to get a feeling for the correct amount material. Actually, even here opinions vary. Some tyers like a short skimpy tail and others like longer, very full tail. Either will catch fish. Tie whatever is pleasing to your eye. Keep working on it and enjoy your flies. 8T 
Yep,…what Eight Thumbs said…
Just to mention…Artic fox is a substitute too…
You know now that I think about it…anyone with 8 thumbs has got to know about practice 
Try using “blood” marabou feathers. They are my choice for marabou tails, and can be wound forward to create bodies once the tail is tied off. Tie in a piece of thin wire if making bodies, and counterwind it forward to make the marabou more durable. It makes for “buggy” bodies with good bulk. Here’s a sample tie:
Typical Blood Feather
Tie in wire. Dampen tips and tie in tail. Use sponge to wet fingers so you don’t get dye in your mouth.
Wrap feather forward side by side and tie off.
Counterwrap wire, tie off & cut wire.
Makes for a nice buggy body that moves to simulate legs.
Good tying.
Joe
You can use ostrich herl for bugger tails and ostrich is (my opinion here) more durable than marabou and has good movement in the water. It also does not get wrapped up around the hook bend in moving water as badly as marabou can at times.
Hareline Dubbin has a product called Psuedo Marabou.
Not Bad.
Whiting’s Bird Fur is some nice stuff too.
newbie tyer here, so forgive this question if it is stupid, but is there a decent substitute for marabou or a technique that makes it easier to handle? have about 2 dozen flies tied. feel comfortable doing the woolly bugger, but am never happy with my tail. have some difficulty getting what seems to be the right amount of marabou, either too much or not enough and it seems very fragile. didn’t know if there was a substitute that has a little more beef to it, but still has some good movement. thanks
The more flies you tie the better you will become at judging the amount of any material needed for the fly.
If you find that you put on too much then simply unwind the thread and take some out, if you didn’t put on enough just add some more. Every last one of us started off having some troubles with getting proportions correct, getting material to behave the way people said it should, getting frustrated and throwing our hands up in the air occasionally. All it takes is some practice, if you have a shop close to you go in and ask for some tips or watch them tie for awhile. If there is someone putting on a course sign up for it, you can learn more watching somebody else tie for a few hours than you can learn yourself through trial & error in a few months.
I would advise not looking for a sub for something as common as marabou just because you are having some difficulties with proportions, there are some great subs out there but they too will have there drawbacks.
Be sure to check out Al Campbell’s Series on Fly Tying on the main part of the site, it is one of the best series of fly tying tutorials you will find anywhere.
As the old saying goes “practice makes perfect”, so keep trying, you will overcome these obstacles as you gain some more experience.
Hi dpen. Always good advice here. I had some similar questions this past year, and I think dixie angler pointed me to the tying tips section right here on FAOL. Check out the tying tip on marabou. You will get a real neat idea on how to get full use out of your marabou, and other useful info as well. I use a fair amount of marabou with my Clouser Nymphs and Woolybuggers, and love the action that it can give to those offerings.
Good Fishing & Tying!! 
Bob
Dp, I dont use marabou much now, I have changed it for ostrich herl, and rabbit on smaller patterns both have great action
CC