Fly Tying the O'Keefe Special

[@brunobaerg9407]

I'm part of the Kilpatrick Fly Fishing Club and have enjoyed tying and fishing with the O'Keefe Special. It works well. Brian was a very special member of our club and we miss his presence since he passed on.

[@SavageFlies]

Thank you Bruno, I appreciate the note. I never met Brian but from everything I hear he was a great ambassador to our sport.

[@erickoshinsky9374]

Thanks for sharing this fly, and the information about Brian. I've known Brian and his wife for the last 15 years or so, and there is no doubt they are both strong ambassadors for fly fishing. Brian could tie these in less than 2 minutes when he got going. Just one comment about the fly. Those of us who have fished this a lot find that it is best tied VERY sparsely. I have fished this fly for years and caught hundreds of trout with it. Invariably, the more chewed up it gets and the less it has on it, the better it fishes. When I tie them, I often use only 3 strands of bear for the wing, and one, maybe two turns of hackle for collar - works well for me. Very nice tie btw.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Eric! I appreciate the kind words my friend. I've seen several comments on here about what a great guy Brian was. And tying this thing in two minutes?? Holy cow, that's some serious speed tying. And I hear you about the sparse wing. I learned that to be true when doing a little more research (after I tied this one of course). Thanks again for the note.

[@charlieboutin3341]

My dad was a wool and mohair buyer. I grew up surrounded by it. Spent a lot of my youth climbing on and around bales of it in the warehouses while he worked.🙂 He passed in 1980, but the fly tying vice I inherited from him got me started in flyfishing, but only 3 years ago..sure wish I would have started when he was alive, or at least 40 years ago. Better late than never! I’ll have to tie one of these in dads honor.🙂 Thanks Matt! 👍🎣

[@SavageFlies]

Great story Charlie! And yes, definitely tie a couple of these in honor of your dad. Would be nice to catch some fish with it too. Keep the memory alive my friend. Thanks for the note. :-)

[@RyanAshley419]

I use mohair quite a bit. You can often find used mohair sweaters that have been around since the 1970s when they were popular at thrift stores. That sounds weird, but they get good and fuzzy after several decades sitting in some lady's closet. A few snips and you can salvage the mohair really easily, which is perfect for dubbing. The beauty of old sweaters is they often come in colors that match some of the old school patterns. Of course, six foot something dudes buying retro women's sweaters get weird looks at the thrift store, but if anyone asks, I just say, "Yeah, my mother's out on parole." :)

[@SavageFlies]

Ha! When I read old school patterns I was thinking old "school patterns." Like the skirts high school girls might have worn in the 50s would have had some plaid pattern. But hey, there's no shame in us buying tattered furry clothing from the women's section of a thrift store. Now if you started trying it on in front of a mirror, you might get some strange looks. 😁

[@jaredcarlson3896]

Thank you for this Brian was my uncle I have many fond memories of fishing with him over the years.

[@SavageFlies]

Wow, that's cool to hear Jared. From everything I've read about him, it seems like he was a wonderful man. I appreciate the note my friend.

[@Hunter711pa]

Nice bug Matt and I sure could use some “mohair”on top of my head. Lol

[@SavageFlies]

Oh my gosh David... how did I miss that bad dad joke??? Holy cow, I'm going to have to find another fly I can tie with mohair just to use that joke. I'm serious; I'm going to do it!

[@martyrothman3933]

Good morning Matt I like how you tell the background on flies if I invented one it would be called what the heck is that supposed to be😁😁😁

[@kalikasurf]

I’ve tied a couple “why did you tie those” flies…….so that name is patented!! Ha ha ha.

[@SavageFlies]

I've made plenty of those too Marty!

[@jimholland1592]

Hey Matt and good morning, lazy this morning watching in bed. Nice bug, raining here guess I’ll have some coffee and tie a few bugs. Been hitting the lakes lately for bass. If I could ever set a hook I might could catch some 😳🤣🤣🤣 Enjoy the holiday with the family. I may head back to Asheville and see the granddaughter 🥰

[@SavageFlies]

Good for you Jim! I'm probably going to head out to the farm for the long weekend. I might get a few hours on the Savage if the water looks good. 👍

[@ralphanderson2167]

Saskatchewan the province that’s easy to draw but hard to spell. Great fly Thanks for whipping it up.

[@SavageFlies]

I've never heard that Ralph but I love it! I did read during my research that it's the only province without a natural border. 👍

[@chevyguy6510]

You made that one look too easy!! LOL! Thanks for sharing Matt!

[@edwardchavez5627]

Good Morning Sir Matt,The O'Keefe Special is a great looking fly, I love the colors and I do have a patch of bear hair to use. I'll have to ty some up after work this evening. Thank you Sir Matt have a great day.

[@SavageFlies]

Outstanding Edward! Have fun with it. 😁

[@josephdansereau9244]

I was actually taught how to tie this fly by Brian himself. He taught me to tie it with a very sparse wing. But you did the tie credit., good job, and keep up the good work. P.s. he also tied it in a burgundy that worked very well for me

[@SavageFlies]

Wow Joseph, that's great to hear! I love it when folks who have real experience with the flies I tie here leave comments. Or when they leave stories about knowing the creator. It really helps keep it real, so I appreciate that. I didn't find a whole lot about Brian, but what I did see out there made it seem like he was a great guy. And someone I would have liked to have known. Thanks for the note my friend. -Matt

[@frankmonroe8320]

When I was young my older sisters loved mohair. Very fuzzy stuff. Lol. Nice fly.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Frank! Until now, that's about the only place I've seen it... mohair sweaters. :-)

[@Jd-yc3gw]

Great job Matt. Was cool to watch you tie it. I think that wing looked fine too. Got a thunderstorm coming in so might as well relax on my deck with a coffee and enjoy watching the video again. Thanks my friend.

[@SavageFlies]

Two views from the same viewer?? A lot of people don't even watch the whole way through. You're going to spoil me. 🤣

[@KBosch-xp2ut]

Great looking pattern! Thank you again for the inspiration. Will definitely tie this one.

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it my friend!

[@edwardthornton2156]

Looks nice and easy. Well you make it look that way. Thanks for sharing Matt. Have a good week.

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Butch! And you too my friend. 🙂

[@RockyPhillips]

Morning Matt, great looking fly

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Rocky!

[@harryjoesather6539]

thanks matt...

[@jeffreystone7327]

Mohair. My only knowledge of it is, Elton John sings about a Mohair suit, in the song, Bennie and the Jets 😂. That’s it for me. But now I have a better understanding of it. What an incredible looking streamer. Incredible background and history on this. Very interesting. You did an impressive job of tying this one up. Great video.

[@karljones6594]

Good morning Matt. What can I say another great video. Will be tying a few these. Have a great holiday week end.

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Karl! I'm hoping to make it a long weekend out at the farm. 👍

[@crowdaddy8355]

Angora goat isn’t easy to use dubbing, at least for me. Good looking fly. Thanks Matt.

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Chad!

[@leemowers9395]

nice story cool history and fly, thanks Matt.

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Lee!

[@markfritch3168]

Great looking fly. Should work here in Idaho. Got two skeins of mohair in the 80’s, one olive, one Canadian brown(has some red fibers in it also). Great leech material. Experimenting one day I tied some of the Canadian brown on a size 12 std nymph hook, brown thread, brown hackle. Gave it to my nephew who was about 12 years old at the time. He used it on the drain ditches in the evening and told me to tie up some more. That crazy simple pattern was so effective and to this day I have no idea what the fish think it is, but it works.

[@SavageFlies]

That's funny how that works Mark. Sometimes we get so wrapped up making the most perfect, and beautiful fly, and it's the simplest ones out there that do the best. Now I'm going to have to see if I can find some skeins of mohair. :-)

[@laytonmarvin3790]

Nice tie Matt, definitely looks like a fish catcher. Thanks for sharing

[@SavageFlies]

You bet Layton. Appreciate you watching my friend!

[@toddslichter7831]

Great video and an awesome pattern. I love mohair. I tie most of my leech patterns with it. A friend turned me on to it in the 80s and I use a product that has the fibers bound in a thread cord...it works great. Keep em coming, Mr O'Neal. 😎

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Todd! Mohair does look pretty good. I may have to go out and find some myself. 😁

[@johnnylightning1491]

Someone needs to kick me right square in the keister. A friend of mine offered me a complete black bear skin a few years ago and I passed on it. Why, at the time I had never seen a fly tied with bear fur, now I've seen several. Oh well, I guess it's one of those live and learn things. Keep the good stuff coming Matt.

[@SavageFlies]

Holy cow, a complete bear skin would last a lifetime! Someone sent me a patch last year, maybe 4x8 inches. And unless I go on a bear hair tying spree, this thing might last me a couple years. Good stuff too! (What I’d really like to try is some polar bear. Not sure if that’ll ever be possible though.)

[@joeduca8582]

Ha! We could all use mo' hair was the first thing that came to mind. Second was that Canadian mohair leech yarn. Third was angora, which I knew as a rabbit breed. I bought 2 cards of mohair yarn, white and a black, at a fabric store a long time ago to make small minnow patterns.Then it was mohair sweaters. Anyway I searched angora and it's a breed of goat and also rabbit. The hair from both is sheared to make yarn. I gather that "mohair" means either of the fibers when spun into yarn, if you believe google. Oh yeah the fly, awesome multi purpose pattern. I saw one video on it and read another article on it and O'keefe. Then I got thirsty and remembered O'keefe's Old Vienna that we use to drink too much of in the 70's. Little ice cold 6.5 oz "splits" in clear bottles. The larger 11.5 oz brown bottles were great too. The flavor mellowed as it warmed, the last sip made you want to get another :o) Great video Matt, love these obscure patterns that make me research many related and unrelated topics. Thanks :o)

[@SavageFlies]

Oh my gosh you make me laugh! I totally missed a bad dad joke with the "I need mohair." I'll have to find another pattern that uses it so I can drop some humor on here. Okay, still late here and I'm driving to the farm at the crack of dawn. Have a great weekend my friend!

[@joeduca8582]

@@SavageFlies You too. Get some sleep!

[@FlyTyer1948]

So you missed the previous dad joke? Hair’s a little extension: Don’t be angora with me for wanting mo’ hair.

[@SavageFlies]

Wait, what?? I missed a dad joke? I must find it! These are great by the way. And… a three-for-one! 😁😂👍

[@allenaviation5746]

Great looking fly Matt! Thanks for the video. I think I always knew what mohair was because mohair sweaters used to be a thing_- you're probably too young to remember! As for mohair/angora, I've always associated it with "spun fur" yarn as sold in fly shops. I have a large, old collection of carded spun fur from Bubb Church and it's proved to be a very valuable, effective material for my home brewed general purpose nymphs, I tie a lot of yarn bodied nymphs. To confirm that I was correct regarding "spun fur" yarn as a fly material, I just searched it and the only thing that came up was Spun fur Angora Rabbit from our local fly shop, Fly fisher's Paradise.. I wonder if that animal is a cross between a goat and a rabbit?

[@SavageFlies]

Ha! We'd have to call that a roat or a gabbit. 🤣 Another point... I always thought angora was a rabbit. My wife told me a while back that it was a sheep. I guess it's just a type fur and you can get it from either. The more you know....

[@kaimacklin6337]

Love your videos they inspire me to make them myself

[@SavageFlies]

I appreciate hearing that Kai. Thanks for the note!

[@jamesvatter5729]

That's a great looking fly, Matt. I like the color combination. The only time I use mohair is for mohair leeches. They work well on smallies.

[@SavageFlies]

Outstanding Jim! A mohair leech sounds like a cool pattern. I might have to check it out. 👍

[@michaelmerlino6753]

Matt,surprised you didn’t know what mohair was.I have used it to make the most productive leech patterns for a long time.Two best materials for leech patterns are the mohair and camel from Orvis.Give them a try sometime.

[@SavageFlies]

I can't believe it either Michael! I always thought it was just something women's sweaters were made of. I can't recall ever hearing of it in a fly pattern. Until yesterday. 😁

[@epsieblaine7968]

Great looking fly Matt.Never tied this pattern,going to tie some big ones and some small ones.I have used mohair for several years now.Did you get the pic. of Cloie and her first bear. Have a great week Matt. Ken and Linda

[@kalikasurf]

Is that the same cloie’s special, cloie? She’s a bear hunter too??? That’s a kid that’s being raised right!!!

[@epsieblaine7968]

@@kalikasurf It is,killed her first black bear,Oct. 20th 2020.

[@kalikasurf]

@@epsieblaine7968 congrats to Cloie!

[@SavageFlies]

Ken- I did get the picture... I emailed you back that same night. I loved it! And that was an awesome bear! You certainly won't be short of any bear fur for years. 😁

[@williamemmons8816]

I bet I could use my leach yarn for this pattern , looks like a good general pattern.

[@SavageFlies]

I haven't fished it yet but I'd say you're right William!

[@troutaddictnl7696]

Ok, this will have to be tied today.. Ive got a mohair rope by semperfli that should work for this. I'll send along a picture when i get it done. ;)

[@SavageFlies]

Excellent! I just saw the picture... great tie! And I love your idea. I'll answer your email later tonight. 👍

[@marshallbaldwin8960]

This looks awesome! I think the bass are gonna kill it. What is a good option for black bear???

[@PreppingWithSarge]

Nice work Matt! Have you tied it without the rib too?

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Sarge! And nope, this was the only one I've ever tied. 😁

[@MrSofthackle]

Hey Matt have you ever tried using Mohair yarn for the O’Keefe Special? The yarn is already buggy and could save you some time dubbing and picking out the dubbing.

[@SavageFlies]

Dale- I have not tried mohair yarn. I really didn't know much about it until recently but am looking to see if I can find some online. Have you got a supplier or brand you might recommend? I'd love to give it a try!

[@cheflexx778]

Hey Matt, great pattern. I'm in the process of moving right now so all my fly tying stuff is in boxes, but I am super excited about setting up my new fly tying Station at my new place. it's going to be awesome!! You never got back to me on the song that you use in these videos. Who is it? I can really see myself tying to this music at home.

[@SavageFlies]

Outstanding! Send me a picture when you get all set up. I thought I answered you on the music but I probably answered a comment to your comment so you might not have seen it. The band is called Hot Buttered Rum. I'm not sure if they have any albums you could get as they were just one of the royalty free options KZbin offers. But they might.

[@cheflexx778]

@@SavageFlies will look them up, thanks🙏

[@cheflexx778]

@@SavageFlies will send you pictures of the fly tying station once I have it all set up. And after watching your video on how you have your setup I have some ideas, thanks

[@brianfeeney9493]

Hey MATT, Say Brother ......... I do NOT Agree, that Y O U ...... Need “ MO HAIR !!!!!! “ Y’ALL look Great, JUST the Way ..... You Are !!!!!!!!! Just Sayin’, Brian 🙃🎣💫

[@SavageFlies]

Ha! And I missed a golden opportunity for a bad dad joke. I totally blew that one. :-)