While browsing my old magazine, one fly captured my eyes. Irhamy’s Condom fly. It remind me of good old Hai Pro days. This pattern was a killer back then. I guess it’s pretty obvious why he called it “Condom Fly” I asked him when he made me one back in 2003,how he came with the idea, he said he got tired with epoxy mess. It turn out to be brilliant idea. Maybe someone have came out with this idea before him, all I know, we got it from him. Apart form sharing it, I just want to bring some good old memories of this fly. After all that’s more important than catching a fish isn’t it?
I scanned this one from “Rod and Line” Magazine June 2003 issue, by JeryC. (I wonder if he still around?) This is super simple fly. But it catches fishes. I hope Tok Mi doesn’t mind I share it here. For the real history of this fly, let the inventor itself talk about it.
Let me know if I have breached a copyright for scanned and post it here. I’ll remove it.
I remember that pattern. We used the pattern to catch fish at Tow Foo (now defunct). Itu fly sudah ‘potong’. [8D]
I meant Hai Pro (now defunct). Better correct that before I am banned from entering Tow Foo[:D][:D]. I first saw Irhamy potong that condom at Tow Foo during a fly tying clinic organised by Jerry and Tony Wee. Lepas itu kena racun kaw kaw… Next day go see Nick and caught first salt water fish on fly at Hai Pro a week later. That was what that fly did to me.
I meant Hai Pro (now defunct). Better correct that before I am banned from entering Tow Foo[:D][:D]. I first saw Irhamy potong that condom at Tow Foo during a fly tying clinic organised by Jerry and Tony Wee. Lepas itu kena racun kaw kaw… Next day go see Nick and caught first salt water fish on fly at Hai Pro a week later. That was what that fly did to me.
Haha “sudah potong” [:D]that the good one Novice. That probably the same time I saw the fly. After that most of my Deceiver has been “condomised”
Pocot,
Hahahaha… Thank you for bringing this up. Sorry a bit late in replying because I was busy with work and anak sekolah. Now I got paid for my work hati pun senang sikit.
To tell you the truth I copied it from some where but only conceptually. I have not seen a fly tied like that anywhere throughout my flyfishing life, that’s why I claimed to be mine. Conceptually it was from a spinner originated from Ireland called the flying (Irish) condom. Its just a normall spinner but instead of beads they stick a rubber squid between the spoon and the treble, that’s it!!! It’s fairly effective in low water for summer run salmon, grilse and seatrout. In England, the English make fun of their neighbours especially the Irish and the French, and vice versa, hence the Irish flying condom. It started when I was supposed to be going flyfishing in River Moy, Republic of Ireland. I think it was in early 1989 while looking through the magazine and talking to the flyshop guide I was drawn to this spinner as plan B if plan A using fly miserably fails. Weather in Ireland is as unpredictable as a woman if you know what I mean, so have backup plans. I used to tie small ones for perch and small pike in rivers in England. You dont tie this sort of fly for trout them days as it purist troutman would have none of it, I was one hell of a purist when I first started, even to the extend of willing to don a neck tie, tweed jacket under a barbour with a creel and a priest on my hip. Nothing would make me happier than casting the smallest dryfly to a rising brownie in the summer months, such a life! That was a younger Irhamy then heehehe.
Coming back to your question on the real story behind it, it was true that I was getting impatient with epoxy to dry as my kids were around checking the lalat on the vise and the home minister was an iron fist cleanaholic. When we started flyfishing here some over 15 years ago there were not enough flytying material around. I ended up importing materials myself from England and with it comes the catalogue with pictures of the flying condom spinners. When Nick Ooi started to bring in more rubber sotong and more cheap ones available in Kepong, you know where it is. So i said sod that epoxy, I am going to tie the flying condoms just for the hell of it. Kalau dia makan ok, tak makan sudah! So my condom fly was born with various colours and sizes for saltwater ponds. You can chop and change the different colours of your sotong by tying the body to fit snugly to the sotong.Or you can tie it down permanently. Then I moved on to toman fly (remember Larry Pamplin?) split tail sebarau / tarpon flies and so on. Even I had a keli on that too hahaha ingat haruan bodoh saja bodoh, keli pun sama lah. It is very effective fly and easy to tie. A tip to make more deadly - tie a stinger at the back, one hit one fish! Well, almost! Have a try guys.
So there you have it, story of my condom fly.</font id=“maroon”>
Dont we all have love-hate relationship with condoms? Hahahaha they have been helping mankind not to catch diseases at least now they help us catch fish. </font id=“maroon”>
quote:Originally posted by alpocot While browsing my old magazine, one fly captured my eyes. Irhamy's Condom fly. It remind me of good old Hai Pro days. This pattern was a killer back then. I guess it's pretty obvious why he called it "Condom Fly" I asked him when he made me one back in 2003,how he came with the idea, he said he got tired with epoxy mess. It turn out to be brilliant idea. Maybe someone have came out with this idea before him, all I know, we got it from him. Apart form sharing it, I just want to bring some good old memories of this fly. After all that's more important than catching a fish isn't it?
I scanned this one from “Rod and Line” Magazine June 2003 issue, by JeryC. (I wonder if he still around?) This is super simple fly. But it catches fishes. I hope Tok Mi doesn’t mind I share it here. For the real history of this fly, let the inventor itself talk about it.
Let me know if I have breached a copyright for scanned and post it here. I’ll remove it.
i see… 1st time i know about fly fishing is from rizal n thareq on mid 2002 at tasik subang…
then i started to tying flies… n the 1st flies that i tied is very similiar like this condom flies…
but i’m using the white chiken feather cover with (condom) wire tube that cover the clip for pc.. hahaha
what a memories…
