bertram31.com

Sounds great, hope we see it next season. Make your own flies?

Yes but havent done anything lately with a 16 month old son i barely have time to go and buy flies.

You've really got your hands full right now. I find it very satisfying catching fish with flies I have tied. Your timing is pretty right though. When you've got the Bertram just the way you want it, your son be at the stage when he'll want to help you. You'll have a lot of years of good memories coming up. I raised 3 kids on mine and still smile when I think of them. If you have a favorite fly or two, send them to me and I'll make some up for you over the winter. Mike Ohlstein and I took some 100 lb Pacific Sailfish at Tropic Star on 14 weights and flies I tied.

Walter do you have the book Salt Water Flies of The North East by Angelo Peluso? It's a great book and Angelo is a good guy. I will pull a couple of flies together..



Pete

Panama sail on one of Walters flies....

There is nothing like be hooked up or watching someone else hooked up to a fish with a fly you've tied... Never caught a sail fish

i caught a bunch of atlantic salmon this summer with flies tied by my friend peter. he got a real kick out of it because i had NO idea what i was doing so he knew they really worked. walter's flies were the ones that worked in panama.

I also fished in Guatemala for them once and I must say the strike, the first run and the acrobatics of a lit up 100+ pound Pacific Sail on a fly is the highlight of my fishing career. You have to do it some day.

they changed photobucket....lets see if this works

ok..that sucks...if anyone can explain to me how to do it so the photo just appears here i'm listening

Got your whole portfolio. Did you mean to do that or a few selects?

ok..that sucks...if anyone can explain to me how to do it so the photo just appears here i'm listening

I edited out the ?action=view&current= part... The ? & = symbols act as delimiters in the board script. One of the quirks...

thanks patrick...it used to be SO EASY....just drag the img code to the dialogue box. somewhere i heard the enemy of good is better.

ill have to write that down. i just dragged the whole image to the dialogue box.

Thats a nice fish. I just copy the image code link from photobucket.

ok...when i hit the img code it used to turn gray and i could drag it to the desktop....then i would go to the thread and drag it into the reply dialogue box. now i click and it says "copied".....copied where? and how do i get it in the reply box?..i'm pretty good with my hands but i'm hanging on with bloody fingernails when it comes to this computer stuff.

click and it says "copied".....copied where?

To your clip board, or what ever Mac calls it... You're loaded and ready to paste.

Randall if you are using a mac click in the dialog box and then go up to the tool bar. Select edit and then paste

yikes...thanks pete....i actually learned something!!


BTW...i emailed photobucket but there explanation was a paragraph i didnt understand...thanks again.

obviously the discussion has moved to fish
but as far a windows go i like them and look up zero cavity and Jerry Santiagos boat he has some beautiful Capt. Pat special windows.
John your boat looks great I was trying to figure out my helm seating i was gonna just go back with a bench but then figures a chair would be more comfortable cause of how tall i am , but i will wanted room for kids, there's my answer!

I'd like to move my bench seat up about 6" and back 2 or 3". That would be perfect for me just gotta figure out how I am going to do it.

If I am not mistaken, the bench is a "U" shaped fiberglass on plywood piece that is screwed onto mounting blocks on both sides from underneath. It is an awkward area to get to but if you do, it lifts off. Those blocks can be raised and moved back or built up on and the bench put back on. There may be some small cosmetics on the forward insides areas but they would not be visible from looking at the boat.

When we ge. A warm day after new years i will probably pull it off the boat and bring it home. I am not sue what the underside is mad out of but i will look to replace that if it needs it and have the canvas redone. I think i can just block up the outer edges and under the center stantion. And off set them a little to move it back.

Right now if you stand at the helm it is to close to the wheel and your getting hit inthe calf. Its more comfortable to sit with the seat back down to give you a little more height.

My bench was just bolted/screwed onto the center support and two side supports. You can fit spacers under there. I lifted my bench about 2" with mahogany blocks as spacers that didn't look to bad. Moving it back a couple of inches woulld also have been easy. 6" spacers to go up will be more challenging and may look a little odd. Remember also that you (and significant other? kids?) have to step over the bench on the starboard side to get to where you can sit. Raising it 6" will make for a pretty big step. I replaced the starboard side seat in the pics. I posted with a 2" or so thick cushion because the seat was to much of a PIA to step over. The port seat stayed--my wife likes it.

John 6" may be to high i will have to give it some thought.

Randall & Walter, since you guys seem to have some serious offshore fishing experiences and some real time on a B31. Can you share with me your thoughts on the best way to rig up the boat to carry rigged fly rods?

With my flats boat i usually use two fly line tamers (stripping bucket) for the rods i am fishing with line stripped out and all. I then have under gunwale racks that hold 3 rods on each side.

I am trying to figure out if i can have a rocket launcher built to the bridge rail to run with 6 or 8 rigged fly rods. My preference is the Ifly rod holders but i am up for suggestions. I dont love the types that just slip into existing rod holders they arent all that safe in a bit of a sea.

Pete

Peter- are you looking to have these stripped for running or would you have the leader and tippet spooled?

jspiezio wrote:Peter- are you looking to have these stripped for running or would you have the leader and tippet spooled?

I will most likely bunge in my two fly line tamers To the stern cleates which allows me to run with two rods ready to cast. What i need to figure out is if i should come up with a rocket launcher style to store my rigged fly rods either on the bridge or on the pedestal. The other option would be to build something into the gunwales but putting the tips into the engine compartment might not be the best idea. And the later would also be quite a bit of work.

I have a sportsfisherman, so without the stern bulkheads I can lay 4 fully rigged flyrods on the padded port engine box (reel sides there) with the tips on a towel over the front window area. I use a Rubbermaid handleless garbage can in the starboard stern corner with a ready to use rod and stripped off casting line in it. I sit that rod in it for instant action. Opt for a heavier can or weight the bottom with fresh water or a small sandbag for stability when running. Of the commercially made flyrod holders, whether rod holder capable or otherwise, I would recommend a velcro strap to go around the upper cork handle area and hold it tight. Since we all fish with friends that are often inexperienced, make sure one part of the velcro is permanently affixed to the holder so they are always there and you can easily see if they aren't strapped down. My experience with charters/other boats has taught me not to have too many fully assembled rods to avoid the accidents that can occur during the chaos of a big fish hook-up/fight. In those instances, I still rig the rods/reels/flies and then just take the rod apart mid-length and store them in an accessible, but safe place. Hope this helps.

I have found that these are the best vertical fly rod holders. If I could figure out how to mount two sets of four to the bridge or a pedestal launcher I'd be set. They don't safely mount to a horizontal railing so I may need to have a plate fabricated.




Here is the bucket I use, which is weighted on the bottom, I still bunge it in place. It also has little knobs sticking up in the bottom so that the line doesn't get tangled.

The pedestal seems like a bad idea as it would protrude into the cockpit to much. Up on the bridge they need to be angled back so they are far enough away from the after part of the tower top.

Those are really nice multiple flyrod holders. I get the Salt Water fly fishing magazines yet haven't see them advertised anywhere. Where did you find them and about how much were they? You have the "garbage can" holder perfectly solved. I would think a plate would be a good bridge solution.
If you drill holes in the right places on the plate you can pass transparent electrical wiring straps to neatly and tightly connect it to your bridge railings. Obviously, the size of the plate must be customized to the railing space so it can be strapped to both the verticals and the horizontal for utmost stability. I have six regular rail clamp on rod holders on my bridge railing so I'd have to either remove them or figure something else out.

Rod holders.

http://stores.theifly.com/StoreFront.bok

Stripping bucket

http://alumapole.com/alumarinemain.html

Walter. Have you been to the fly fishing show in somerset?

In the beginning of february there is a 3 day fly fishing show at the garden state convention center in somerset NJ. Some pretty cool stuff that you dont see around. Unbelievable fly tiers and some great seminars.

Pete

pete - back to your original question... i just went through my first season after buyng a redone 31. i put about 200 hours on my boat this year, approximately 1/2 fishing and the other 1/2 cruising, camping, swimming etc with my 9 and 11 year olds and a boat full of neighbors. i put on a swim platform in march and have to say that although pricey, it was one of the best improvements that i made. It seems that all kids want to do at anchor is continuously get into and out of the boat. I fished 11 or 12 times and never felt that it was in the way.

Being that i have trim tabs a swim platform really isnt going to get in the way. Its not hi on my list but probably inevitable with small kids.

That leads to another question a lot of boats dont have trim tabs whats the general opinion?

mine doesn't have tabs. i guess what you don't have you don't miss. is that fighting chair you have something that is still being manufactured?

Peter

Tabs are a running discussion onhere from time to time. For the most part, a properly powered, and loaded 31 Bert does not really need the tabs. But the guys that have them love them.

Man, you've opened a can of worms there. The guys who have them usually like them, the ones that don't, swear you don't need them. Make your decision after you've used yours for a season. If you are going to fly fish offshore for Mako, Mahi and Tuna, you may find the swim platform helpful from possible trim tab cut-offs.
Yes, I've been to the Somerset show on three occasions. It's an all-day long run but a great place to get fly tying supplies that you can see and touch. The suppliers out east are limited at best and getting less as we speak.

Off the top of your head does anyone know the approximate distance between the two vertical rails between the two rod holders?

24" between fittings...

Thanks Capt Patrick

Back at my original question.

Palm Beach Lady / Match Maker is the only boat ive seen with the front glass enclosed but instead of the side windows angled back these are angled forward providing some additional light. I dont think it takes away from the lines of the boat.

Who did the work on that boat?

Jim Ray on LI did Match Maker, before it became Palm Beach Lady...

So both raybo marine and jim ray fiberglass are located in lindenhurst.

Raybo is located on Montaulk Hwy and Jim Ray is located in the Anchorage Marina.

Rob owns Raybo and posts often. He currently has at least one 31 in his yard that you can see.

Raybo is the best and has a history of perfection with the 31 Bertram.