In the south, we’d already heard of Ian Ramsey, Cooktown’s very own butcher and rod builder, but had forgotten all about him when we arrived at the mouth of the Endeavour River several months later. So it came as a real surprise to find superbly crafted fishing rods and hand made lures hanging on the wall of a butcher shop when what you expect to see are mouth watering lamb shanks, sausages and steaks. Our shopping took therefore much longer than planned and we talked fishing with Ian and admired his work. He invited us to his Cape York Custom Rods’ workshop and when we arrived a couple of days later, we felt like kids in a chocolate factory. Ian uses Alps components on his rods and there were reel seats and guides in many different colours glistening from shelves and on finished rods. And while discussing rod blanks, guide placement and the ultimate varnish, we couldn’t help but notice how passionate this man is and that he goes to great length to ensure every finished rod is up to his high standards. From unique 4’ short, tight country barra rods and ultralight jungle perch spinning sticks to powerful popper rods for big giant trevally, Ian has the high end blank from United Composites or CTS and the Alps components to build the perfect fishing tool and he is always looking for something new.

Have a look at the high density EVA grip with the laser engraved Barramundi, it’s an absolute stunner. And Cape York Custom Rods’ own butt cap design in a range of colours is sure to turn a few heads too. It never stops to amaze us how many talented people are out there, doing their own thing with great passion and extraordinary skills.

Getting to know a master rod builder was just too good an opportunity to be missed and we are now the very happy owners of two CY Custom Rods. Both are 5’6’’ barra baitcasting rods, one is pitch black with just a hint of white on the butt cap and the other one is a black and copper beauty with a rattle snake skin inlay in front of the grip. Two perfect fishing tools with great looks to match.

Are you looking for that superbly crafted fishing rod, custom built with state of the art carbon blanks and hardware? Look no further, go and see Ian from Cape York Custom Rods at Cooktown Quality Meats, send him an e-mail at ctqmeats@gmail.com or call him on 07 4069 6999 or a/h 07 4069 5936. He is an experienced GT popper addict as well as a keen barra and jungle perch fisherman and knows what you are talking about.

Coming soon.