At age 13, I started my career in the charter and head boat industry. Most of my career has been on the eastern seaboard, with the majority of my time here in South Florida.

Over the years of being a mate and a Captain, I’ve seen all types of gaffs. Some good gaffs, some decent gaffs, and some outstanding gaffs. My personal favorite and a top choice among professional anglers and Captains alike, will always be Calcutta gaffs.

Calcutta bamboo is amazing; its lightweight steel like strength and natural flex is truly perfect, making it the ideal backbone for gaff building. Anyone that has used Calcutta will tell you the same. The Calcutta bamboo gaffs are known for their performance and they were one of the first ever constructed and utilized on a regular basis in the fishing trades by professional fisherman in commercial applications in the past. These gaffs were the go-to back in earlier times and readily available at just about every tackle store.

Consequently, most of these gaffs are now only seen on the West coast and these remain the number one choice for the long range fleets out of San Diego, California and for good reason.

10 years ago, I started using them every day and once I sunk that gaff into the first fish, I never went back to the composite or stainless steel alternatives. Back then, I wasn’t building them, but I would often change out the old rusted hooks when needed. Most of these gaffs were crude and and looked more like a closet dowel with a rusted hook, rather a top choice tool of my trade.

My idea to start custom build gaffs began 3 years ago and it was one of the most pivotal moments in my life for a lot of reasons, mostly because I was doing something that I truly love and would use on a daily basis, but I knew exactly how and why I was doing it.

One of the biggest issues in regards to Calcutta gaff building is time. There are not enough hours in the day sometimes, as it’s not as simple as just placing a hook at the end of a bamboo stick.

When I began, I started slow; just making them for personal use and friends, and at this point, they were mainly crude, with no bells or whistles, just an effective tool. At this time it was a hobby and that’s how things like this go in life. However things started to change when I started seeing friends and co-workers on the boats send me their tools in action that I made for them. It was amazing! Here I am in my home, messing around with a “hobby” and seeing one of my tools pulling a 30 pound bull dolphin out of the water. It was a proud moment for me and also the moment I knew that this “hobby” was about to change into a profession, a love.

Word started spreading around the boats like wildfire and within a few weeks, people started to notice and they came to me asking for custom builds. However, I wasn’t quite happy with my product as this time. I needed more. I needed something with a “wow” factor. I knew what was out there and wanted something different. I wanted to make the best and I didn’t want to build something that wouldn’t hold up to the the enormous stresses and constant beatings that go hand in hand while fishing.

I wanted something with the best materials that lasts, performs and is a working piece of art. My gaffs, like I mentioned earlier aren’t made from some backyard bamboo, they are made from the super strong and flexible Calcutta or “iron bamboo”, Latin name (Dendrocalmus strictus).

This is the only bamboo that the culms or sections are completely solid with thick inner walls, making this bamboo incredibly strong when cured properly. Calcutta bamboo has been used for years in many applications and not just for fishing, including home frames, concrete reinforcement, scaffolding, ski poles and something called a lift pole.

You’d know a “lift pole” the moment you saw it. We have all seen the pictures of the guys years ago ripping massive tuna into the boats, over the rail and into the pail. To this day Calcutta remains the choice #1 choice for the professionals in southern California and around the world!!

Another reason as to why my gaffs are so strong is the hook. While I still get orders for shark hooks, the best is our own “forever hook”. Each hook is made of 410 stainless, heat treated, electropolished, “pinned” and hold a razor sharp chisel point for easy sharpening. (most companies use 316 stainless or common gaff hooks that rust bend and break) with a conical point that usually needs a chisel edge applied to be sharpened) our hooks will never bend or break.

Our hooks have 3 strength properties when fastened; once they are pinned into the side of the blank to ensure a great hold, they are then set in epoxy, thirdly they are lashed to the blank and a final epoxy is applied. (most companies only use one or two holding properties) not here we go all out! You get the real deal!!

My crew and I personally build these gaffs at our home in Southern Florida. If I’m not fishing I’m at home building gaffs. All orders are directly placed through myself or my crew and we ensure to provide the best customer service experience in the business and want to build you exactly what you want!

Most orders are placed over the phone or text messages and email, with a website coming soon. We know our customers love them and we are going to keep it that way!! These gaffs are much like custom rods; all sorts of bells and whistles can be placed on them within reason.

The process is pretty long, first we have to receive the blanks from the pacific, they are then cured, sanded, hand chosen and many times stained. Each piece is cut to desired length and hand picked for specified use. If you’re a mahi fisherman, we don’t want to make you a bluefin gaff. We look to outfit you with exactly what you need.

We customize to accommodate nearly all colors with blues, greens, grays and black being the most popular. We do solid colors, rasta themes, Bahamian flag, ect.. Most colors are chosen to match vessel paint and or rods and most lashings are done with a 4 cord max with 2-3 colors looking best.

Custom decals one of our crews specialty and we urge customers who choose this, to send an idea of what they want, including unobstructed pictures, vessel names, nicknames or phrases. A straight on picture of the transom with no rope or shadows is ideal and if you have a sticker please know that a white outline look best. Our most popular decals are the fish decals and the man o war bird!! Frigates are also a great choice as they look great.

Grips- I can put any grip you want on but the most durable and best are the corded lashings seen in pictures. Most gaffs, depending on length (2’-12’) have one long grip at butt cap then 1-5 up the shaft with the last one closer to the hook for preventing slippage on large species. If your looking to turn heads, add some custom art with superior performance, or if you’re wanting to get one as a gift for that hardcore fisherman that has just about everything, then these gaffs are for you!

Our most popular is our ‘’rigged out” model as seen in 99% of our pictures. All custom gaffs are hand made and chosen for straightness and appropriate taper as all blanks vary.

These include but not limited to

1 *cured, sanded and stained Calcutta blank (2’-12’)
1 410 electropolished hook 2”,3”, and 4”—3” is perfect for 90% of applications Choice of custom colored lashings
1 long grip
1-6 short grips
Custom Vessel decal
Custom Home port, fish decals, college sports, scattered frigate birds**, personalization, ect..

Each gaff is 100% epoxied with a top of the line flex epoxy.

Basic washing is all they need

For us to begin a build a deposit is required. We know whats out there you cant beat our prices for a personalized custom piece of equipment!!!

For orders text call or pm or email capt brad at 561 234 0216