
My name is Mark Melius, owner of Mytoyz Fishing Custom Rods. The Mytoyz portion actually stemmed from a joke my wife once made about all my ”man toys” some years ago and it has stuck ever since. I grew up as an Army brat and joined the Army myself after high school, of which I was medically discharged in 2007. Shortly after my military career I meet my wife whom I married in 2009 and moved to Roanoke for a job. In 2011 our first child, Madison, was born. Some of the things I do outside of work is to camp, travel, work around the house, make custom rods, and of course fish.
Click on the "Read More" link to the right for the rest of this profile.
Click on the "Read More" link to the right for the rest of this profile.

I just recently joined the SMSC at the January 2013 meeting and have jumped right in, volunteering to help out on the tournament committee.
(Editor's note: Mark, prior to joining the Club, volunteered his time & talents to build the rods that were donated & presented by the SMSC to the Freedom Alliance group during our 2012 event - pics of his work on those rods are below).
As for fishing, I’ve been fishing since before I was born. My parents bounced me around the Puget Sound to try to get me to pop out. My Dad got me started fishing as soon as I could hold a rod and I have not stopped since. I’ve fished up and down the cost of both the Pacific and Atlantic, big lakes and to the smallest of streams. Basically if it swims I will fish for it.
My experience on SML has been mainly with catfish, bass, and bluegill. I’ve only been fishing for stripers on SML for the last 3 years and of that it hasn’t been all that much during those years.
(Editor's note: Mark, prior to joining the Club, volunteered his time & talents to build the rods that were donated & presented by the SMSC to the Freedom Alliance group during our 2012 event - pics of his work on those rods are below).
As for fishing, I’ve been fishing since before I was born. My parents bounced me around the Puget Sound to try to get me to pop out. My Dad got me started fishing as soon as I could hold a rod and I have not stopped since. I’ve fished up and down the cost of both the Pacific and Atlantic, big lakes and to the smallest of streams. Basically if it swims I will fish for it.
My experience on SML has been mainly with catfish, bass, and bluegill. I’ve only been fishing for stripers on SML for the last 3 years and of that it hasn’t been all that much during those years.

My largest SML striper to date is 28” which I caught 2 years ago, but I have caught larger striper in the salt. For some reason I have only fished the Roanoke side of the lake - in fact I don’t think I have even been on the Blackwater side. I fishing out of either a 26’ pontoon or my Ranger bass boat, or in my kayak if fishing the rivers and ocean. My methods of fishing are both artificial and live bait.