Here at Custom-Tied we are firm believers in having as much fun in the shortest period of time as possible.  Here are some pictures of where we have been and what we have done.

Each year we take a trip around Memorial Day weekend down to Harrisonburg, VA to a creek called Dry River.  It is in George Washington National Forest. 

Here we chase down these wonderful little native brook trout.  The Appalachian Brook Trout is one of the last truly native species of trout left in the country.

They don't get huge, in fact these were big at 6 to 9 inches, but a more beautiful fish, trip, or day couldn't be had.

I checked out a spider web to see what was available and found that they were eating Green Drakes as they were comming off, so, I dove into my box and drug out my arsenal of green drake emerger patterns.

This was a unique treat.  Normally Browns aren't found in the same water as these brooks, but this one was.

A few months later my wife and I celebrated our Aniversery with a trip to Elk Creek in Erie County, PA to try our hand at catching some Steel Head.  Here are a few fish making their way up Trout Run from the lake.  Wow, would you look at all those fins sticking up out of the water.

The fish make their way up the creek, and make some spectacular leaps over the obstacles that they come across.

"10 pounds of chrome fury," to quote a local sports writer from Chambersburg.  I caught 4 fish about this size all on a bug called crystal meth.

When these fish take, they really take.  They are very acrobatic fish, leaping from the water and giving a very exciting fight.

This is my wife with the 1 fish that she landed.  Her's was actually a bit bigger than any of mine, she caught this one on a George Minnow.

Last summer we met up with a new student in Adams County on the Conewago.  This is a great little freestone creek and quite a wonderful array of fish to be found.

Here I am teaching one of my first students how to cast, just a simple flip of the bug into the water, and it was on.

This is dedicated to one of my first students, who has recently gone on to fish the calmer waters further down stream.  Mac was a very excited and intense man.  He brought his own fly rod, a south bend that he said that he had had for several years and never really took the time to learn how to use it, before this day out on the Conewago.  I showed him how to cast and tie on a bug, and with in a few minutes of tossing his bug into this hole, his first fish on a fly rod grabbed his bug.  He laughed out loud much like a child with his first bike.  He caught about 10 fish all together that day.  Mac, you will be missed.  Tight Lines.

Here is our team doing what they what they love to do.  Like everyone else, our careers are more a means to afford our passion.

We caught about 50 fish between the 2 of us in about 4 hours.

Sharon did really well here.  She matched me fish for fish most of the day.  We caught all 3 species here.  Some of the Brooks were in the 10 and 11 inch range.  Most of the fish are wild here.  This is one of our most favorite creeks.

This is Shane, Sharon's son fly fishing in town in Chambersburg in the Falling Springs Branch.  He learned how to cast a short while ago.  He says that it's the best kind of fishing he has ever done.

I recently took a jaunt up to Caladonia State Park which is located along US 30, just East of Chambersburg.  PA 233 crosses US 30 here and takes us up to where some of the best Native Fishing in the state can be had.

This is the Conococheague (Delaware Indian word for "a long journey") where it runs through what used to be Chambersburg's Reservoir.  The dam was breached a few years ago and since then mother nature is doing her job reclaiming the land, with a bit of help from us.  The Forrest Service planted lots of trees in the old lake bed, and lots of grass in between to hold the soil together.  This makes for a beautiful view and lots of great habitat for a variety of wild life.

Here is a nice shot of the creek heading down toward where the dam used to be.

To fish this type of water you need a shorter rod.  This is my 6'6" 4wt, it's great for high sticking the little riffles and runs, and has plenty of back bone to get a longer cast out for a deep pool that is more than a few feet away.

This little guy fell for an orange parachute ant pattern that I tied the night before.  See how his colors are beginning to darken.  The PA Native will be putting on his spawning duds before to much longer.  Fall in PA is a very colorful time of year.

This little guy was only as long as my reel seat.  He fell for a parachute ant also.

This guy was just a bit bigger, and also fell to an ant pattern.

Here is a fine 10 inch Brown from Big Spring Creek, Cumberland County, PA.  This is how I spent my 40th Birthday.  My best friend and I came here to find a few fish.

I found this 14 inch Rainbow in the same hole about an hour later.

Here is Garrick with a nice 11 inch Brown that he found about 100 yards down stream.

Only in the Big Spring will you find "Dancing Brown Trout"

Here is George drifting a nymph, in the Big Spring.

Welcome to Yellow Creek.  Here in lovely Bedford County PA.  This hole is loaded with trout.

Here is George trying to figure out what they are eating.

The way the fish are suspended in the water right below a riffle, he figures that they are eating some larvae or emerger, but there is nothing in the air.  He ties on a caddis pupae pattern.

This choice yielded a beautiful 14" rainbow. Good job, George.