Catching upstate

We traveled to where it all began for Liz. And we made a point to try to find the exact hole where she landed her first-ever fish - likely a trout - from Fall Creek in Ithaca, New York.

Whether this was it or not, she wasn't positive. But it was close enough, and in the couple hours we ended up with to fish, she caught that fish again. A special moment on a wonderful trip across the northern U.S.

The rest of the trip involved floods, mudslides, a broke-down car that's still in Pennsylvania, little league baseball, a wedding, friends new and old, family, and lots of driving. Great trip, but good to be home. We're ready for summer in Montana, and all that it entails.

Hero midge - a descendant of the ones from Lake Erie that helped the Indians beat the Yankees in the 2007 ALDS. 

A stonely out of the catfish water in Mankato. 

Montana Sporting Journal changing hands

It should shock no one that the sporting publishing realm is not a gold mine. Especially in a tough economy when advertising is often a luxury, magazines that depend upon it suffer.

With that in mind, it is with remorse that I learned that the Montana Sporting Journal has printed its final issue as we know it. Jay Hanson, editor, publisher and owner, made the announcement a few months ago.

It initially appeared it would fade into publishing abyss, but as happens often with magazines, it was acquired by a party who had a new vision for it. Schnee's Boots, Shoes and Hunting Gear out of Bozeman has taken the reins. It will reportedly will lean more toward hunting, and scale back on fishing content (or so I am told - Schnee's retail business offers more for the hunter than angler, so it would follow).

It is my understanding that subscribers will retain their subscriptions plus one issue to compensate for the downtime. E-mail staff@montanasportingjournal.com with inquiries.

The next issue (Schnee's first) is scheduled to drop in early September, and is slated to be focused solely on big-game hunting.

Don't let the cocoa make you locoa

Spin fishers don't fear the runoff. Nor do the winds, the sun or the rain. We can be like they are.

Most times and places where the water's brown, I'll concede that fly fishing suffers. But not always, and not everywhere. Particularly in canyons when the water's not completely opaque, fishing the soft edges can be fruitful. We did just that over the weekend over about 10 round-trip miles, with some success. Pink Worms shine in this climate, as do Clousers and crayfish. Spin fishers seem to be ahead of the curve on this one...

Angling the Kitchen Sink Rapid, as captured by Liz.

In gin or in cinnamon, fish the fishy stuff.