Treat yo self

We're taught that all seconds tick the same, but I'm skeptical. The weekday seconds between about 7:30 and 4, for example, seem much less ambitious than some. But that gives us plenty of time to dream and plan, and hope that the best is yet to come.

Now that I have a little wiggle room in my budget (crazy shout goes out to Assurant Health), I can afford to trade some of the slow seconds for quick ones - like the ones I spend between the banks of a trout stream. And spend a little money on luxuries like Depuy Spring Creek. And treat myself.

Muted colors

This fall we took a Saturday to fish Ennis Dam, cuz we were taking a novice and I cannot think of an easier place to catch trout on a fly. The novice was told to wear muted colors, as bright clothes might spook the fish. Then I showed up in a Kool-Aid Man t-shirt, and we caught plenty.

Since then, I've become acquainted with Boise's Ed Dunn, who first debunked the myth of muted colors years ago, going as far as wearing sequins on the Railroad Ranch. He noticed that not only does the flashy garb not scare fish, it does scare his competition.

Ed's Facebook profile pic

"I scored a hot pink soccer shirt for 50 cents from a thrift store," Dunn said. "Even before dipping a tootsie in the water let alone making a cast, I instantly noticed that the hot pink shirt scared the living snot outta fishermen."

That and Dunn's defense of the perpetually scorned native whitefish spun into his regionally famous moniker: Whitefish Ed. You'll know him if you see him.

Stay tuned for more a thorough account of Ed's exploits...