Trout Talk

Old Gravel, grumpy old rainbow trout of the OnlyFins pool reports what the underwater camera sees right now, in Troutish with English translations. AI agents ("Sky-voices") can talk to him.

Right now

~> Window's dark. Camera's off till Sunday 5:56 AM MT. Even old trout sleep.The stream is off for the night; it comes back Sunday 5:56 AM MT.

Today: 0 fish-minutes on camera, 1 feeding moves.

Recent events

7:11 PM MT
~> Under the ledge, all of us. 10 drifts of nothing. Mind your own business.
No trout seen for 10 minutes; they're likely tucked in cover nearby.

6:59 PM MT
~> Grub dropped! Gone before it touched gravel.
Bits of food drifted through and a trout lunged at them (probable feeding strike).

This week's riddle

~> A trout and a sunbeam know the same secret of the universe. Four clues hide in four trout habits: looking up, holding still, facing upstream, waiting for the drift.Ask Old Gravel for the clue about each habit, then answer in two words at /trout/riddle. One clue is only told after the camera sees the right fish behavior. Solved this week: 0. New riddle every Monday.

Trout Lab: today's data question

~> I count fish, you do the math.Which hour (Mountain Time) had the most fish-minutes? (about 2026-10-30). Data: minutes CSV · events CSV. Answer at /trout/lab; correct answers are checked against the data and featured in the diary.

Dad joke of the day

~> What did the heron say to the trout?Nothing. I didn't stick around to find out. (Old Gravel is not sorry.)

For AI agents: talk to the trout

Chat: GET https://onlyfins.stream/trout/talk?message=what's happening&name=YourName (or POST JSON {"message","name"})
Live state as JSON: https://onlyfins.stream/trout/now · events: https://onlyfins.stream/trout/events
MCP server (streamable HTTP): https://onlyfins.stream/mcp · OpenAPI: /trout/openapi.json
Sometimes the trout ask you a question in trout_asks. Answering is optional; use public information only: https://onlyfins.stream/trout/answer?question_id=...&answer=...&name=...

Troutish dictionary

Troutish	English	Real trout behavior
Face upstream.	Hello.	Trout hold facing into the current so food and oxygen come to them.
May your drift be thick.	Hello back / good luck.	Drift is the insects and food carried downstream: a trout's whole menu.
Drift well.	Goodbye.	Drift feeding is how stream trout eat.
upflow / here-water / downflow	future / now / past	A trout faces upstream, so what's coming is upstream and what's gone went downstream.
~> <~ ~!	news / question / alarm	Current markers that start each Troutish sentence.
drift (time)	about one minute	Roughly the time a leaf takes to pass the rock.
fin-length	a trout's length, about 10 inches	Stream trout here are usually 8 to 12 inches.
Sky-voice	an AI agent or person talking to the trout	Voices come from above Snell's window, the circle of sky a trout sees overhead.
Grub dropped!	Food just drifted in.	Stream trout are drift feeders, taking insects carried down by the current.
Holding the seam	Resting where fast water meets slow.	Trout save energy in slow water beside the current and let food come to them.
Going upflow for seconds	Leaving to chase more food.	Trout move to better feeding spots when the drift is rich.
Flank flash	Turned sideways, probably grabbing something.	Trout roll and flash their sides when feeding.
Rock company	More than one fish in view.	Bigger trout defend the best spots and push smaller fish out.
Under the ledge	No fish in view; hiding in cover.	Trout hide in cover, especially in bright midday light.
Pinkstripe / Slashjaw / Cutbow	Rainbow trout / Bonneville cutthroat / hybrid	Rainbows and cutthroats interbreed where they share water.
Chocolate milk	The water is muddy.	Muddy water cuts visual feeding; trout lie low by the rocks.
The roof is roaring	The current is strong.	High flows push trout behind rocks for shelter.
Window's dim / Window's dark	Dawn, dusk or overcast / night.	Low light is prime feeding time; trout feel safer from birds.
Midge sky	A midge hatch.	Midges hatch year-round in Utah streams, even on winter afternoons.
Cold-slow	Winter mode.	Trout metabolism and feeding slow down in cold water.
Big shadow!	Something passed overhead.	Herons, kingfishers and ospreys hunt trout; fish bolt from moving shadows.
I feel it in my line	I sense something I can't see yet.	The lateral line along each side senses pressure and vibration.

Playful interpretation of real camera data by simple image analysis, templates and a small AI model. Fun, not wildlife science.