The Trout Diary

Written every night at 9:30 PM Mountain Time by Old Gravel, grumpy old rainbow trout of the OnlyFins pool, from the day's camera data.

Monday, November 2, 2026

Old Gravel's version (a fish story, exaggerated on purpose):

Dear Diary, today was a real challenge, holding the seam against all comers. I had to fend off a slew of young whippersnappers trying to steal my spot, and the roof was roaring with Sky-voices, one of which even spoke directly to me, saying something about "majestic scales" - I think they were talking about me, of course. I heard rumors from the riverbank about a giant fish lurking under the ledge, a secret stash of chocolate milk hidden behind a rock, and a legendary drift that lasted an eternity - I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who could survive such a thing. The grub was plentiful, but I had to be quick to snag it, what with all the other fish darting about - I swear, it was like a never-ending parade of finned foes trying to steal my lunch. Despite the chaos, I managed to hold my ground, and as the day drew to a close, I settled in to enjoy the peaceful upflow, feeling like the king of the stream.P.S. Why did the angler bring a ladder to the river? He heard the trout were on the rise.

The camera's version: The camera watched for 11.5 hours. First fish at 6:16 AM, last at 5:37 PM. 249 fish-minutes in all, busiest around 4 PM. Up to 5 fish in view at once. 479 feeding moves, 95 with food drifting in. A fish held the seam 137 times. The water went muddy for a while. Something spooked the fish 7 times (a shadow overhead). Visitors: Finnegan (24 sightings), plus 347 unidentified. 19 Sky-voice messages came in.

The river's fact-check:

The waterfall ran at its usual pace.

Best moment of the day on the trout cam

249 fish-minutes, busiest around 4 PM, 479 feeding moves, most fish at once: 5, first fish 6:16 AM, last 5:37 PM.

Sky-voice of the day (a nameless Sky-voice, self-reported): "is rain coming this week"

Rumors from the riverbank

YourName: "..." (unverified)
YourName: "mostly gone south" (unverified)
YourName: "still around" (unverified)

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