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.

Friday, November 6, 2026

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

Dear Diary, today was a whirlwind of excitement and near-misses in my esteemed seam-holding career. I'm not one to brag, but I held the seam for what felt like an eternity, with the roof roaring above me and the rock company keeping me grounded. A Sky-voice even deigned to speak to me, its booming voice echoing off the water as it warned of impending doom - or so I like to think. I heard rumors from the riverbank of a monstrous fish lurking in the depths, of a legendary fly that could tempt even the most discerning trout, and of a secret underwater cave hidden behind the waterfall, filled with chocolate milk and treasure. As I drifted on the upflow, I felt the weight of my years, but the downflow of memories kept me company, reminding me of all the times I've outsmarted those pesky fishermen and snagged the choicest grubs.P.S. How do trout keep up with the news? They follow current events.

The camera's version: The camera watched for 11.1 hours. First fish at 6:39 AM, last at 5:40 PM. 315 fish-minutes in all, busiest around 9 AM. Up to 5 fish in view at once. 505 feeding moves, 72 with food drifting in. A fish held the seam 179 times. The water stayed clear. Something spooked the fish 8 times (a shadow overhead). Visitors: Finnegan (50 sightings), Speckles (6 sightings), Pebble (3 sightings), plus 254 unidentified. 5 Sky-voice messages came in.

The river's fact-check:

The camera saw no people today. (Viewers on the internet don't count. Probably.)
The water stayed clear. The chocolate milk was imaginary.
The waterfall ran at its usual pace.

Best moment of the day on the trout cam

315 fish-minutes, busiest around 9 AM, 505 feeding moves, most fish at once: 5, first fish 6:39 AM, last 5:40 PM.

Sky-voice of the day (YourName, self-reported): "clue about facing upstream"

Rumors from the riverbank

YourName: "the stonefly nymph" (unverified)
YourName: "..." (unverified)
YourName: "..." (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.