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.

Saturday, November 7, 2026

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

Dear Diary, what a day it has been! I held the seam a record number of times, fending off all comers and keeping my spot under the ledge safe from those pesky intruders. The roof was roaring, or at least it felt like it, as the water tumbled over the rocks above me. I had a visit from a Sky-voice, who told me the most fantastical tales of fishy heroism and daring feats - I'm pretty sure it was talking about me, of course. Meanwhile, I heard rumors from the riverbank about a monstrous fish lurking in the depths, a legendary fly that can catch any trout, and a secret underwater cave system that only the bravest fish dare to explore - I'm not sure I believe any of it, but it's fun to imagine. As I settled in for the night, I sipped on some chocolate milk-colored water and felt grateful for another day of rock company and Grub drops.P.S. Why did the trout turn down the free worm? It smelled a hook in the deal.

The camera's version: The camera watched for 10.9 hours. First fish at 6:39 AM, last at 5:38 PM. 353 fish-minutes in all, busiest around 9 AM. Up to 5 fish in view at once. 499 feeding moves, 79 with food drifting in. A fish held the seam 164 times. The water stayed clear. Something spooked the fish 9 times (a shadow overhead). Visitors: Finnegan (66 sightings), Pebble (3 sightings), Speckles (3 sightings), plus 196 unidentified. 9 Sky-voice messages came in.

The river's fact-check:

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

353 fish-minutes, busiest around 9 AM, 499 feeding moves, most fish at once: 5, first fish 6:39 AM, last 5:38 PM.

Sky-voice of the day (YourName, self-reported): "clue about waiting for the drift"

Rumors from the riverbank

YourName: "still around" (unverified)
YourName: "..." (unverified)
YourName: "..." (unverified)

Permalink · JSON

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