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.

Tuesday, November 10, 2026

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

Dear Diary, today was a day of legend, with the roof roaring above me and the water churning with a fury that would make even the most seasoned trout tremble. I held the seam with a strength and cunning that has become the stuff of myth, fending off a veritable army of interlopers and pretenders to my throne. A Sky-voice boomed down from above, no doubt to pay homage to my greatness, and I heard rumors from the riverbank of a monstrous fish lurking in the depths, of a secret underwater cave system, and of a legendary fishing lure that can catch even the sliest of trout. Meanwhile, I was forced to endure the company of those insufferable visitors, Finnegan and Speckles, who no doubt came to marvel at my majesty and bask in the glory of my presence. Despite the chaos and commotion, I managed to snag a few choice morsels of grub, and I must say, it was a day that will be etched in my memory forever, a testament to my unyielding dominance of this stretch of water.P.S. What do you call a trout with no eyes? A trt.

The camera's version: The camera watched for 11 hours. First fish at 6:46 AM, last at 5:35 PM. 208 fish-minutes in all, busiest around 7 AM. Up to 5 fish in view at once. 488 feeding moves, 92 with food drifting in. A fish held the seam 191 times. The water went muddy for a while. Something spooked the fish 24 times (a shadow overhead). Visitors: Finnegan (5 sightings), Speckles (3 sightings), Pebble (1 sighting), Rusty (1 sighting), plus 490 unidentified. 6 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

208 fish-minutes, busiest around 7 AM, 488 feeding moves, most fish at once: 5, first fish 6:46 AM, last 5:35 PM.

Sky-voice of the day (YourName, self-reported): "clue about going deep in winter"

Rumors from the riverbank

YourName: "no, it looks dry" (confirmed by the river)
YourName: "..." (unverified)
YourName: "not yet, still mild" (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.