Otis Fishing Report for October 18, 2023: At 4:39 p.m. Katmai time on Riffles cam, we see movement at the top of the Falls. Unmistakable movement: It belongs to Otis. Guess who’s coming Down the Fish Ladder!! (We’re 12 Up/8 Down now for 2023 — balance is within reach!) Tip of the Day: Dust off your magnifying glass!
He takes the Sandbar for a spin and learns the Salmon Buffet is closed today. Ah, such is a bear’s life! He ambles toward the Near Bank, sniffing the air and enjoying the cool Fall evening.
He continues his meander, still sniffing for fish, hugging the bank as heads toward the River.
At 4:46 p.m., we pick him up on Brooks Falls cam. We may well be in a hurry for our boy to get a fish, but he’s in no hurry at all. That’s our Otis. 🙂
The Sun Gods have kissed the solar panels, so Kat’s River View is up and running (YAY!), and we’re expecting Otis there next. Neither he nor our CamOp disappoint — we spy Otis under the Bridge and, by George, he appears to be eating!
We get a close-up, and it’s confirmed — eats!
No telling whether it was wiggling or not, but the Alices were super excited, and we heard Otis exclaim, “GET OFF MY LAWN!” in this GIF by FloppyRightEar, so it coulda been a wiggler!!
Then Otis high-tails it (in a methodical, slow, Otis-sort-of way) into the River, and that’s where we suppose he is this very minute. Total fish count for October 18 1 DOA from start to finish (which was just 49 minutes).
And that’s where we call it a day and send you (and the bears) Wishes for Fishes and a Sparkly Sunshiny Day — it’s working — keep it up, my friends! ♥
P.S. Please feel free to tag us, if you have an Otis Sighting to report — you know by now it’s time for snoozles here. 😉
Bear cam images in this post are copyright National Park Service and/or Explore.org
The Otis Fishing and not any fishes to reports are the highlight of my day. I like Otis am old and slow and look for one wiggly fish or DOA fish at a time. Thank you so much for your witty writings and photos of King Otis. Your reports are far superior to the official reports by Mike and park employees. If Otis and I survive our winter hibernation I hope to again read your great reports in the spring!!!
Aw, thank you, Anita! Sending up good vibes for you and Otis both! Happy Hibernation!