Otis Fishing Report for August 12, 2023
Picking up where we left off, Otis arrived at the Falls at 11:26 p.m. Katmai time August 11, and like a conscientious Katmai King would, Otis starts this day in his Office eager to inspect fish. We’re barely past 30 minutes into the new day, and this is fish No. 5 already on Brooks Falls cam!
After about 30 minutes of feeling like his Office was a no-fish zone, Otis tries the Conveyor. That lasts a (short) hot minute, and he returns to his Office — to catch this Monster of a Fish. O_o (As this is a family channel, we won’t repeat the words that fell out of our mouth at the size of it!!) There are several more this size in this session — worry not about today’s calories, folks!
Speaking of calories, it’s been mentioned that the average for these salmon is about 4,500 calories. That number is a few years old AND Alaska Department of Fish and Game + two other sources indicated that the average fish this year are running upwards of 5 pounds (we were using 4.5 pounds the last couple of years). Therefore, we upped the calorie count to 5,000 per fish for Otis’ Magic Workbook — and seeing the size of them most days, we are probably under estimating.
Back to our story… Brooks Falls cam switches to the Midnight Lip Fishers, and As The Cams Turn, we shift our attention to Riffles. This has always been one of our favorite views of Otis. ♥ Otis continues to catch fish, as we continue to count fish.
Oh, forgive us one more sidebar: We tend to have blinders on when we’re watching Otis fish. Otherwise, we would get distracted by something sparkly and miscount. Today, however, we can’t help but notice that Grazer has played through multiple times. She comes into the frame, grabs a fish, leaves, and repeats. We counted 9 play-throughs for her! No wonder she’s so darned fat!
The pace slows in daylight hours, but Otis continues to catch fish and we continue to count fish, albeit at a slower pace now Thanks to Gwynne for catching this one on Brooks Falls cam.
Otis takes a load off while continuing to fish and develops an adorable case of the Salmon Hiccups. Thanks to Suspect Celery for the Brooks Falls GIF.
Just after noon, 151 Walker comes in hot from above the Falls and displaces Otis because he can. But the trick’s on Walker because, honestly, Otis doesn’t give a salmon scrap about who’s in charge. 😉
Following Walker’s arrival, Otis heads toward the Platform side and walks off for much needed snoozles. Or does he? Ten minutes later, he comes right back the same way he left!
Brooks Falls Low went to highlights right after that shot and both Riffles and Brooks Falls were otherwise angled, so we can’t say for sure where Otis went afterwards, but we’ve not seen him on cams. Perhaps he just needed to tinkle and went right back to naps. 🙂 And THAT, my friends, is where we guess Otis still is — in Snoozle Land as of 12:30 p.m. today.
So far for August 12, Otis’ fish count is 29 Fish — all caught before 9:00 a.m. today. When he comes back, we’ll be ready, willing, and counting! In the meantime, wishes for fishes and fat bear dreams! ♥
Bear cam images in this post are copyright National Park Service and/or Explore.org
