Otis Fishing Report for August 7, 2023
At 12:27 a.m. Katmai time (yes, I’m sure this time zone!), Otis arrives to fish. He curves around toward the Sandbar and then lands in his Office — quite happy that it’s unoccupied (probably).
About 1:00 a.m., Brooks Falls cam zooms in, and there’s our boy, alert and eager for the sweet and savory taste of a big juicy salmon. The cam stayed zoomed in a while — no fish — and then zoomed out — no visibility — and then back in. Otis is here for some time, but it looks like no fish are lucky enough to be consumed by the most famous bear at Katmai this morning.
Some time after dark (this is how I avoid time zone math), it looks like the Otis Pixels may have walked toward Alice’s. When Brooks cam zooms in again, he’s not in his Office. We will assert that Otis needs no *beauty* rest, but we won’t begrudge him naps (so long as the fish aren’t jumping).
Just before 8:00 a.m. Katmai time, we see just a hint of a blonde floppy ear on Brooks Falls Low cam. Based on that floppy ear, location, body language, and a strong belief that his pixels left the Falls via the Far Path in the middle of the night, we’re betting it’s Otis. Brooks Falls cam zooms, and we have confirmation!
About 15 minutes later, he’s rewarded with a FISH! And 15 minutes after that, another — HOLY MOLY (is not exactly what I said) look at the size of that thing (I did say this part) — FISH! Judge for yourself in this GIF by SuspectCelery from Riffles cam.
Quite some time later, Otis gets a workout for his face taming this wild and wiggly fish, as evidenced by this GIF captured by SuspectCelery at Riffles cam.
And then later in the afternoon, while your counter was otherwise occupied with a client meltdown, LunaCre and MamaPJ alerted us to another (thank you!), and we’re sure we saved the snap, but can’t find it — so witnessed, but can’t prove it. 😀
Nearing 2:30 p.m., the other boy bears are trying to convince Otis to partake of cigars, whiskey, and — the worst thing — conversation (probably). Otis says no deal and leaves for naps up the Far Path. User MaryM Otis 2016 captured and shared this GIF from Brooks Falls cam of a very spry Otis springing up that Path.
Total Fish Count on the day (so far) 4 Fish + 1 Scrap. Not the fishiest day ever, but there’s nothing skinny about 21,000 calories!
As we bid you wishes for fishes this evening, we offer this: A preview of Otis’ 2024 Buff Bear Calendar photo shoot. ♥
Footnote: One chatter says they saw Otis with a large catch yesterday afternoon and another says two in the midnight hours. I can’t confirm, so they are not counted here (sorry; I need to see them with my own eyeballs).
Bear cam images in this post are copyright National Park Service and/or Explore.org
