Otis Fishing Report UPDATE for September 9, 2023: We left you at 2:00 p.m. Katmai time with Otis in the Lower River weaving in and out of the tall grasses on the hunt for DOAs. We looked and looked, but we didn’t see our boy until…
Around 7:15 p.m., we (er… CamOps, actually lol) spy him on Kat’s River View and zoom into our boy with this big ol’ DOA! For those curious as to how we determined it was a DOA: It’s in the middle of the River where it would be incredibly hard to catch a live fish, but also, no wiggle! No wiggle; no fish! 😉 (Because we’re so scientific here…)
About 30 minutes later, Otis swims under the Kat’s River View bridge and disappears off cam. We suppose he’s continuing to Meander Fish and, because we have a pretty positive-focused imagination, that he is feasting on DOAs as he enjoys the Fall Views and occasionally nods a little “how doya do” to the other bears he passes along the way.
And then a few minutes after that, we catch Otis on River Watch with what we presume is a DOA. And herein lies the reason Scraps and DOAs are the same calories in our counts. We *know* he’s eating, but… yes, that. 😉
About 8:45 p.m., Otis arrives, either from Down River or perhaps naps somewhere, and struts in looking calm (as always), cool, and confident, and on Brooks Falls cam.
He commences fishing and then remembers his adoring fans are watching. He looks up and gives us his best Humphrey Bogart smoky-eyed look and a long “Here’s looking at you, kid,” and then continues fishing.
A few minutes in, we get a POUNCE! And Otis comes up empty. The sun sets on Katmai and our boy remains fishless for some time. And then, with precision, he strikes again! And FISH! He looks up at us and says “Don’t fret, my friends! I’m eating!” (Probably.) Otis enjoys this monster fish from head to tail. He takes a seat and continues fishing, his belly a little fuller for his efforts.
Just after 10:30 p.m., Otis leaves his Office. CamOps follow him toward Alice’s (thank you!), and we see his cutie patootie hind end go up the Far Path. For those who don’t know Otis’ habits, he has a couple of napping spots behind the tree line on that side of the River he likes. In fact, he seems to favor them later in the season. For that reason, we presume he is off for well-deserved naps!
And then… just before midnight, Otis returns to his Office for a lil midnight snack, and this is where he is when the clock strikes midnight in Katmai! Total count for September 9 updated to 1 Fish + 6 DOAs on cam (and remember to multiply that by your favorite number for a more accurate count to include off-cam eats!).
And a little footnote before we sign off. 🙂 Now that it’s his typical Meander Fishing River Time, we have four cams to Rewind and follow each day — Brooks Falls, Kat’s River View, River Watch, and Riffles. We do our best, but we *may* miss a thing or two because it’s hard to fit 10-12 hours of Overnights x 4 cams into our day. If you see something exciting, feel free to tag me! And if I screw up a time here or there, please be forgiving — we are time-zone challenged!! ♥
Catching midnight to live now, and sending wishes for fishes, whether wiggling or waning, and until then here are some fun GIFs brought to you by SuspectCelery! 😉 ♥
Here’s Otis with a near BOOP by a slippery surprise salmon on River Watch cam.
And here’s Otis Ballerina Fishing in the River!
Bear cam images in this post are copyright National Park Service and/or Explore.org
