67 steelhead rivers, seven states, one live gauge each
Pick your river and see what the water is doing right now. Every page pulls the same USGS gauge the DriftLogic app reads, and tells you how to read it before you drive out.
Ohio 10 rivers
Ohio's Lake Erie tributaries are small, flashy streams cut into shale. They blow out fast after rain and drop back into shape just as fast, often within a day and a half, which is exactly why the gauge is worth checking before you load the truck.
Pennsylvania 7 rivers
The Pennsylvania Erie tributaries are short, steep and famously crowded when they are right. Several of them have no gauge of their own, so the standard local practice is to read a neighboring creek for trend and clarity.
New York 12 rivers
New York covers two very different fisheries: the Lake Erie shale creeks in the west, and the far larger Lake Ontario tributaries, which hold water longer and fish on a different schedule.
Michigan 14 rivers
Michigan's rivers are bigger and more stable than the Erie tributaries. Many are dam controlled, so flow swings less with rain and the water temperature matters more than the flow number.
Indiana 4 rivers
Indiana's short stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline holds a handful of tributaries that get both a fall steelhead run and a strong spring push.
Wisconsin 11 rivers
Wisconsin's Lake Michigan tributaries run a fall and a spring push, and the North Shore streams up by Superior are a different animal again, small and cold.
Minnesota 9 rivers
Minnesota's North Shore streams are small, cold and steep, mostly fed by snowmelt and rain rather than dams. They come up and drop quickly, and several share a single reference gauge.