Traveling more than an hour to go fly fishing often requires some planning. Weather and water levels are the two most important variables to understand before heading out. Everyone has their favorite weather apps, but this year more than ever, having a good understanding of water levels has been non-negotiable.
All water level data originates from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Surface-Water Data, which monitors over 13,000 stream gauges across the U.S. and more than 350 in Pennsylvania. The USGS has been transitioning to a new online interface over the past five-plus years. The updated look and feel have left some old features behind while adding new ones. I hate it.
So, I’ve been on the hunt for a desktop and mobile app that delivers USGS backend data through a clean, easy-to-use interface. Blue Liner Flows offers a solid solution for iPhone, iPad and Mac users, with apps built for both platforms. Most importantly, favorites and preferences sync across devices. There’s a free version, but I’ll be reviewing the $6.99 annual paid version.
Key features include: favorites, state selection, map view, latest data overview, discharge in CFS, discharge in feet, average annual discharge, various time views, weather forecasts, alerts, temperatures (station-dependent), turbidity (station-dependent), and other data specific to each gauge.
I found the app very easy to set up on my Mac. Once configured, all my favorites and alerts synced automatically to my iPhone. You don’t need both devices—an iPhone alone works just fine. I especially liked navigating between the state, favorites, and map views. It’s fast and intuitive. Most views display the key information I’m looking for, including directional arrows indicating whether water levels are rising or falling.
Well, another season has come and gone in the Catskills. What a perfect way to end it. Beautiful surroundings, food, friends and fishing. Reports leading up to our trip were very promising but it appears that we were a few days late in hitting the hot fishing.
Thursday started off by picking up Brandon's disabled boat and taking it for a short float with Josh and Nick. Quite possibly the best question of the trip came from NickR as we were leaving the car. "I don't need my rain jacket, do I?" 2 minutes after launching the boat we had a pouring rain for 30 minutes. I think it's a safe bet that he never asks that question again. 🙂
Some of the crew rolled in Thursday evening and we met up at the motel. I'd like to say that we formulated a plan on attack for the following day but we drank beer and did a little BS-ing.
Friday involved a trip on the lower EB. Me, Josh and new / future forum member Tom from Jersey were in one boat while DaveS and NickR put his boat to good use. The water was slightly stained and the fishing was tough but not as tough as what we experienced at the Fishes Eddy access. As we neared the slow bend in the river, we heard guys shooting semi-automatics on the hill. We were trying to guess if they were AK-47, Mini-14 or AR-15's. Just about that time, bullets began ricocheting over our heads and striking the far bank. The idiots were shooting down hill and directly at the river. We dropped to the floor of the boat and waited for a break in the shooting. I rowed like hell to get us out of there. As we looked back, we could see Dave and Nick coming into the pool. Nick was nymphing the seam as they floated. Still shaking, we met up on the near bank behind a rock bluff. Everyone seemed to be well aware of how dangerous that was except Nick. He asked if we saw the fish rising between the boats. We said "those were bullets hitting the water!". I don't even remember how the fishing was that day but was happy to...
