MathFish

Blue Liner Flows Review | USGS Stream Gauges

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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.


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Trout Carvings - January 2021 by MathFish

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Just sharing my newest fish carvings. Last weekend, I started 3 fish and carved them on and off throughout the week. This weekend, I painted all three. It was a nice way to spend some time inside watching the snow happen out my window.

The first trout was a brookie carving I made as a thank you gift for a friend of mine who really helped me out this past fall. I based it off of a trout I caught a few years ago. I'm happy with how it turned out and I almost wanted to keep it for myself.


The brookie that the carving is based on

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Here is the painted carving.



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Next, I decided to make a California Golden Trout. This carving is based off of photos I found online of them. I made a pinewood derby car of one of these trout, but this is my first attempt at carving the fish without wheels. This fish took my about 4 hours to paint. I told my wife that I plan to one day get out fish for these.


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