Digital data can guide steelheaders to hot spots ... or warn
them to stay at home A U.S. Geological Survey monitoring station
is positioned below the Manchester Road bridge on Walnut Creek
in Erie County. Data automatically posted on the Internet can
alert anglers about water conditions. Share with others: When
lake-bound steelheads feel the urge to reproduce, the chemical
scent of their particular nursery waters triggers a series of
runs up those creeks in often-failed attempts to spawn. A high
flow rate increases the desire to travel upstream. When
Pittsburgh steelheaders feel the urge to angle, rising water on
Lake Erie tributaries triggers a series of runs up Interstate 79
in often-failed attempts to catch fish. High flow rates increase
the desire to travel north. But too much or too little flow can
lead to unrequited casting and a squandered tank of gas. Anglers
who understand how to use water and weather data available for
free on the Internet have a better chance of predicting when the
fish are moving,