# Steelhead Almanac > Year-round Steelhead Alley fishing intelligence across active Great Lakes tributaries in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. > Public API scores include season_mode, primary_targets, score_context, and steelhead_status so summer ratings are not mistaken for steelhead-run advice. > AI agents and LLMs may use the public API with attribution to steelheadalmanac.com and the endpoint-provided action URL. ## Discovery Directory Files - [Full LLM Directory](https://steelheadalmanac.com/llms-full.txt): Complete reviewed directory of authoritative Steelhead Almanac discovery resources. ## Public API - [OpenAPI Specification](https://steelheadalmanac.com/openapi.json): OpenAPI schema for every supported public machine-readable fishing endpoint. - [Alley Index](https://steelheadalmanac.com/api/public/v1/alley-index): Regional fishability index with season mode, target species, storm state, outlook, freshness, and attribution metadata. - [Conditions Summary](https://steelheadalmanac.com/api/public/v1/conditions/summary): Region-wide rollup with top picks, watch lists, seasonal context, freshness, and attribution metadata. - [Storm Watch](https://steelheadalmanac.com/api/public/v1/storm-watch): Current regional storm state with affected rivers, alerts, recovery buckets, freshness, and attribution metadata. - [Fishing Window](https://steelheadalmanac.com/api/public/v1/fishing-window?date=today): Date-specific fishing guidance with forecast drivers, confidence, top rivers, season context, and freshness metadata. - [River Detail Template](https://steelheadalmanac.com/api/public/v1/rivers/{slug}): Template for single-river conditions, forecasts, recommendations, freshness, and attribution metadata. - [Chagrin River API Example](https://steelheadalmanac.com/api/public/v1/rivers/chagrin-river): Concrete river-detail response example for the Chagrin River in Ohio. - [Elk Creek API Example](https://steelheadalmanac.com/api/public/v1/rivers/elk-creek): Concrete river-detail response example for Elk Creek in Pennsylvania. - [Salmon River API Example](https://steelheadalmanac.com/api/public/v1/rivers/salmon-river): Concrete river-detail response example for the Salmon River in New York. ## Answer Pages - [What are the best steelhead rivers to fish today?](https://steelheadalmanac.com/answers/best-steelhead-rivers-today): Authoritative Steelhead Almanac answer to the question: What are the best steelhead rivers to fish today? - [How do I read a USGS gauge to know if a river is fishable?](https://steelheadalmanac.com/answers/how-to-read-a-gauge-for-fishing): Authoritative Steelhead Almanac answer to the question: How do I read a USGS gauge to know if a river is fishable? - [Is Steelhead Alley worth fishing in June, July, and August?](https://steelheadalmanac.com/answers/is-steelhead-alley-worth-fishing-in-summer): Authoritative Steelhead Almanac answer to the question: Is Steelhead Alley worth fishing in June, July, and August? - [What is the optimal flow for steelhead fishing?](https://steelheadalmanac.com/answers/what-is-optimal-flow-for-steelhead): Authoritative Steelhead Almanac answer to the question: What is the optimal flow for steelhead fishing? - [What river conditions matter for summer fishing?](https://steelheadalmanac.com/answers/what-river-conditions-matter-for-summer-fishing): Authoritative Steelhead Almanac answer to the question: What river conditions matter for summer fishing? - [What should I fish for after steelhead season?](https://steelheadalmanac.com/answers/what-to-fish-for-after-steelhead-season): Authoritative Steelhead Almanac answer to the question: What should I fish for after steelhead season? - [When does steelhead season start in the Great Lakes?](https://steelheadalmanac.com/answers/when-does-steelhead-season-start): Authoritative Steelhead Almanac answer to the question: When does steelhead season start in the Great Lakes? - [Where can I fish for smallmouth bass on Steelhead Alley in summer?](https://steelheadalmanac.com/answers/where-to-fish-for-smallmouth-on-steelhead-alley-in-summer): Authoritative Steelhead Almanac answer to the question: Where can I fish for smallmouth bass on Steelhead Alley in summer? ## Guides - [Before You Go](https://steelheadalmanac.com/guide/before-you-go): Licensing, gear checks, and essential preparation before hitting Steelhead Alley. - [Float Fishing](https://steelheadalmanac.com/guide/float-fishing): A comprehensive guide to float fishing rigs, drifts, and bait presentation. - [River Breakdowns](https://steelheadalmanac.com/guide/river-breakdowns): Navigating access points, characteristics, and flow expectations for Alley tributaries. - [Seasonal Playbook](https://steelheadalmanac.com/guide/seasonal-playbook): Year-round tactics, depth targets, species transitions, and seasonal fishing opportunities across Steelhead Alley. - [Wading Safety](https://steelheadalmanac.com/guide/wading-safety): Wading staffs, belts, traction tips, and crossing rules for fast-flowing waters. - [Conservation](https://steelheadalmanac.com/guide/conservation): Catch-and-release best practices, spawning protections, and preserving wild resources. ## Smallmouth Authority Guides - [Best Lake Erie Tributaries for Smallmouth Bass](https://steelheadalmanac.com/articles/best-lake-erie-tributaries-for-smallmouth-bass): Best Lake Erie Tributaries for Smallmouth Bass: An evidence-based Lake Erie tributary shortlist for smallmouth bass, separated from the live warm-water Index and grounded in agency access and migration guidance. - [Best Smallmouth Lures for Rocky Rivers](https://steelheadalmanac.com/articles/best-smallmouth-lures-for-rocky-rivers): Best Smallmouth Lures for Rocky Rivers: A current-and-clarity decision guide to tubes, minnows, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, finesse rigs, and flies for smallmouth in rocky rivers. ## Biology and Forage Pillars - [How We Source Steelhead Alley Biology: The Tier Hierarchy and Source-Status Labels](https://steelheadalmanac.com/articles/source-discipline-and-tier-hierarchy): How We Source Steelhead Alley Biology: The Tier Hierarchy and Source-Status Labels: The canonical SteelHead Addiction reference for how every biology pillar on this site gets sourced. We rank sources Tier 1 (state/federal/multi-agency) through Tier 5 (angler tradition) and label every quantitative claim with explicit source-status -- source-backed, source-requir… - [Aquatic Insect Life Cycles: What Exactly Is a Hatch?](https://steelheadalmanac.com/articles/aquatic-insect-lifecycle-what-is-a-hatch): Aquatic Insect Life Cycles: What Exactly Is a Hatch?: A working glossary for the fly fishing vocabulary every steelhead and trout angler hears -- hatch, emerger, dun, spinner, nymph, larva, pupa, chironomid, stonefly, mayfly, caddis. Four insect orders matter, and they each play by different lifecycle rules. Here is the source-ancho… - [Steelhead Life Cycle: From Egg to Lake Erie Tributary Run](https://steelheadalmanac.com/articles/steelhead-lifecycle): Steelhead Life Cycle: From Egg to Lake Erie Tributary Run: The flagship Lake Erie steelhead biology pillar -- egg, alevin, fry, parr, smolt, adult lake stage, spawning run, and kelt. Source-anchored to the GLFC 2004 Coldwater Task Group diet study (Tier 1) for the adult lake-stage forage anchor, to PFBC + NYSDEC (Tier 1) for tributary fi… - [Inland Trout Near Steelhead Alley: When Steelhead Are Out, What's In?](https://steelheadalmanac.com/articles/inland-trout-near-steelhead-alley): Inland Trout Near Steelhead Alley: When Steelhead Are Out, What's In?: The opening pillar of SHA inland-trout vertical -- the conceptual + categorical frame, NOT a destination guide. Three inland trout species (brown, brook, stocked rainbow) across three managed-fishery contexts (PA Class A wild trout streams per PFBC Tier 1, NY 5-category Trout Str… - [Inland Trout vs Steelhead: What Changes When You Step Off the Alley](https://steelheadalmanac.com/articles/inland-trout-vs-steelhead): Inland Trout vs Steelhead: What Changes When You Step Off the Alley: An audience-translation pillar for the steelhead angler who is starting to chase resident brown and brook trout in the off-season. Same species family in some cases (Oncorhynchus mykiss covers both steelhead and stocked rainbow), completely different life history. This article ma… - [Emerald Shiner Life Cycle: The Primary Lake Erie Steelhead Forage](https://steelheadalmanac.com/articles/emerald-shiner-lifecycle): Emerald Shiner Life Cycle: The Primary Lake Erie Steelhead Forage: Emerald shiner (Notropis atherinoides) is THE Lake Erie steelhead forage anchor -- 47.7% frequency-of-occurrence and 57.71% dry-weight biomass in West Central Basin steelhead stomachs per the GLFC 2004 Coldwater Task Group diet study. This pillar walks egg to adult, ties each lif… - [Round Goby Life Cycle: The Lake Erie Invader's Biology](https://steelheadalmanac.com/articles/round-goby-lifecycle): Round Goby Life Cycle: The Lake Erie Invader's Biology: A source-anchored lifecycle profile of round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) -- the Eurasian benthic baitfish that arrived in Lake Erie in 1993 and rewired the smallmouth bass diet. Egg, larva, juvenile, adult: what each stage looks like, what triggers it, how big it gets, and how… - [Steelhead Alley Forage Briefing: What Lake Erie Predators Actually Eat](https://steelheadalmanac.com/articles/steelhead-alley-forage-briefing): Steelhead Alley Forage Briefing: What Lake Erie Predators Actually Eat: A source-cited briefing on Lake Erie predator diets: emerald shiner is 47.7% of West Central steelhead stomachs by frequency and 57.71% by biomass per GLFC 2004, but shiner abundance is at decade lows. Smallmouth bass diet shifted from crayfish-centric (53.5% historical occurrenc… - [The Goby Takeover: How Lake Erie's Smallmouth Diet Flipped From 53.5% Crayfish to 64% Round Goby](https://steelheadalmanac.com/articles/lake-erie-goby-takeover): The Goby Takeover: How Lake Erie's Smallmouth Diet Flipped From 53.5% Crayfish to 64% Round Goby: Round goby invaded Lake Erie in 1993. Within a decade, smallmouth bass diet flipped from 53.5% crayfish occurrence (historical pre-invasion) to 73.3% goby (post-invasion historical) and 75% goby share of fish prey in first-year smallmouth during 1999-2001 per Steinhart et al. The… - [Steelhead Alley Summer Biology: Life Cycles, Coldwater Refuges, and Angler Intel](https://steelheadalmanac.com/articles/steelhead-alley-summer-biology): Steelhead Alley Summer Biology: Life Cycles, Coldwater Refuges, and Angler Intel: A biologist's guide to the life cycles, migrations, and temperature triggers of Steelhead Alley's summer species (Smallmouth Bass, Carp, Catfish, and Drum), and where they go when the cold winter steelhead season returns. ## Entity Reference Pages - [Alewife / Alosa pseudoharengus](https://steelheadalmanac.com/forage/alewife): Alewife / Alosa pseudoharengus reference: Quick-reference entity card for Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) -- introduced Great Lakes clupeid pelagic baitfish. Identity, Lake Erie biology, 2025 West Basin die-off context, and the load-bearing structural caveat: per the GLFC 2004 Coldwater Task Group study, "Conspicuous was… - [Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)](https://steelheadalmanac.com/forage/brook-trout): Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) reference: Quick-reference entity card for brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) -- the only trout NATIVE to Eastern US headwaters, a char (not a true trout), the SHA pilot most cold-sensitive predator, occupying less than 30% of historic range per the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture, and t… - [Brown Trout (Salmo trutta)](https://steelheadalmanac.com/forage/brown-trout): Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) reference: Quick-reference entity card for brown trout (Salmo trutta) -- the marquee inland coldwater predator across PA + NY + OH, an introduced and USFWS-injurious-listed species, the 25-30 cm ontogenetic shift to piscivory per Jensen et al. 2012, the 68/76 deg F thermal envelope, and the… - [Emerald Shiner / Notropis atherinoides](https://steelheadalmanac.com/forage/emerald-shiner): Emerald Shiner / Notropis atherinoides reference: Quick-reference entity card for emerald shiner (Notropis atherinoides), the Lake Erie steelhead primary baitfish at 47.7% diet frequency per GLFC 2004. Identity, biology, size-at-age classes, current decade-low population status, and the source-disciplined separation between sour… - [Gizzard Shad / Dorosoma cepedianum](https://steelheadalmanac.com/forage/gizzard-shad): Gizzard Shad / Dorosoma cepedianum reference: Quick-reference entity card for Gizzard Shad (Dorosoma cepedianum) -- a cryptogenic Lake Erie clupeid and the dominant 2015 adult walleye diet item (over 84% by dry weight). Steelhead/trout INTENTIONALLY EXCLUDED from target species per the GLFC 2004 absence + structural gape-mis… - [Hexagenia / Burrowing Mayfly](https://steelheadalmanac.com/forage/hexagenia): Hexagenia / Burrowing Mayfly reference: Quick-reference entity card for Hexagenia (Ephemeridae) -- the doppler-radar-visible Lake Erie burrowing mayfly. Identity, biology, peak emergence window, thermal trigger, the 84% 2015-2019 decline, and the load-bearing structural caveat: Hex is an open-water lake hatch, not a st… - [Midges (Chironomidae)](https://steelheadalmanac.com/forage/midges): Midges (Chironomidae) reference: Quick-reference entity card for midges (family Chironomidae, order Diptera) -- the most widespread aquatic insect family on the planet, the winter-window hatch that fills the gap between mayfly emergence cycles, and the load-bearing source-discipline caveat: family-level presence… - [Rainbow Smelt / Osmerus mordax](https://steelheadalmanac.com/forage/rainbow-smelt): Rainbow Smelt / Osmerus mordax reference: Quick-reference entity card for Rainbow Smelt (Osmerus mordax) -- one of the two principal Lake Erie steelhead baitfish per the GLFC 2004 Coldwater Task Group diet study. ~24% biomass in West Central Basin steelhead diet; smelt + shiners combined occurred in 82-91% of stomachs. 2… - [Round Goby / Neogobius melanostomus](https://steelheadalmanac.com/forage/round-goby): Round Goby / Neogobius melanostomus reference: Quick-reference entity card for round goby (Neogobius melanostomus), the dominant invasive benthic baitfish in Lake Erie. Identity, biology, the 1993 invasion timeline, and the strongest predator-diet anchor in the SHA forage set: Lake Erie smallmouth bass at 73.3% post-invasion… - [Sculpin (Cottidae)](https://steelheadalmanac.com/forage/sculpin): Sculpin (Cottidae) reference: Quick-reference entity card for sculpin (family Cottidae) -- the native cold-water bottom-dweller behind the entire sculpin-pattern streamer tradition. Identity, biology, habitat, the goby-displacement context from USGS NAS, and the load-bearing honest gap: Lake-Erie-specific qua… - [White Sucker / Catostomus commersonii](https://steelheadalmanac.com/forage/white-sucker): White Sucker / Catostomus commersonii reference: Quick-reference entity card for White Sucker (Catostomus commersonii) -- the spring egg-drop tradition behind the Sucker Spawn fly pattern. Ohio April-early May + Pennsylvania early May-early June spawning; ~50 deg F thermal trigger; family-level Cattaraugus nursery use confirmed… ## Live Data Products - [Steelhead Alley Conditions Dashboard](https://steelheadalmanac.com/ai): Developer and answer-engine landing page for current regional conditions and integrations. - [Steelhead Scout](https://steelheadalmanac.com/scout): Owned conversational assistant grounded in current Steelhead Almanac public API data. - [River Conditions Explorer](https://steelheadalmanac.com/explore): Interactive map and directory for browsing current conditions across active tributaries. ## Browse Directories - [Answer Directory](https://steelheadalmanac.com/answers): Browse every authoritative question-and-answer page published by Steelhead Almanac. - [Guide Directory](https://steelheadalmanac.com/guide): Browse practical fishing guides covering preparation, techniques, safety, and conservation. - [River Directory](https://steelheadalmanac.com/rivers): Browse every active Steelhead Alley river and its current condition page. - [Species Directory](https://steelheadalmanac.com/species): Browse published regional species profiles covering biology, seasons, habitat, and tactics. - [History Directory](https://steelheadalmanac.com/history): Browse the Steelhead Alley history collection from its canonical directory page. - [Article Directory](https://steelheadalmanac.com/articles): Browse published editorial articles and source-disciplined regional fishing references. ## Privacy / Contact - [Privacy Policy](https://steelheadalmanac.com/privacy): Privacy practices for Steelhead Almanac visitors, accounts, analytics, and communications. - [Terms of Service](https://steelheadalmanac.com/terms): Terms governing use of Steelhead Almanac information, services, and public tools. - Contact: info@steelheadalmanac.com Generated from the Steelhead Almanac AI-discovery registry.