Terms of Service

Welcome to Steelhead Almanac. By accessing or using steelheadalmanac.com (the "Site"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site.

ChatGPT conditions and preparation plugin

This plugin supplies informational public evidence for supported Great Lakes tributaries in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, plus preparation-guide excerpts. It does not provide private reports, accounts, saved trips, notifications, booking, checkout or verified routes and parking. It does not certify regulations, lawful access, future fishing success or safe wading. Current official weather, access and fishing authorities and actual local conditions must be checked separately.

Answers should show the latest reported flow with its actual observation time and source. A prominent age warning normally applies when a gauge observation is more than two hours old. Missing or invalid times, explicit source problems and proxy limitations may also require warnings. This two-hour presentation threshold is not a scientific guarantee of timeliness, accuracy, fishability or safety. Retrieval and cache times never renew a measurement's observation time. Estimated clarity and borrowed observations are distinct from local measurements.

Shared service limits initially allow up to 500 admitted tool calls per UTC day, 20 per minute and two active executions, with up to four bounded waiting requests. There is also a shared budget of 250 uncached source attempts per UTC day and 120 MCP HTTP requests per minute. A single conversation may make multiple calls. All users share these ceilings; there is no reserved individual allocation or guaranteed availability. These limits are separate from each person's applicable ChatGPT allowance. The runtime does not call a paid model API on the operator's behalf; this is not a promise that a user's ChatGPT plan has unlimited usage.

Sources, guide snapshots and service capacity may be incomplete, delayed or temporarily unavailable. Guide excerpts are not proof of a complete editorial review or current regulations. The plugin itself does not sell or process payments. Cited website pages retain their existing affiliate and third-party disclosures.

Directory and rig/loadout tools: next-version scope and limits

These terms describe the next-version planning service, whose limits differ from the conditions-only release described above. The river directory covers tracked Great Lakes reaches in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. Its review dates and gauge metadata describe a dated source audit, not current flow, legal access or parking availability. Brandy Run is correctly located in Pennsylvania in the directory; its live conditions are excluded while an upstream geography conflict remains.

Regional observations are unranked samples: up to three rivers for one region, or up to one river from each supported region for a combined sample of four. Responses disclose coverage and omissions. Sample membership is not a recommendation, and missing observations do not establish an absence of fish or water. Each reported observation retains its source time; retrieval, cache and summary-assembly times do not renew a measurement. Proxy flow and derived clarity are not local measurements.

The rig/loadout preset is a general Lake Erie spinning fixed-float starting point for bank fishing or considering wading. It does not cover Lake Ontario rigs, fly, centerpin, slip-float or water-specific tuning. The component order is conceptual, not a complete knot diagram. Compare any example sizes with actual equipment ratings and current destination rules. A reported item is not certified compatible, and ownership that was not reported does not mean an item is missing or must be bought.

Preparation advice is supported by selected public guide excerpts and their original source links. It does not establish current rules, lawful access, weather, safe footing or a safe crossing. Waders, a belt or a staff do not establish safety or replace an activity-appropriate life jacket. Conditions and equipment cannot certify safe wading, future fishing success, a driving limit or an open parking lot.

The next-version service has shared ceilings of 150 admitted tool calls per UTC day, 20 per minute and two active executions with a bounded wait queue. It also has a shared budget of 50 uncached source operations per UTC day and 120 admitted MCP requests per minute. These are shared service limits, not individual allocations. One conversation may use several tools, and a cached result can still consume a tool call. Daily budgets reset at midnight UTC; the corresponding local time changes with daylight saving. Follow any retry time shown.

These service limits are separate from your ChatGPT account allowance. No reserved capacity or unlimited availability is promised. This release provides no saved gear or trips, reminders, bookings, checkout, purchases, prices, private accounts or private reports. Cited website pages retain their own affiliate and third-party disclosures.

1. Use of the Site

Steelhead Almanac provides editorial content, real-time river conditions, gear recommendations, and other information related to steelhead and fly fishing in the Great Lakes region. The Site is provided for informational and educational purposes only.

You agree to use the Site lawfully and not to:

• Use the Site for any unlawful purpose
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any portion of the Site
• Interfere with the proper working of the Site
• Scrape, copy, or republish content without permission
• Use automated systems to access the Site in a way that sends more requests than a human reasonably could

2. River Conditions and Fishing Recommendations Disclaimer

River flow data, weather forecasts, fishing recommendations, and Almanac Briefings displayed on this Site are derived from public sources (USGS Water Services, National Weather Service) and automated analysis. This information is provided as-is and without warranty.

You acknowledge that:

• Real-time data may be delayed, inaccurate, or unavailable
• Fishing recommendations are estimates based on weather and historical patterns, not guarantees
• Conditions on the water can change rapidly and unpredictably
• Wading and fishing in rivers carries inherent risks including drowning, hypothermia, and injury
• You are solely responsible for your safety, your decisions on the water, and compliance with all fishing regulations and licensing requirements

Always check current conditions on the water, fish with a partner when possible, wear appropriate safety gear (including a wading belt), and verify regulations with your state's fish and wildlife agency before fishing.

3. Affiliate Links

This Site contains affiliate links. Steelhead Almanac is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, AvantLink, and other affiliate programs. We earn commissions on qualifying purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. Affiliate links are marked with rel="nofollow sponsored" per FTC guidelines.

4. Intellectual Property

All content on this Site — including articles, photographs, river analysis, Almanac Briefings, illustrations, and code — is the property of Steelhead Almanac or its content providers and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws.

You may share excerpts and links to our content for personal, non-commercial use, provided you give proper attribution. Republishing entire articles, scraping content, or using content for commercial purposes without written permission is prohibited.

Some images, logos, and trademarks appearing on the Site belong to their respective owners and are used for editorial purposes only.

5. Third-Party Content and Links

The Site features content from and links to third-party websites (USGS, NWS, fly shops, guides, gear retailers, etc.). We do not control these third parties and are not responsible for their content, availability, accuracy, or practices. Featured business listings are provided as a convenience and do not constitute an endorsement.

6. User Accounts and Content

You may create a free account to access personalized features. By registering, you agree to provide accurate information and keep your password secure. You are responsible for all activity under your account.

You retain ownership of your fishing reports and other submitted content. You grant Steelhead Almanac a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to store and display fishing reports according to your selected audience. Members-only and Only me reports will not be redistributed on public pages or social media. Separate Pulse permission allows editorial consideration of a regional summary without your identity, photos, exact spot, or report text; it does not authorize publication of the underlying restricted report. We reserve the right to remove content that violates these terms or is otherwise objectionable.

7. Social Media and Data Sharing

We operate a Facebook Page and may post automated daily conditions updates using aggregated, non-personal river data. We do not share your personal account information on social media. If you interact with our social media pages, those interactions are governed by the respective platform's terms and privacy policy.

8. Affiliate Links

This site contains affiliate links to products on third-party retailers such as Amazon. When you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. All transactions are handled entirely by the retailer. We do not process payments, handle shipping, or manage returns — those are governed by the retailer's policies.

9. Disclaimer of Warranties

The Site is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. We do not warrant that the Site will be uninterrupted, secure, error-free, or that any information will be accurate or complete.

10. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Steelhead Almanac and its operators shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to loss of profits, data, or use, arising out of or related to your use of the Site, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

This includes, without limitation, any injury, damage, or loss arising from reliance on river conditions, fishing recommendations, or any other content displayed on the Site.

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Steelhead Almanac, its operators, employees, and affiliates from any claim, demand, loss, or damage arising out of your use of the Site or your violation of these terms.

12. Privacy

Your use of the Site is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these terms by reference.

13. Changes to These Terms

We may revise these Terms of Service at any time. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of the Site after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.

14. Governing Law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Ohio, United States, without regard to conflict of laws principles. Any disputes shall be resolved in the courts of Stark County, Ohio.

15. Contact Us

Questions about these terms? Contact us at info@steelheadalmanac.com.