The Steelhead Alley Index

Summer Mode

Sunday, July 26, 2026

The Steelhead Alley Index is in Summer Mode: it reads river conditions for warmwater targets while tributary steelhead are off the main menu. Today's score blends flow, water temperature, clarity, weather, barometric pressure, and active storm state for every active gauge into a single regional read.

Excellent

Underlying score: 58/100 · Index ranks vs. Jul 26 ±15-day history

▲ +6 vs. yesterday

Tomorrow's predicted Index

3 Blown 53% confidence

SPC Day-1 Convective Outlook

Marginal Risk · 10 rivers in zone

Valid Jul 26 8:00am – Jul 27 8:00am EDT

Ashtabula River Rocky River near Berea Chagrin River @ Willoughby Vermilion River @ Vermilion Grand River near Painesville Cuyahoga River @ Independence Huron River Black River Euclid Creek Tuscarawas River

Source: NWS Storm Prediction Center (spc.noaa.gov). Risk tier indicates severe-weather (large hail, damaging wind, tornado) probability over the next 24 hours.

Storm Watch — by region

Four state+lake buckets · auto-refreshes when conditions change

OH · Erie

Quiet

All quiet — no rain, no alerts, no rapid rises.

PA · Erie

Moderate

2 rising

2 rivers rising 3.7×+ in 6h

▲ Elk Creek ▲ Twenty Mile Creek

NY · Erie

Quiet

All quiet — no rain, no alerts, no rapid rises.

NY · Ontario

Quiet

All quiet — no rain, no alerts, no rapid rises.

My Alley

Your Subset Score

Personal stat — separate from the official Alley Index above. Not for citing externally.

· rivers

States

Within drive

Your Subset

Ranked vs. visible history

Last 7 days · 7 snapshots

Alley Index Your subset

Week Month Quarter Year All

of rivers blown

Today's Story

Warmwater targets have usable river options today. The Steelhead Alley Index is in Summer Mode at 93 (Excellent) today. Steelhead are off the main tributary menu; this read favors warmwater river conditions. The alley is WATCHING: 3 rivers have storm signals building. SPC Marginal risk overhead. Gauges still calm. Watch Vermilion River @ Vermilion, Black River, Euclid Creek.

What's actually biting right now: smallmouth bass in the lower river corridors, walleye near tributary mouths, panfish in the slack water. Eighteenmile Creek (Niagara) and Conneaut Creek are scoring highest among Alley rivers — worth a look for warm-water targets. See the gear shelf below for warm-water tackle.

By Technique & Region

Raw composite (0–100) — not percentile-ranked

Fly

Float

Erie Tribs

Ontario Tribs

Top Today

In Trouble

Elk Creek 45
Twenty Mile Creek 45

Summer Field Desk — Steelhead are Quiet

Turn today's number into a summer plan

The Index is reading tributary conditions for warmwater targets. Use the summer hub to choose a species, then the field guide for the seasonal pattern behind today's water.

For the practical sequence behind these readings, use the pre-trip workflow for Steelhead Alley guides before choosing a river.

Start here Summer fishing hub Targets, timing, water reads, and trout ethics. Field guide What to fish after steelhead A practical handoff to bass, walleye, perch, and pike. Primary river target Smallmouth bass Apply familiar current-and-structure reads to summer fish.

Optional in-season gear

Feeder Creek Black Gnat Dry Flies, One Dozen Nymph Flies for Trout, Bass, Salmon and More Freshwater Fish, Sizes 10-20 Available

The Fly Fishing Place Tungsten Bead Jigged Pat's Rubber Legs Nymph - Black with Barred Legs - 12 Flies Hook Size 6

BROWNING Trapper Creek Mesh Shooting Vests

Sufix 832 Advanced Superline Braid -300 yards

Panther Martin PMH Classic Holographic Fishing Lures Catches Trout, Walleye, Northern Pike, Muskie, Largemouth Bass, Perch, Crappie & More

DANISH ENDURANCE Merino Wool Headband, with Thermal Inner Fleece, for Men and Women, Unisex, Dark Navy, M/L

All 31 Rivers — by State

River	Rating	Score
Ohio 11 rivers · avg 59
Conneaut Creek	excellent	82
Grand River	excellent	82
Ashtabula River	good	73
Rocky River	good	64
Cuyahoga River	good	64
Huron River	good	64
Chagrin River	good	55
Brandy Run	good	55
Vermilion River	fair	36
Black River	fair	36
Euclid Creek	fair	36
Pennsylvania 4 rivers · avg 61
Walnut Creek	excellent	82
Crooked Creek	good	73
Elk Creek	poor	45
Twenty Mile Creek	poor	45
New York — Lake Erie 7 rivers · avg 45
Cattaraugus Creek	good	64
Chautauqua Creek	good	55
Cazenovia Creek	good	55
Eighteen Mile Creek	fair	36
Canadaway Creek	fair	36
Silver Creek	fair	36
Buffalo Creek	fair	36
New York — Lake Ontario 9 rivers · avg 66
Eighteenmile Creek (Niagara)	excellent	91
Sandy Creek (Hamlin)	excellent	82
Irondequoit Creek	excellent	82
Johnson Creek	excellent	82
Salmon River	good	55
Oak Orchard Creek	fair	55
Genesee River	good	55
Black River (Watertown)	good	55
Sandy Creek (Adams)	fair	36

Methodology. The Alley Index is a percentile rank — today's underlying conditions composite (mean of per-river fishing scores, 0–100) is compared to the historical record on this calendar window (±15 days, all years). An Index of 73 means today is better than 73% of comparable late-season days on record. Bands: Excellent 90+, Good 70–89, Average 30–69, Poor 10–29, Blown 0–9. Refreshed hourly. Season-calibrated: summer mode uses warmwater temperature bands, transition mode follows water temperature, and steelhead mode uses coldwater steelhead bands.

Index calibrating: percentile bands tighten as the historical archive grows. When fewer than 10 comparable days exist in the window, the Index falls back to the raw underlying score so the page always shows a meaningful number.

JSON API: /index/api