Short, honest guides to the variables our daily reports are built on: so you can read any water like a local.
What each number in our daily report means, where it comes from, and how much weight it can bear.
What a barometer reading means, what studies of fish and anglers have found, and the exact pressure rule our daily score applies.
Where the major and minor periods come from, what large catch studies have found, and how this site calculates the windows it prints.
Why water temperature matters to fish, the spawning and heat-stress figures agencies publish, and how our reports use a seasonal estimate.
Gage height, discharge and reservoir elevation: what the public data measures, how to compare it with normal, and where it can mislead.
How the moon reaches fish through tides and night light, what catch records show for each phase, and how much weight the phase deserves.
What a cold front does to the weather, what research on fronts and catch rates has found, and how anglers adjust before and after one passes.
Why the water rises and falls, how tidal current and slack water work, which stages agencies associate with feeding fish, and how to read the tide table on our pages.
Dawn, dusk, night, season, tides and solunar windows, with what agencies and catch studies say about each.
What state agencies list in the diet of largemouth and smallmouth bass, and how the seasons change what is on offer.
The thickness guidelines state agencies publish, where ice is thinner than it looks, the gear they recommend, and what to do if you go through.
How hydropower releases change the river below a dam, where operators post their schedules, and the safety rules agencies give for wading and boating in a tailwater.
Agency spawning temperatures for bass, crappie, bluegill, walleye, pike and muskie, and how to fish around the spawn without harming it.