About

Before The Horn is a free companion for anglers on dam-release tailwaters. Below a hydropower dam, the river can rise several feet in minutes when generation starts — the official warning is a horn that covers a short stretch and gives you about five minutes. This app is the advance notice: the published schedule, live flow, a plain-English wading status, and alerts before a release, at every access point.

It answers two questions and keeps them strictly apart: is the water rising or about to (safety), and is it a good window to fish (the drop). The safety answer always wins the screen. When the data can't be verified, the app says so instead of guessing — it is never confidently wrong, but it is sometimes honestly unknown.

Waters

Live today: Buford Tailwater. Coming next: Allatoona, Carters, Jim Woodruff, Jones Bluff, Millers Ferry, Walter F. George, West Point — the same architecture, one dam at a time, each launched only after its data sources, thresholds, and access research are verified.

Where the data comes from

Flow gauges, generation schedules, weather, and stocking reports come from public agencies — including USACE Mobile District, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the National Weather Service. Every number in the app shows when it was last obtained, and every page links to the official source so you can check our work.

Before The Horn is unofficial and independent. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by USACE Mobile District, and it never replaces the operator's own warnings. Verify with the operator before entering any river.