I use the Mayfield gaging station to get an idea of the river level, and the Castle rock station to look for fluctuations. This will give an idea of water conditions. There are a lot of small streams emptying into the Cowlitz, and they can dump a lot of mud into the main stem real fast, even though it may not be raining all that bad. If you only look at the mayfield station, you wont get the whole picture. Especially if you fish below Blue Creek.