Super User RoLo Posted July 14, 2015 Super User Posted July 14, 2015 We all know how tempting it is to fish in the overcast of an approaching storm, pushing the envelope to the last minute. I'll bet we all have a harrowing story to tell about lightning, sitting in a boat like a BoPo while holding a graphite lightning rod!! Be smart, when you hear nearby thunder or see a bolt of lightning, promptly put angling on the back-burner, no fish is worth it. Roger 1 Quote
Super User BassinLou Posted July 14, 2015 Super User Posted July 14, 2015 I saw this clip the other day. Those 2 are extremely lucky!! Quote
Super User Catt Posted July 15, 2015 Super User Posted July 15, 2015 This is what happens to an aluminum boat when ya want to make just one more cast! He didn't get to reel it in! 1 Quote
Super User RoLo Posted July 15, 2015 Author Super User Posted July 15, 2015 Florida is dubbed the “Lightning capital of the nation”, so if you head back to the barn every time you spot a cumulonimbus cloud, you’re fishing time will be savagely minimized. Several years back, Lois & I were fishing Reedy Lake while listening to the distant rumble of thunder. I relocated the boat closer to the ramp, which put the storm 2 or 3 miles to the right of our boat, and put the ramp about 3 hundred yards to the left of our boat. Well, the subsequent clap of thunder was directly overhead and was far louder than any bomb we’ve heard in the Avon Bombing Range. From one clap of thunder to the next, the lightning strikes hopscotched over our heads, from a few miles to the east to the west side of the ramp, a learning experience I’ll never forget. Lightning is caused by an imbalance in protons and electrons between a thundercloud and earth. Unfortunately though, the imbalance in electrical charge can be satisfied far from the thunderhead, in some cases 5 miles away under fair skies. To this day, I haven't forgiven myself for such blatant stupidity. Roger Quote
Super User Sam Posted July 16, 2015 Super User Posted July 16, 2015 Lightning can strike five miles out from the storm. So you can get hit by lightning before the storm arrives. A professional bass fisherman I know got hit by lightning on a golf course as the Five-Mile Alarm sounded to warn golfers to vacate the three courses. Had not the two doctors been with him he would have died. He no longer can fish and he has sold his Ranger. He is also on Social Security disability as he has all of the signs of a stroke. So please do as written above and as soon as you hear thunder head for cover. Quote
Super User Darren. Posted July 20, 2015 Super User Posted July 20, 2015 Got "chased off" local reservoir on Sunday by a park Ranger who told me there was thunder/lightning in the area. My youngest and I quickly obliged and got to shore as fast as my trolling motor could haul our two yaks. Thanked the Ranger for the warning.... Really appreciated him finding us and warning us. Actually the first time I've ever seen them do that. Quote
Super User Redlinerobert Posted July 20, 2015 Super User Posted July 20, 2015 One of the scariest moments in my life came in 2007 during a Brazil trip. We were forewarned that the weather was not favorable that year and water levels were high. Like dummies we still went. During one of our fishing days that started off clear and sunny the weather turned faster than I thought was possible. In no time we were literally surrounded by thunder and lightening strikes on every side of our boat. Slowly we made our way back to the lodge. There was something surreal about being on the water and seeing lightening come down a few miles in front, next to, and behind us. I'll never forget that day, and I'll never go back to Brazil when the weather is bad. Quote
Global Moderator Mike L Posted July 20, 2015 Global Moderator Posted July 20, 2015 Unfortunately we hear about this all time.... It's the classic "It won't happen to me" mindset Until it does or to someone we Love...Then we believe. Mike Quote
Super User Bankbeater Posted July 21, 2015 Super User Posted July 21, 2015 I not only get off of the water, I move off of the ramp. A couple of years ago I saw a van sitting on the ramp take a direct lightning hit. The strike put a dent right through the roof of the van. Now when it lightnings I go up to the parking lot. Quote
Super User everythingthatswims Posted July 21, 2015 Super User Posted July 21, 2015 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Sullivan In all seriousness though, lightning is no joke and no one should ever push their limits with it. The odds may be slim, but those odds are more than enough for me to get the heck out of there during a storm. Recently witnessed a house get struck and burn down, I was standing over 100 yards away and could still feel the heat. Scary stuff. Quote
zachb34 Posted July 23, 2015 Posted July 23, 2015 I was on my bass raider type boat last week when a storm came rolling in fast. I decided I was closer to a bridge than I was to the where we put in at so I decided to get there before anything got close. We where fishing off shore trying new things. Once I got close to the bank my trolling motor some how got fried and I had no way of propulsion. Luckily I was able to cast and snag the bank with a lipless crankbait to pull us in. We sat in the storm under a strangers tree in their backyard for 3 hours. I've never been struck, nor do I know anybody that has, but I don't want to experience either. If I hadn't decided to get in early I would've been stuck in the middle of the lake with no motor during a very bad storm. I learned a few lessons. 1 don't trust pond prowler trolling motors 2. Account for mechanical failure 3. Bring a paddle in case of number 2. 1 Quote
Super User Choporoz Posted July 23, 2015 Super User Posted July 23, 2015 I also got caught last week in a quickly developing thunder storm. I fished through it for a couple of reasons. I'm stupid. And, honestly, I didn't know what to do. That storm went from 8+ seconds between lighting and thunder to 2 in less than a minute. I suppose getting to shore would be smart. Get to the bank and get out of the boat? Stand under a tree? I now know to at least put down the rod, but when you're caught in the middle of a body of water, what are the minimum precautions? Quote
Super User gardnerjigman Posted July 23, 2015 Super User Posted July 23, 2015 When my wife was in her early teens, she witnessed a friend and team-mate get struck by lightening on the soccer field. She is petrified of storms now and gets extremely nervous when I go fishing if there is even a chance of bad weather. Quote
Al Wolbach Posted July 23, 2015 Posted July 23, 2015 I also got caught last week in a quickly developing thunder storm. I fished through it for a couple of reasons. I'm stupid. And, honestly, I didn't know what to do. That storm went from 8+ seconds between lighting and thunder to 2 in less than a minute. I suppose getting to shore would be smart. Get to the bank and get out of the boat? Stand under a tree? I now know to at least put down the rod, but when you're caught in the middle of a body of water, what are the minimum precautions? You do not want to be the tallest structure in the area. If stranded in a boat and can't get ashore at least get as low as possible and drop any fishing gear. If you can, find any shelter on the bank and stay under it, assuming it is not the only tree in the area. A boathouse or covered boat dock can be struck but is safer than a boat in the middle of the lake. Most times, when fishing in a boat, you can't eliminate the threat but do what you can to minimize it. Seek shelter. Quote
Last_Cast Posted July 23, 2015 Posted July 23, 2015 You do not want to be the tallest structure in the area. If stranded in a boat and can't get ashore at least get as low as possible and drop any fishing gear. If you can, find any shelter on the bank and stay under it, assuming it is not the only tree in the area. A boathouse or covered boat dock can be struck but is safer than a boat in the middle of the lake. Most times, when fishing in a boat, you can't eliminate the threat but do what you can to minimize it. Seek shelter. for sure. any sign of lightning and I'm gone. Quote
Last_Cast Posted July 23, 2015 Posted July 23, 2015 When my wife was in her early teens, she witnessed a friend and team-mate get struck by lightening on the soccer field. She is petrified of storms now and gets extremely nervous when I go fishing if there is even a chance of bad weather. holy ****. Quote
Super User gardnerjigman Posted July 23, 2015 Super User Posted July 23, 2015 holy ****. Yup, just to hear her talk about it is enough to give you chills. It really stuck with her too. Quote
wytstang Posted July 24, 2015 Posted July 24, 2015 They are extremely lucky/blessed to live to take about it. I just took a training class called Arc & Flash for a new position I am moving to at work. The pictures showing what electricity can do to the human body is enough to make you not want to mess with it. Lighting can have a current (also called amps) in the thousands (volts hurt but current/amp kills) which will stop your heart if the current flows through the heart. This young man just won the lotto as the current bypassed is heart (his burns are on his left side where the heart is) and found an exit in another part of his body. It doesn't take much current to cause a heart murmur which causes an erratic heart beat (Atrial fibrillation) which does not allow the proper amount of oxygen to flow (feeling tired, difficulty breathing). A strong enough shock (like a lighting strike) can cause ventricular fibrillation, seen a movie or show where a hospital patient goes into V-Fib? Death closely follows if it can't be corrected asap. This young man and father are walking miracles imo as both survived a strike and they only have minor burns. Very very few people walk away from that amount of current. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.