Lightning rod , sort of.

[Skunkmaster-k]

I had a weird experience day before yesterday and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it for some reason. I was fishing a 3” paddle tail swimbait on 10# Vicious mono on the docks. My rod was a 7’ Shakespeare Excursion graphite. There was a storm coming from the North, but it was still 10 miles away. I shifted my hand on the grip and POP !  What in the world ? POP ! That time I knew I wasn’t imagining things. I told a man that was sitting on his cooler what had happened and he told me to lay off the drugs. We both laughed  until my rod started humming. Oh crap. Instead of drooping down my line was floating in the air. I laid my rod on the dock and it stopped. I’ve never experienced that before and was wondering if anyone else had. 

[roadwarrior]

Yes, during a BassResource Roadtrip on Kentucky Lake.  

[volzfan59]

I've always been told when your line starts "floating in air", it's time to get out of dodge. It means that there's electricity in the air, storms are coming. I have nothing to back that up at all. Just one of those old sayings that I took to heart.

[Kev-mo]

That happened to us in Canada. Storms were forecasted for the day and definitely in the area just not on top of us so we were still fishing. It was only when you lifted your rod, not when it was parallel or pointed down to the water. We had fun with it for a few minutes and decided we better get off the water. Luckily nothing bad happened while having fun...

[Deleted account]

1 hour ago, Skunkmaster-k said:

I had a weird experience day before yesterday and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it for some reason. I was fishing a 3” paddle tail swimbait on 10# Vicious mono on the docks. My rod was a 7’ Shakespeare Excursion graphite. There was a storm coming from the North, but it was still 10 miles away. I shifted my hand on the grip and POP !  What in the world ? POP ! That time I knew I wasn’t imagining things. I told a man that was sitting on his cooler what had happened and he told me to lay off the drugs. We both laughed  until my rod started humming. Oh crap. Instead of drooping down my line was floating in the air. I laid my rod on the dock and it stopped. I’ve never experienced that before and was wondering if anyone else had. 

Yup, put the rod down and seek shelter. I had a fly rod start crackling, and the hair on my arms stand up, and being a dummy, I just kept fishing, luckily the lightning hit a power line transformer about 50 feet away. I have also had the T-top on the boat arching, and had a strike way too close. 

[Skunkmaster-k]

I talked with a man who was out in his boat not too far from where I was fishing and he said his rod was arching to his hand too. He got off the water muey pronto. 

2 minutes ago, Skunkmaster-k said:

I talked with a man who was out in his boat not too far from where I was fishing and he said his rod was arching to his hand too. He got off the water muey pronto. 

Spooky 

[BrianMDTX]

Not while fishing but…years ago my wife and I were sitting on our screen porch back in MD as a thunderstorm approached. We both must have “felt” something simultaneously as we looked at each other at the same moment. Our hair was standing straight up. We beat feet inside. Ten seconds later my neighbor’s oak tree was struck. 
 

That was a hairy, scary experience!

[TnRiver46]

I was fishing right next to home once in my smaller boat with a pull start. There was a storm on radar in Clinton but sunny in Knoxville (maybe 15 miles apart). I was fishing along a boardwalk that is always covered up with folks. Some guy that spoke almost no English kept asking me what was in the water on the other side of the river. After trying to understand him half a dozen times, we are all looking across the water at some random object (me in my boat, he and his wife on a boardwalk overhanging the river). A lightning bolt came down and went sideways in different directions parallel to the water. The rod I was fishing with was now laying in the bottom of the boat, not sure if it was from the lightning or if I just threw it down. Next thing I know, the European guy starts asking me more questions about what’s in the water. I said “who cares buddy, I’m gone!!” And started pulling my rip cord like a madman and headed back to the launch at a breakneck speed of 12 mph. I could hear his wife yelling at him as I motored away haha, hopefully they made it back to a house or car or something 

[VolFan]

I had that happen on Calderwood Lake in East Tennessee while I was in a kayak. Line just seemed to be floating. I dunked the rod and beat paddle for shore and had to hide in a little cave while the thunderstorms hit. 
 

Also had it hiking in Colorado on a 14er. Basically everything metal (pack frame, ice ax, etc) started a buzzing or zinging noise and my outer shell starting fluffing out as though it was being inflated…ran down the trail as fast as I think I’ve ever run to get below treeline and get low

[Trox]

Electricity in the air helps keep your bait higher in the water column 

[slonezp]

 

[ATA]

3 hours ago, slonezp said:

 

that is scary

[Skunkmaster-k]

Yeah it is. Wow.