JShrock07 Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 I fished a tournament on Wednesday night out of Hope Springs Marina with a club I have no idea what it is called (if it is even a club). I think it just might be a bunch of bassers trying to have fun. But while we were all out there we got slammed with terrible weather. There was high winds and some of the hardest down pours I have ever fished. When the tournay was finally over I think 4 boats weighed in fish. The rest of them left prior to weigh-in due to the weather. I thought everything would be fine if we stayed on the water. I was always told that lightning won't strike you while your on the water. My question for ya'll is... is that true??? I wasn't about to trust it. Once the first wave of bad weather came through we waited it out and fished as long as we could until we looked over our shoulders and seen the darkest storm cloud I have ever seen. It was so dark it was pretty much purple. I hope there wasn't anyone else out on the river and if there was I'd like to hear their story also. The reason I put this topic on Southeastern is because it happened on the Potomac. Thanks ahead of time for any replies!! Joe Quote
JShrock07 Posted June 5, 2008 Author Posted June 5, 2008 One more thing to add to the above... If you live in the area and want to fish a fairly cheap tournament be out at Hope Springs Marina by 4:30pm every Wednesday night. It only costs $50.00 a boat and that includes the big fish pot. Anyone is welcome and no membership fees apply! Quote
A.Do? Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 not sure if the lightning thing is true but I would never put myself in a situation where I'm on the water in those conditions. That weather was crazy! Probably the worst week of weather i've seen in this area in a long time. Quote
Hung up Paul Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 My wife 3 kids and the cat all holed up in a tiny basement 1/2 bathroom when it got bad at our house. I was at work when it got really dark and the trees outside my window were whipping like crazy... I left my office at one point thinking the windows might implode. Then in a flash the wind was still as can be. There was a tornado touchdown in Falls Church also. I've always been told to get the hell off the water when a thunderstorm approaches. Quote
slomoe Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 but I would never put myself in a situation where I'm on the water in those conditions. x2 LOL I can't believe you were fishing in that mess. Quote
Super User Wayne P. Posted June 5, 2008 Super User Posted June 5, 2008 Lightning: Do you fit in any of these catagories? In the United States, an average of 62 people are killed each year by lightning. In 2007, 45 people were struck and killed by lighting in the U.S.; hundreds of others were injured. Of the victims who were killed by lightning: 98% were outside 89% were male 30% were males between the ages of 20-25 25% were standing under a tree 25% occurred on or near the water Quote
Super User roadwarrior Posted June 5, 2008 Super User Posted June 5, 2008 I was always told that lightning won't strike you while your on the water. My question for ya'll is... is that true??? Thanks ahead of time for any replies!! Joe Dude! If you can hear thunder, you are in danger. : Quote
SimonSays Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 I'm not sure about the boat thing...lightning usually strikes the high thing around, and if you're in the middle of the lake cruising around you might be the highest object around Quote
JShrock07 Posted June 5, 2008 Author Posted June 5, 2008 Well just to admit it I was scared we weren't going to make it back in! I'm just glad I did so i will get another chance to fish haha. At least I know now that lightning can still strike you...... Life is way more valueable then the $500.00 you could possibly win. Quote
Super User Dan: Posted June 5, 2008 Super User Posted June 5, 2008 I'm not sure about the boat thing...lightning usually strikes the high thing around, and if you're in the middle of the lake cruising around you might be the highest object around especially if you are holding a fishing rod! I've heard graphite is very receptive to lightning Quote
JShrock07 Posted June 5, 2008 Author Posted June 5, 2008 One thing that I was told also is that lightning comes from the ground up into the sky. So... I don't know what to think. Quote
A.Do? Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 THAT i know is false. Energy always travels from a high potential to a low potential (ground in this case). Quote
Super User Sam Posted June 5, 2008 Super User Posted June 5, 2008 Tysons Corner got hit hard. Bethesda had extremely high winds. Glad no one was injured or lost their boat. It was one heck of a storm. Quote
Avalonjohn44 Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 One thing that I was told also is that lightning comes from the ground up into the sky. THAT i know is false. Energy always travels from a high potential to a low potential (ground in this case). Lightning can go cloud to cloud, cloud to ground, or ground to cloud. It depends on the situation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning Quote
JShrock07 Posted June 5, 2008 Author Posted June 5, 2008 Oh well crap avalon... you just made me feel more stupid for toughing it out!!! hahaha yea I'm thankful to be alive today with the speed that storm came in! Quote
warmer Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 Oh well crap avalon... you just made me feel more stupid for toughing it out!!! hahaha yea I'm thankful to be alive today with the speed that storm came in! your odds were better to live than to die in that storm. i'm not saying it was a good idea, or that i would have been out there with you in it. im just saying i would have bet on you to live. ;D i have been out in an electrical t-storm in fl and the air was so charged that if i raised my rod above horizontal it buzzed. and at some point, no lie, i heard voices, almost like i had picked up a radio station. i love rainstorms. Quote
JShrock07 Posted June 5, 2008 Author Posted June 5, 2008 Holy crap!!!!!!!!! No kidding my buddy's 7' pole was making a buzzing noise. He was working a worm slowly and it would only buzz when he was raising the pole! That is soooo weird! Quote
A.Do? Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 One thing that I was told also is that lightning comes from the ground up into the sky. THAT i know is false. Energy always travels from a high potential to a low potential (ground in this case). Lightning can go cloud to cloud, cloud to ground, or ground to cloud. It depends on the situation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning I'm not even going to argue this. All I'll say about this is that you'll never see a bolt originate from the ground and not from a tall object the ground. Ground to Clouds is merely directional. But hey, thats just what I believe. If my rod ever started buzzing, i'd wet my pants and FOT it home. Quote
Avalonjohn44 Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 Oh well crap avalon... you just made me feel more stupid for toughing it out! Sorry, I wasn't trying to do that! I just wanted to clear up some lightning myths! Quote
AnglerNFuego Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 I was always told that lightning won't strike you while your on the water. My question for ya'll is... is that true??? Thanks ahead of time for any replies!! Joe Dude! If you can hear thunder, you are in danger. : Indeed! Hahahahahaaaa.... Quote
rondef Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 Nitro, glad you got back to shore safely. I would not ever stay out on the Potomac in that kind of weather or any other body of water for that matter. That is just a little to dangerous to jeopardize my or my partners life. The Potomac River can be very unforgiving please be careful out there. Ron Quote
JShrock07 Posted June 6, 2008 Author Posted June 6, 2008 Well one good thing about where we were is that we were up in Aquia creek. We stayed out closer to the "no wake" zone from Hope Springs. Alot of the other guys went out alot farther then we did. I think we could have done pretty well without the weather problems. We had 2 fish in the boat before the other competitors were even out of the "no wake" zone. Well I will most definatley NEVER stay out in any crap like that ever again!!! And for the record I wasn't in my boat I was fishing with a buddy of mine. He had even more nuts then I had about it. Quote
JCrzy4Bass Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 Wow dude. There were tornadoes that were spotted (did not touch down) in Fredericksburg and making their way right up along the Potomac there. You are one lucky dude man. Regardless of where you were on the water that is one heck of a storm to brave. The rain was so strong in Dumfries my wife and I opened the door and could not see the sidewalk, cars, parking lot, or parts of the balconys near us. It was insane. We were in the laundry room closed up with the cats for 15 minutes when the rotation was above us and we had our warning for 20 or so minutes (7:50 - 8:10pm). When my dad and I see clouds now we BOLT literally to shore no matter what kind of water we are on. Fire up that motor and make the run and get out of there. We've been in sudden fast moving downpours on the boat and even on a large lake or reservoir around here it can get BAD fast! Glad to hear you're ok. You got some brass down there dude. Quote
okrod Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 Hey guys, I was out of power from this storm and just got it back this afternoon. If it was anything like what rolled through Burke either your brave as hell or extremely stupid. Maybe both. :-/ Of course, I'm just kidding. Glad to see your alive. Quote
Jeff_NHBA Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 I always check the weather and the tides before I head out on the Potomac. Quote
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