Caught in a Thunderstorm!

[KC Bass Fanatic]

Last night I got caught in a thunderstorm/monsoon rain that lasted about 45 minutes. There was no where to take shelter so I just beached my trusty Bass Tracker and rode it out on the bank. I figured that was better than staying on the water. Lightning was striking VERY close and very often, the wind was up to 35mph sustained and it rained about 3 inches in 45 min. Pretty scary but I made it through, finished the tournament and placed 2nd.

I'd love to hear your guys tales (tall or otherwise) about getting caught in a storm.

[FishingBuds]

Last night I got caught in a thunderstorm/monsoon rain that lasted about 45 minutes. There was no where to take shelter so I just beached my trusty Bass Tracker and rode it out on the bank. I figured that was better than staying on the water. Lightning was striking VERY close and very often, the wind was up to 35mph sustained and it rained about 3 inches in 45 min. Pretty scary but I made it through, finished the tournament and placed 2nd.

I'd love to hear your guys tales (tall or otherwise) about getting caught in a storm.

Very similar to my story, the thing that I think of most often is how we made it to an area when we could barley see 12 feet in front of us, I hope to never put myself in that situation again.

[Dave P]

Just missed one Tuesday afternoon. We'd just about finished putting the straps on the boat when it hit. It went from practically calm to whitecaps in about 30 seconds. The hail came later...

[TN basstracker]

Last year we were on Kentucky Lake near Paris Landing, pre-fishing for our 2-day club tourney on a Friday. They were calling for some pretty nasty weather that day, so we decided we'd keep an eye out and just take cover if possible or just beach the boat if need be and ride it out. (We were in a Bass Tracker as well) Well, we had a good one pop up and we decided to beach the boat immediately as we had no where close to take cover. Storm passes and we go back out to fishing and off and on all day long, you could feel the tip of the rod vibrating and see it 'ticking' from all of the electricity in the air. We get back to the ramp and there's a news van at Buchanan's resort where all of us stay every year. Turns out, two of our guys were out pre-fishing as well, and decided they were close enough to make it back to the ramp. They were running his Ranger with a 200 on the back and doing about 65 when lightning struck the recession plate for the trolling motor pedal. Shut the whole boat down and they went from 65 to nothing and threw both of them up onto the front deck by the trolling motor from the sudden stop. Fried everything in the boat, from the electronics to the outboard, trolling motor, etc....Lucky they weren't killed and only escaped with a few bruises.

[Red]

Never caught in a storm, but one time I had to ride about 3/4 of a mile into about 25-35 mph winds.....in my 8' bass buster!!  Felt like I was on deadliest catch!  The inside of the boat had about 5 inches of water in it when I got to the ramp.  It was a bit scary with all the water splashing in, but there wasn't one time I felt like the boat was going to flip or anything, it is VERY stable for what it is.

[K_Mac]

I've been caught in storms a few times over the years. :-? I am a lot more careful than I used to be. It is a sick feeling when the lightening starts popping around you... It is also amazing how much water a boat can collect in a heavy rain.

[Big-O]

Here's a link to a story about one of my old stormy adventures...

http://www.ragetail.com/ragetalk/index.php?topic=173.0

Big O

www.ragetail.com

[garland7]

been there too, pretty much the same, no place to hide. not a good feeling

[Sam]

May I suggest checking the weather report before venturing out?

Weather Underground is a good place to start but any weather site is good.

Lightning can hit a full 30-minutes after the storm has passed and also about 5 miles in front of the storm.

You were taking a big chance, especially in a metal boat. Glad you are OK.

Not only do we check the weather reports we have our eyes open to what is going on around us by looking at the sky to see if there are any storms in our area.

If so, it is back to the ramp and in the car until the storm passes.

Hope you were wearing your PFD. It is easier to find bodies floating if they have their PFD to keep them on top of the water. 

[brushhoggin]

local on the 8's

[KC Bass Fanatic]

May I suggest checking the weather report before venturing out?

Weather Underground is a good place to start but any weather site is good.

Lightning can hit a full 30-minutes after the storm has passed and also about 5 miles in front of the storm.

You were taking a big chance, especially in a metal boat. Glad you are OK.

Not only do we check the weather reports we have our eyes open to what is going on around us by looking at the sky to see if there are any storms in our area.

If so, it is back to the ramp and in the car until the storm passes.

Hope you were wearing your PFD. It is easier to find bodies floating if they have their PFD to keep them on top of the water.

Ha, yes I check the weather but our t-storms here in the midwest are so darn spotty that the forecasters can only tell you a 50 mile radius that there may be a "pop up storm". 

[Taylor Fishin 4 life]

got caught in a thunder storm night fishing on Lake Fork. Lighting rounds were popping like mortar rounds go off around us and then it started hailing on us had to huddle up under the small consoles lol