Lightning in rainy weather making fish have lockjaw??

[Dalton Tam]

I've fished in the rain many times and noticed that the fish really bite well during a rain shower but when the storm begins to lightning the fish tend to quit biting.  I guess if it's lightning, I should be off the water anyway, but I'm concerned on why the fish do this??? :-?

[Steven Ladner]

I haven't experienced this since I get off the water once it starts to lightning. The only reason I can think of is many animals usually get scared by bad weather, such as dogs. But bass are underwater so I have no idea why it would affect them.

[Grey Wolf]

I'd be more concerned about myself but that's me.

[SammyLee]

Two stories that relate.

I was bass fishing in the Cooper river upriver from Charleston when a thunderstorm struck with a vengence.  We ran for cover until it was just over.  As soon as we got back in the boat my partner yelled that the stripers with killing the bait fish on the surface.  We threw white topwater poppers and took two of the nicest fish I've ever caught.  The storm had been over for only minutes.

Another time I was scuba diving for lobster offshore from Pompano Beach and had been down for nearly an hour.  I noticed that it had gotten darker but the fish seemed to be just as active.  When I surfaced, lightning was cracking down all around.  

I still had about 600psi in my tank, so I just dropped back to the bottom, stayed still to conserve air and when I had only about 100psi left, surfaced again.  The storm had passed and I swam to shore.  Fish and me never seemed to notice.  

Lightning disapates over the surface so unless the fish (or humans) are very close to the surface, it's no factor from a harms point of view.

[DINK WHISPERER]

You are brave being on the water when it is lightning! I have noticed this is true though. We got caught in a slow steady rain Sun and the bite kicked into over drive! But as soon as thunder/lightning moved in, the bite disappeared, and so did we!!!!!

[Paul Roberts]

Two stories that relate.

I was bass fishing in the Cooper river upriver from Charleston when a thunderstorm struck with a vengence. We ran for cover until it was just over. As soon as we got back in the boat my partner yelled that the stripers with killing the bait fish on the surface. We threw white topwater poppers and took two of the nicest fish I've ever caught. The storm had been over for only minutes.

Another time I was scuba diving for lobster offshore from Pompano Beach and had been down for nearly an hour. I noticed that it had gotten darker but the fish seemed to be just as active. When I surfaced, lightning was cracking down all around.

I still had about 600psi in my tank, so I just dropped back to the bottom, stayed still to conserve air and when I had only about 100psi left, surfaced again. The storm had passed and I swam to shore. Fish and me never seemed to notice.

Lightning disapates over the surface so unless the fish (or humans) are very close to the surface, it's no factor from a harms point of view.

SammyLee, very cool observations. Thanks!

The only other thing I've read about this (of substance) was from Bob Underwood's book "Lunker". Bob's the guy who used scuba to observe bass and based his book about it. Anyway, he claimed bass got very spooky and nervous during such a storm. But, the way he described weather wasn't very clear to begin with. He also said little about number of observations (in and out of storms) so this has been just an asterisk in my mind.

Thanks for that diving story.

[avid]

My experience is the opposite.

Back in the day's when my bass fishing was fanatical, rather than merely avid, I would sometimes fish during storms even if lightning was flashing.  This is incredibly stupid and I haven't done it in years but I would be lying if I said I never did it.

I found that the bite was excellent during the storm.  I never noticed a slow down due to lightning.

I will say this however.  I always found the bite to best just prior to the storm coming in.  

No fish is worth getting fried over.

[bigtimfish]

In this years Big Bass Splash on Rayburn, a dude got struck by lightining and it blew his clothes off of him. During the tourney. That's when I realized I love to fish, But I don't love it enough to be on the water in a boat when there is lightining. If you don't believe the story I'm sure you can look it up. Lake Sam Rayburn-McDonalds big bass splash 2009

[Busy]

In another thread I noted as well that I think the fish tend to bite the best when the storm is coming in. I don't stick around for the lightning, but from about 30 minutes before it starts raining all the way into the decently heavy rains that the lightning comes with the fish will generally be very active.

Seeing as how I don't have a boat, I don't fish a lot of lakes. I have noticed, however, that on the lake I fish (which is about 200 acres) the wipers start to go crazy when the tide gets rough, whether its raining or just very windy.

I'm not sure about the lightning, but my advice is to stay far away from it.

[roadwarrior]

Don't know, don't care...

GET OFF THE WATER, PERIOD!

[Use ONLY Stren]

I caught a bass Friday during a thunderstorm on a horny toad that was second to my personal best. He was just under 7 Lbs. Me and a buddy ended up catching 10 fish in about and hour so I guess Ive always had good luck in the rain and lightning.

[J-B]

I agree with most on the fact that the fish seem to get very active right before the storm and are pretty active right after.  I will fish in the rain anytime I can.  I have had great luck using topwater and plastics during the rain.  As for the lightning, I do not know, when I see the first blast I am out of there.