A lesson in Safety!

jasonfish320 · 07-11-10, 09:13 PM

I recently returned from a tourney this weekend and made a very risky move (deciding whether or not to keep fishing when a storm moves in) the tourney started with 70 boats..7 fish limit..I was lucky enough to find some good 3-4pounders and was culling by 10am..I had 4 solid fish and 3 dinks..at 1pm the rain started coming hard and fast, but no thunder and no lightning so I stayed...I moved out to a rock bluff about 100 yards off an island and quickly upgraded one of my fish to another 3pounder...THEN IT HAPPENED!! I went to cast my line and could hear and feel the static..it sounded like a radio station losing signal as I lifted my rod and my line seemed to almost lift towards the sky...CRRRAAACKKKKK!! so loud and powerful I could feel it through my chest...A lightning bolt touched down maybe 100 yards behind me on shore...that was it..I shut off all my electronics as quickly as I could and tossed my poles on the deck not even strapping them down...I flew to the far end of the lake to find refuge...I was able to find a small sandy beach to land the boat and spend the next 40 mins laying under my console...at the end of the day I had 21.4 pounds and finished 9th...at the weigh in they announced 2 boats had gotten struck..one guy was rushed to the hospital and another had both his hands badly burned...I felt stupid for deciding to stay, I felt like the old-timer in caddyshack who is playing his best game of golf ever and a storm rolls in...it was even more difficult considering the pay-out for first was 2,500..of course the payout for dead=0... I learned my lesson, no matter how in the zone I think I am I need to put safety ahead of everything else..let this be a reminder for all of you when you are out on the water, above all else....BE SAFE!

TnTom · 07-11-10, 09:59 PM

I always felt it a good practice to lay down my rod and get off the water when the lightening starts and around here it's accompanied with high winds and isn't graphite conductive? Usually about 20 minutes and its gone. Kinda of an easy decision for me.

nofearengineer · 07-11-10, 10:06 PM

Graphite is only a so so conductor, but that just makes it worse. It can build a good lightning-attracting charge.

I got stuck in one of those last year, Jason. I wasn't even fishing for money. I guess that makes me feel even dumber. Pretty scary, huh?

carolina-rig-01 · 07-11-10, 10:17 PM

I got caught in one like that in a tourney a few months back. It was without a doubt the most scared I have ever been on the water. We found a marina to hide in while the storm blew over but I hope I am never that close to lightening again.

Glad you are ok and it sounds like you had a good day catching wise.

WTL · 07-11-10, 10:29 PM

I used to not be that cautious of storms, but I think I once read an account on here that made me feel differently. I might have the details off, but as I recall a father and son were fishing in a storm, and the lightning struck the boat, killed the son in a very gruesome manner. Could you imagine how the father would have felt? Perhaps, if it had just been a guy out solo being killed it wouldnt have affected me as much, but the story and its implications for myself and my family scared me enough not to risk it. I dont want them cleaning my remains off my boat with a bucket and shop vac so they can have a funeral.

keithdog · 07-12-10, 07:27 AM

I got caught in the middle of a lake once in a canoe when a very strong storm blew through. The lake was calm and the skies were sunny when I launched the canoe. This came from nowhere, and the canoe was filling with water as whitecaps were washing over the side. The wind prevented me from being able to control the canoe at all. I barely made it to chest deep water and bailed over the side and drug the canoe to shore, only to find a HUGE German Shephard starring me eye to eye. Luckily he sensed I meant no harn and left me alone. But that experience scared the daylights out of me. I'm a weather watcher now!

tim4081 · 07-12-10, 01:36 PM

Reminds me of a time many years ago I was fishing with my Dad and Grandfather in Michigan's UP. The jumbo perch were hitting and probably 15 boats were gathered in a small area when a storm started to come up. We headed in but it was a very rough ride. The last guy to pull anchor was fishing by himself in a small aluminum boat. When he went to leave he could not get his motor going so he through down another anchor and rode it. The storm was bad with a ton of lightning and even heard later they issued tornado warning. After the storm was over, the straggler got his motor going and headed in. Come to find out in talking with him about I noticed the differnt collar he was wearing.....a preist!

Bob Smith · 07-12-10, 03:16 PM

Jason, that was one heckuva a story and from the sounds of it, YOU WERE QUITE LUCKY! I have had the line dancing above the water and the buzz in the rod before as well and dropped it immediately and hit the deck myself. I try to avoid getting in those situations and I sure you will too from now on!

geezer1 · 07-12-10, 05:52 PM

I love to fish in the rain. A gentle, steady, slow soaking rain. But a full blown storm is a whole other thing. I would like to think I would have left the water when the storm picked up, and I thank you, Jason, for a great reminder of why I must.

bcklash · 07-12-10, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WTL

I used to not be that cautious of storms, but I think I once read an account on here that made me feel differently. I might have the details off, but as I recall a father and son were fishing in a storm, and the lightning struck the boat, killed the son in a very gruesome manner. Could you imagine how the father would have felt? Perhaps, if it had just been a guy out solo being killed it wouldnt have affected me as much, but the story and its implications for myself and my family scared me enough not to risk it. I dont want them cleaning my remains off my boat with a bucket and shop vac so they can have a funeral.

Billy I remember that post seems like the father didn't know his son had been hit until he got where was going.
Jason that's scarey. Glad you're ok, tough way to learn a lesson.

HarveysMinnow · 07-13-10, 09:49 AM

I had a cousin killed by lightening many years ago, so I've maintained a healthy respect for what it can do.

There is quite a lot of information about lightening and/or electrical storms on the Internet. One example:

http://environment.nationalgeographi...g-profile.html

Many of you are probably aware of the 'flash to bang time' method of estimating the distance from a visible lightening strike. If you count seconds from the time you see a bolt until you hear the thunder, a simple mental calculation gives the distance away. Sound travels about a mile in five seconds, so a 'flash to bang' of 20 seconds would be about 4 miles away.

This is about as close to a storm as I normally want to be before I retreat from the water. Local weather people in this area claim that a strike can occur from as far as 15 miles away, and that if you can hear the thunder at all, you should seek shelter. I find this a bit improbable, unless you are on a mountain top holding a long copper rod above your head...something no sane person would attempt.

Bottom line -- be as safe as you think you need to be for the environment you are fishing in.

.

Bender · 07-18-10, 03:47 PM

Thank you for your post, I was thinking about this an hour ago as I was on the water and heard thunder. It sounded far away and the skies were fairly clear above me but I thought to myself "is it worth it?" and headed in. About 10 minutes after I got off the water the storm hit and was hard. I didn't seem much lightning but I'm still glad I wasn't out in it. Definitely keep this information in mind anytime you are on the water.

07-11-10, 09:13 PM	#1
jasonfish320 BassFishin.Com Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: MAINEIAC Posts: 585	A lesson in Safety! I recently returned from a tourney this weekend and made a very risky move (deciding whether or not to keep fishing when a storm moves in) the tourney started with 70 boats..7 fish limit..I was lucky enough to find some good 3-4pounders and was culling by 10am..I had 4 solid fish and 3 dinks..at 1pm the rain started coming hard and fast, but no thunder and no lightning so I stayed...I moved out to a rock bluff about 100 yards off an island and quickly upgraded one of my fish to another 3pounder...THEN IT HAPPENED!! I went to cast my line and could hear and feel the static..it sounded like a radio station losing signal as I lifted my rod and my line seemed to almost lift towards the sky...CRRRAAACKKKKK!! so loud and powerful I could feel it through my chest...A lightning bolt touched down maybe 100 yards behind me on shore...that was it..I shut off all my electronics as quickly as I could and tossed my poles on the deck not even strapping them down...I flew to the far end of the lake to find refuge...I was able to find a small sandy beach to land the boat and spend the next 40 mins laying under my console...at the end of the day I had 21.4 pounds and finished 9th...at the weigh in they announced 2 boats had gotten struck..one guy was rushed to the hospital and another had both his hands badly burned...I felt stupid for deciding to stay, I felt like the old-timer in caddyshack who is playing his best game of golf ever and a storm rolls in...it was even more difficult considering the pay-out for first was 2,500..of course the payout for dead=0... I learned my lesson, no matter how in the zone I think I am I need to put safety ahead of everything else..let this be a reminder for all of you when you are out on the water, above all else....BE SAFE! __________________ "If at first you don't succeed; have another beer"

07-11-10, 09:59 PM	#2
TnTom BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Woodbury Tn Posts: 119	I always felt it a good practice to lay down my rod and get off the water when the lightening starts and around here it's accompanied with high winds and isn't graphite conductive? Usually about 20 minutes and its gone. Kinda of an easy decision for me. __________________ When fishin poles are outlawed only outlaws will have fishin poles and Shimano reels.

07-11-10, 10:06 PM	#3
nofearengineer BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Southwest IN Posts: 5,630	Graphite is only a so so conductor, but that just makes it worse. It can build a good lightning-attracting charge. I got stuck in one of those last year, Jason. I wasn't even fishing for money. I guess that makes me feel even dumber. Pretty scary, huh? __________________ Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after.

07-11-10, 10:17 PM	#4
carolina-rig-01 BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Webb City, MO Posts: 6,387	I got caught in one like that in a tourney a few months back. It was without a doubt the most scared I have ever been on the water. We found a marina to hide in while the storm blew over but I hope I am never that close to lightening again. Glad you are ok and it sounds like you had a good day catching wise. __________________ You only live once. But if you do it right, once is enough.

07-12-10, 03:16 PM	#8
Bob Smith BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Cartersville, Georgia Posts: 1,472	Jason, that was one heckuva a story and from the sounds of it, YOU WERE QUITE LUCKY! I have had the line dancing above the water and the buzz in the rod before as well and dropped it immediately and hit the deck myself. I try to avoid getting in those situations and I sure you will too from now on! __________________ Bob Smith a.k.a. "Porko" (vintage Strike King variety!)

07-11-10, 10:29 PM	#5
WTL BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Huntsville, Al Posts: 7,466	I used to not be that cautious of storms, but I think I once read an account on here that made me feel differently. I might have the details off, but as I recall a father and son were fishing in a storm, and the lightning struck the boat, killed the son in a very gruesome manner. Could you imagine how the father would have felt? Perhaps, if it had just been a guy out solo being killed it wouldnt have affected me as much, but the story and its implications for myself and my family scared me enough not to risk it. I dont want them cleaning my remains off my boat with a bucket and shop vac so they can have a funeral.

07-12-10, 07:27 AM	#6
keithdog BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: IN Posts: 8,308	I got caught in the middle of a lake once in a canoe when a very strong storm blew through. The lake was calm and the skies were sunny when I launched the canoe. This came from nowhere, and the canoe was filling with water as whitecaps were washing over the side. The wind prevented me from being able to control the canoe at all. I barely made it to chest deep water and bailed over the side and drug the canoe to shore, only to find a HUGE German Shephard starring me eye to eye. Luckily he sensed I meant no harn and left me alone. But that experience scared the daylights out of me. I'm a weather watcher now!

07-12-10, 01:36 PM	#7
tim4081 BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Spring Lake, Michigan Posts: 195	Reminds me of a time many years ago I was fishing with my Dad and Grandfather in Michigan's UP. The jumbo perch were hitting and probably 15 boats were gathered in a small area when a storm started to come up. We headed in but it was a very rough ride. The last guy to pull anchor was fishing by himself in a small aluminum boat. When he went to leave he could not get his motor going so he through down another anchor and rode it. The storm was bad with a ton of lightning and even heard later they issued tornado warning. After the storm was over, the straggler got his motor going and headed in. Come to find out in talking with him about I noticed the differnt collar he was wearing.....a preist!

07-12-10, 05:52 PM	#9
geezer1 BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Lakehills, Tx Posts: 185	I love to fish in the rain. A gentle, steady, slow soaking rain. But a full blown storm is a whole other thing. I would like to think I would have left the water when the storm picked up, and I thank you, Jason, for a great reminder of why I must.

07-13-10, 09:49 AM	#11
HarveysMinnow BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Central NC Posts: 224	Deadly possibility I had a cousin killed by lightening many years ago, so I've maintained a healthy respect for what it can do. There is quite a lot of information about lightening and/or electrical storms on the Internet. One example: http://environment.nationalgeographi...g-profile.html Many of you are probably aware of the 'flash to bang time' method of estimating the distance from a visible lightening strike. If you count seconds from the time you see a bolt until you hear the thunder, a simple mental calculation gives the distance away. Sound travels about a mile in five seconds, so a 'flash to bang' of 20 seconds would be about 4 miles away. This is about as close to a storm as I normally want to be before I retreat from the water. Local weather people in this area claim that a strike can occur from as far as 15 miles away, and that if you can hear the thunder at all, you should seek shelter. I find this a bit improbable, unless you are on a mountain top holding a long copper rod above your head...something no sane person would attempt. Bottom line -- be as safe as you think you need to be for the environment you are fishing in. . __________________ It's time for less talk and more fishing!

07-18-10, 03:47 PM	#12
Bender BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Brighton, MI Posts: 2,414	Thank you for your post, I was thinking about this an hour ago as I was on the water and heard thunder. It sounded far away and the skies were fairly clear above me but I thought to myself "is it worth it?" and headed in. About 10 minutes after I got off the water the storm hit and was hard. I didn't seem much lightning but I'm still glad I wasn't out in it. Definitely keep this information in mind anytime you are on the water.

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