Thread: New Motor

I ain't afraid of the big bad wolf, but lighting on the water scares the heck out of me.
"gene"

YOu know Gene it does me too now, but I remember a time when that just was not true. We use to fish in rain all the time and didn't like the lightening mostly because we were thinking the thunder may disturb the fish, LOL! I remember one night trip here on Toledo Bend that 4 of us came up here with 2 boats, we fishing around Fin & Feather all night and the other boat fished over here in 6 mile. We had a friendly bet between the 2 boats. Anyway for the important stuff....we had thunder storms around us all night with tons of lightening. It never actually rained right on top of us, but storms were close enough and there we were sitting there holding graphite rods all night and never really thought about getting struck by lightening. Of course late as years went by you would see stories about people getting struck while out in a boat. I consider my self just lucky back then as we tempted Mother Nature and she was kind enough to know we were just stupid and lets us pass.

Now I still love fishing in a light rain as long as there is no lightening.

Skip, what really woke me up is when one of my childhood neighbors got killed by lightning while standing in a boat fishing with his son. His son did get some of the shock but not enough to knock him out. He was able to get some help and get back to the dock. The following winter while duck hunting we got hit by a cold front with a leading edge of thunderstorms. We started back across the marsh but it hit when I was about halfway to the land. Cloud to ground lightning was hitting all around. There was a powerline running across the marsh so I parked myself right under it hoping if it struck near me it would hit the powerline or poles and ground itself. I laid in that pirogue half full of water for about 15 minutes before it moved on. I was sopping wet but alive. Thank God.
"gene"

Yes Gene I think most of us learn at some point it's not a good idea to be out on a lake with a lightening rod in hand, LOL! If my memory serves me right it was not someone I knew, but just hearing about other fishermen getting struck was enough for me. That stuff is so powerful it's crazy. A few year ago lightening struck my neighbors tree across the road from my house and I just knew it was really loud. I did't go out right away, but when I did it was hard to miss the tree because all of it's bark had been blown off the tree. First time I ever saw a tree with all and I do mean all of it's bark blown off.

Originally Posted by skiptomylu

Yes Gene I think most of us learn at some point it's not a good idea to be out on a lake with a lightening rod in hand, LOL! If my memory serves me right it was not someone I knew, but just hearing about other fishermen getting struck was enough for me. That stuff is so powerful it's crazy. A few year ago lightening struck my neighbors tree across the road from my house and I just knew it was really loud. I did't go out right away, but when I did it was hard to miss the tree because all of it's bark had been blown off the tree. First time I ever saw a tree with all and I do mean all of it's bark blown off.

Hey STL, The folks wearing funny hats better watch out for the lighting strikes too.