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Posts: 1220
| So, a long list of house problems forced me back to Florida early this year and (I “ learned?) a lesson from the pool guy. We were just chatting while he added his chemistry and I commented on hearing a storm off in the distance. He estimated the thunder at 8-10 miles away and said he’d be leaving. He hadn’t yet used the long handled brushing poles used to clean the walls and, when asked, said he is prohibited from holding the aluminum poles when a storm is within ten miles. Somewhat in disbelief, and perhaps thinking he was making a lazy excuse, I proceeded to explain how I continue to cast musky baits with storms aheckavalot closer. I continued to explain just how good the bite gets right before it gets really dangerous. Here’s the thing: he reminded me it storms here nearly every single day all summer and just about everybody has had a close call. So, when it’s still sunny and dry and you just hear the thunder ten miles away, are you gonna put down your nine-foot lightning rod? I have to say I am giving it some thought. |
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Posts: 1516
| How do you estimate the distance lighting and thunder is away for you? |
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| Pepper - 8/27/2019 7:53 AM How do you estimate the distance lighting and thunder is away for you? Count the time between flash and thunder. ~5 secs per mile.
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Posts: 735
| Would you swim in the ocean on a beach when you see a colony of seals nearby? It sounds like common sense to me. When your out on the water, you should always pay attention and respect what the weather is doing. Kdawg |
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Location: 31 | Easy to say it's better to live to fight another day, but we are all guilty staying out longer than we should have. We just need consider what happened to those people who took shelter under the trees at that golf tournament recently to help make the right choice.
I use to push it a bit until I fished with a meteorologist for about a week Lake of the Woods about 15 years ago. We sat through several storms under my convertible top and I learned quite a bit about storms, like lightning coming from the small ragged leading edge.
After one particularly violent storm Jim politely asked me if I thought it was okay to head back out… I said; what? I don't ask you roofing questions (I'm a roofing contractor). It was a good laugh but I also know somebody who was in a boat that was hit by lightning... one guy was killed instantly - scary stuff.
Edited by Jerry Newman 8/27/2019 8:41 AM
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Posts: 1169
Location: New Hope MN | The speed of sound is 767 mph or 0.21 miles per second. So the 1 mile per 5 second rule is a good one to follow. |
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Posts: 3472
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | dtaijo174 - 8/27/2019 8:52 AM
The speed of sound is 767 mph or 0.21 miles per second. So the 1 mile per 5 second rule is a good one to follow.
It's a linear representation!! 
Horsehunter...you're going to be applying algebra on this one... 
Steve
Edited by VMS 8/27/2019 1:39 PM
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Posts: 8722
| I fished through storms most of my life. Rarely considered the possibility of being struck by lightning. Fast forward to July 19, 2004. We were out Smallmouth fishing on Lake Mendota. We were casting into a pretty decent SW wind, the sun had come out, blue sky as far as we could see. Then the wind stopped, like someone turned off a light switch. Within the time it took for all of us to mention how weird that was, the sky started to look funny, and I thought I heard thunder. Huh. No clouds. Then I turned around to look behind us. "HOLY ****!!!" "what?" "LOOK!!" "HOLY ****!!! Just a black wall coming over the horizon.
Fire drill. By the time we got to the landing (5 minutes maybe?) the temperature had dropped a good 15 degrees and the wind was blowing hard out of the North.
We were running full out trying to get our gear out of the boat, boat on the trailer, etc. The leading edge of the storm hit as we were pulling away from the landing. We outran it once we hit the highway. Watched it in the mirror all the way back to the state line. Found out later that they had 65 MPH winds, trees down, quarter sized hail. In all my years of fishing, I've never seen a storm blow up that fast.
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| Had read the original couple posts earlier today. Was planning on going out right after noon, but had a heavy rain/thunderstorm roll through. Radar showed an isolated pocket that would go past. Went out, and while there was black sky to the east and north looked good to the West, where the wind was coming from. But, 10 minutes later, started to thunder to my SE. Still not concerned but watchful. 10 minutes after that, wind picked up dramatically and shifted over 90 degrees. Still a mix of black and blue sky, depending on the direction you looked. But I was on a small lake, can't see that far and I decided to come home. At the same time, I live on the lake, for me to go fishing requires me to walk down to the dock, lower the boat on the lift. If I had trailered some distance, planning to fish all day, I don't know if I would have taken the better safe than sorry approach. I also thought it was a good example of not always trusting radar. Before I left, no storm clouds within 40 miles, yet by the time I started fishing, thunder and black clouds. |
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Location: Vilas | If I hear thunder....Im heading to the launch real soon! If you can hear it, you can be hit by it |
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Posts: 1209
Location: E. Tenn | Had a similar situation as EA... it rolled in quick... the wind blew, the s**t flew, then it poured. The bilge pump ran quite a while afterward. Now I head at the first clap of thunder..
Edited by miket55 8/27/2019 6:11 PM
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Posts: 20180
Location: oswego, il | I bet a few people were caught a week ago last Tuesday on LSC. I just made it back but drove just north of the really bad part. Lots of lightning. Didn't get rained on until I made it back to the motel. |
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| Do any of you use Lightening Detector devices when on the water? I have looked at them and the reviews are all over the place, from "don't go outside without it" to "useless". Just wondering what your experience is. |
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Posts: 8722
| I'm pretty much glued to this whenever there is inclement weather:
https://www.lightningmaps.org
Nice thing about this site is you can get a really good idea which way the storm is heading as you zoom in and out. The radar function is nice too and seems to be more accurate than NWS, Weather Channel, Weather Bug and a few others.
I watch it for the lightning. Interesting to watch a few storms and see how often the lightning is ahead of the storm or only in certain parts. Oh and if you want to waste some time, turn the thunder feature to "max". I spend storms now staring at this stupid website instead of out on the front porch. There's no way of telling for sure, but based on my hours of watching this during storms it's pretty accurate! So far the closest strike I've seen was about a block from our house, and it sure sounded like it was right on top of us.
Now if there was only a map like this that showed realtime wind. Sure would be nice to know instead of catching nothing and waiting for the wind to shift.
Edited by esoxaddict 8/28/2019 1:34 PM
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Posts: 21
| I have one of those lightning detector devices. In my opinion, they are accurate and provide an early warning before you see/hear lightning/thunder. It is valuable for those guys that travel long distances from camp. The advance warning will give you confidence to venture out farther. I have found that regardless of whether you have a warning device, I do the following:
- If bad weather is possible, stay close and travel upwind from camp.
- Frequently check the horizon for dark clouds. Don't let a nearby tree line block your view. Move away from shore to check the horizon.
- If anything bad is spotted in the distance, continue fishing, but gradually move closer to camp.
- Only fish areas that you are confident to navigate and willing to open up the throttle if necessary. You don't want to hit a rock because you bugged out too quickly in unfamiliar waters.
Brian |
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| lelekb - 8/29/2019 12:32 PM
I have one of those lightning detector devices. In my opinion, they are accurate and provide an early warning before you see/hear lightning/thunder. It is valuable for those guys that travel long distances from camp. The advance warning will give you confidence to venture out farther. I have found that regardless of whether you have a warning device, I do the following:
- If bad weather is possible, stay close and travel upwind from camp.
- Frequently check the horizon for dark clouds. Don't let a nearby tree line block your view. Move away from shore to check the horizon.
- If anything bad is spotted in the distance, continue fishing, but gradually move closer to camp.
- Only fish areas that you are confident to navigate and willing to open up the throttle if necessary. You don't want to hit a rock because you bugged out too quickly in unfamiliar waters.
Brian
Thanks for the response. The chain I live on has some small lakes, where shore rises up quickly and lined with tall pines. Had an event two years ago where I was fishing a shore line not far from my home, sun overhead, little wind. Suddenly there was thunder nearby and a fast moving storm came from the direction of the shore I was fishing. I was no more than half mile from my dock and still got wet before I could get on the lift and dock the boat. Don't know if the device would have helped because there had been no thunder until it was practically on top of me but it sure showed me how quickly it can happen. |
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Posts: 16
| actually lightning has been known to strike up to 20 miles away.. can be totally clear in mile 19, and 'Boom!'...
but I guess I'm a risk taker or a musky fisherman 'cause I'll keep fishing until it's time to go. |
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Posts: 8722
| I figure if the storm is far enough away where I don't even know it's coming, and I get struck by lightning it was just my time to go! |
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Posts: 3136
| I'm "struck" by all these theories!! |
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Location: oswego, il | esoxaddict - 9/5/2019 6:13 PM
I figure if the storm is far enough away where I don't even know it's coming, and I get struck by lightning it was just my time to go!
Said everyone in Alabama! |
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