What's your way of thinking about lighting while on the water, this one caught me off guard https://youtu.be/l7FJNzqFxYM?si=LMQqDE_Rz6N8k1EH&t=221 this guy is always a good listen

For me water and Lightening don't mix. IF I am on the water during Lightening storm I am heading in. I don't know the rules for tournament but if there isn't a safety provision allowing anglers to go in and wait it out they are foolish.

I'm looking for cover any time it's lightening on or off the water.

Same here. Take cover if we are too far to get to the ramp

Any lightning within about 8 miles is a no go hard abort.

I have found a boat bouncing thru the stump fields on Toledo Bend that had two foot prints burned into the front deck. Towed the boat to nearest dock for the sheriff dept who found the body a few days later.

Had a customer booked with me to take them fishing. Day of i said we are going to delay start till this lightening is gone. He didn't wait....took his own boat.... called me to tow them in. Boat got struck and fried all his electronics and motor. He paid me my charter fee to tow them in.

My plan is get off the water.

When lightning strikes a lake, it can be extremely dangerous for anyone in or near the water. The electricity spreads over the water's surface, posing a risk of electrocution to swimmers and boaters. Even if a person isn't directly struck by lightning, the shock from the electricity traveling through the water can be fatal.
Needless to type" i DON'T DO LIGHTNING tournament or not!!

Marshaled a FLW tournament and it was lightning like crazy- I stayed seated, the pro didn’t mind had his rod tip held up a lot- was just hoping it would get him instead of me if it happened. I remember the meeting before hand, tournament director said these guys fish for a living, if you’ve got a problem they’ll drop you off at the closest bank and someone will come pick you up. Me personally I hate lightning and won’t go out.

Exactly! I'm not taking any risks. Bridges, boat slips, etc. If I can make back to the ramp and load up, that's the BEST and FIRST choice I make.

Ironically 20 years ago there was a lady hit by lightning in the Tradinghouse lake parking lot going to load the boat before a storm.

That wouldn't read well on court if a Marshall got hit by lightning

I avoid it. Had lighting strike about 20 foot from me and the concussion of it knocked me off my feet and dazed me once. I don't play with that mess. No fish is worth my life.

This coming July will be 50 yrs that a friend and I were fishing at their family farm in northeast Kansas and he was killed by lighting. We stopped under a big walnut tree to get out of the rain. I went and tied up our fish to a T post in the water and stood under the tree with him to wait out the rain. once it quit I went out to get our fish the next thing I remember is flying thru the air when I woke up my friend John was laying there he did not survive. They figured it hit the tree, and the strike followed the roots out into the water and luckily for me the water dissipated the electricity. So, to this day if I hear thunder or see lighting I head to shelter. This little green fish we chase is not worth your life.

only a fool with a death wish stays on the water when lightning is in the air . If you can hear thunder get off the water as lightning can travel out a cloud a long way. Been there done that when I was young .I told god if he would save me he would never see me do it again

I don't like lightning. If it's nearby I will try to take cover, at least beach the boat. My partner and I did just that on Sandlin during a tournament last year. On the other hand, I look at it sort of like being on a rollercoaster. I've heard of them jumping the track, but what are the odds it will happen when I'm on it? I know lightning could strike a tree on the bank where we are, or hit us in the boat. I could also be killed when someone runs over my boat on Smith Lake, or in my truck on the way to the lake. I've golfed, fished, and been outdoors in the weather for more decades than I care to think about and I'm still here.

A kid died years ago during an August football practice and a lady I know said practices in Texas should only be allowed when the temperature is below 85°. I asked her if she was alright with taking her kid to practice at 2 a.m. and picking him up at 4:00. Or maybe we could just consider that life isn't without risk and sometimes...thankfully extremely rarely...bad things happen.

That's just my viewpoint. I understand it's not for everyone.