We fished a club tourney and were catching fish like crazy and just fished right through the storm. Thinking back it was a dumb, dangerous thing to do. But at the time just could not stop throwing back in that brush pile. I did try and keep the rod tip down though.

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, but for gods sake, goin fast all the time is just not necessary) [/quote]

whatever! If the foot ain't on the floor, the trolling motor must be down or its on the trailer.

The feeling you get when the hair on the back of your neck stands up might be the eeriest feeling in the world. I hope I never put myself or anyone else in that situation ever again. If you have had that happen to you, you will know what I mean.

Yup, I'd say stupid is pretty acurate.

NO. I've had to rethink my "fish through the storm" mentality after reading about "clear sky" lightning where bolts can extend up to 25 miles from the storm body. Also, I think I remember that 30 minutes is the recommended period to wait after the last thunder.

My very first trip out in my first boat we got caught in one. Severe winds, heavy rain, and maybe even some small hail mixed in. Lightning everywhere. Weathering this in a 16' Tracker was not fun.
I keep a weather app handy on my phone and get off the lake or under cover.

I was fishing on Guntersville with a friend when I was a kid. Where we were, you could see 10 miles down the lake and we saw the storm coming.. the closer the storm got, the better the fish bit.. we were out in the middle of the lake on a creek channel just wearing the bass out.. finally.. it just got too close so we cranked up and made a beeline for the closest shore.. just as we rammed the bow of the boat onto the shore, the hail started.. nothing like getting pounded sitting in a boat, pouring rain and hail.. lightning all around.. that was the last time I fished in a thunder storm.

I was on coletto creek about a month ago, we were fishing in the rain( no thunder) moved spots near the dam. All of a sudden it got REALLY bright, lightning struck about 100 yards from where we were. I never gotten the boat loaded up quicker in my life. My buddy and I were pretty darn scared

Put your rods down and beach your boat and hunker down. Don't carry a lightning rod around with you. Top two groups of outdoor people to get struck by lightning are Fishermen and Golfers. Wonder why?

I guess I am a wimp.. If the forecat calls for a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms (like tomorrow in San Antonio area) I dont want to leave the house.. Not just because of the lightening.. I dont care about having a wet rear..

Yep stupid.. God gave your a brain know use it... I want to go to heaven too but I don't need to speed up the process plus I have a great kids that would miss daddy.

I was fishing a small club tournament almost 20 years ago on Fork. I just wrecked my lower unit by hitting a stump coming out of Alligator (I probably went over that spot 50 times before). A storm was brewing but it was just overcast at the time. Rain was predicted for later that day.

I found out that my forward gear was toast but I had reverse. So I turned the boat around and backed across the lake to the Minnow Bucket where we put in. As I�m about � way across the lake we saw the first bolt of lightning. I got to the ramp and we just beached the boat. About an hour went by and the skies brightened a little so we dropped the trolling motor and started fishing the coves around the Minnow Bucket. We ended up limiting out and then another wave of storms hit. It was about an hour from weigh-in across the lake at Lunker Lodger so we loaded up the boat and drove over to weigh-in.

When we got there, there were Police cars, an ambulance and a fire truck as well as a lot of spectators and the guys from our club but one team was missing. We asked a cop what was going on and he said two guys found a boat floating with two dead guys in the boat. We thought the two dead guys might have been our missing boat. Turns out our guys found the boat drifting in front of Little Caney and were towing the boat in.

The two dead guys were a Father In-Law and his Son In-Law. The story we heard was that the Father In-Law just retired and bought himself a brand new Ranger and they were taking it out for the first time. The Police said it looked like a bolt of lightning hit the back pedestal seat and somehow traveled forward and killed the two guys as they were sitting in the [censored]-pit.

Scared us all! I have a lot of respect for lightening after seeing that. We actually put a rule in our by-laws that state you must quit fishing and seek shelter when there is lightening. Although at a recent tournament when it was started lightening out I know at least one boat that stayed out and fished.

Oh and we took second place that day. Too bad I had to drop about another grand to get my lower unit fixed.

ALL, Allen Bass Fisher's report above is 100% accurate. I fish with him and we were there. Finding 2 guys drifting motionless in a brand new boat, is terrifying! DONT DO IT.
Yes, the fishing can be great but the consequence can be your last!
When lightning struck that day, we had 8-12 pound fish rolling up to the surface like they had been shocked, you could raise your rod tip and hear a frequency go up and down at every movement. Be careful and stay outta Thunder Storms and Lightning when at all possible...

Once my rod tip starts buzzin. Otherwise just throw on the frog toggs and keep casting.

I remember those two killed in that Ranger like it was yesterday. Mark Pack and I came very close in Big Mustang one day in December. I've also been very close to being struck on the golf course. All in my younger days. Never again.

barryfish, I hope you'll re-think your machismo because it is idiotic. There were some folks on a ski boat in Shreveport when a storm came up quickly. This was about 10 years ago. The passengers all begged the boat owner to seek shelter. Dumbazz stood up on the back of the boat, stuck his arms in the air and said "I ain't scared, c'mon God, strike me down".

The Lord obliged immediately. You temp fate long enough, you're gonna end up on the wrong side of the grass.