On 31 May 2005 08:40:31 -0700, wrote:

Another question:

I was out on the Housatonic this weekend, when some thunder clouds
rolled in. Just as the thunder rumbled, the fish went wild. Every
cast I had a hook up. The clouds moved in further, lightning flashed
in the distance. All the other fisherman left the water. Finally, I
did too. Though, man, was it hard to leave those leaping browns.

My question: does anyone actually know just how dangerous it is to be
fishing - standing in the river - when there's thunder and lightning?

I'm not talking about situations where lightning's striking constantly,
visibly touching ground in close proximity to you, rain in sheets, the
really scary/exciting kind of storms. It seems fairly obvious that
it's not a good idea to stand around anywhere outside during those kind
of storms. I'm talking more about, maybe a lightning flash once a
minute, some thunder rumbling, maybe some of it loud, some rain coming
down. But not, if you weren't standing in a body of water, something
you'd be concerned about.

Another part of this question: in the Housatonic, at least, the river
is the lowest point around. There are hills all around that seem much
more likely to attract lightning. Unless if the combination of
water-conductivity and you standing in said water holding a 9' graphite
pole trumps the fact that you're standing in a low area.

I'd love any scientific, accurate, knowledgeable answers and/or links.
Though I'll accept people just adding their .02, sharing what they do
in these situations, based on fear, wives tales, whatever...

FWIW, there are different types of lightning, including air-to-ground,
but all (at least AFAIK) air-to-ground is not just the charge coming
from the cloud, but a charge coming up from the ground, too: a leader
from the cloud meeting up with a streamer from the ground along a
charged path of air. I suspect that there is plenty of info on the 'net
(or maybe in the Federal Register). But if it were me, I'd not take
chances with lightning as far as fishing - the first "nearby" strike
could be the one that kills you - because, at least to me, I'd like to
be able to fish another day. YMMV...or not, if you get fried...

TC,
R