Arc off your fishing rod?

[bloopbloob]

The fishing the rain thread reminded me of a trip out at Wabamun 2 years ago. Big thunderstorm moved in quickly, saw a funnel cloud. Every time I'd go to touch my reel, as soon as my hand got within about an inch of my reel, an arc would jump the gap from my finger to the reel. I could even hold my finger there and the arc would stay. Anyone else ever had this happen? Needless to say we were at full throttle (150hp) after experiencing this... still couldn't outrun the storm though.

[sanjuanworm]

This happened to me on Crawling one year. Scary stuff.

[Lund rebel]

Was out at Mayatan 4 years ago probally and it was starting to get black out, turned to look at my girlfriend and her hair looked as if she had ran a balloon around in it, there was a lot of static in the air. Small lake we made it to shore in less than a minute and waited it out in the truck before we loaded the boat

[Lefty-Canuck]

We had that happen to my buddy at Pigeon one day years ago....his rod was sparking and gave him a shock.

LC

[JohninAB]

Was out at Mayatan 4 years ago probally and it was starting to get black out, turned to look at my girlfriend and her hair looked as if she had ran a balloon around in it, there was a lot of static in the air. Small lake we made it to shore in less than a minute and waited it out in the truck before we loaded the boat

When we were kids and at my parents cabin in Saskatchewan, we used to go swimming in the dead calm before a storm and our hair would look exactly as described in the quoted reply.

Give anything to do that again as it would mean I had hair again!:sHa_sarcasticlol:

[Brandonkop]

This is My Charged Fishing Story,


Wow, this happened to us as well at Calling Lake. Actually it really freaked us out. We were trolling off Bug Point for Walleye and there was a nice thunder cloud developing over the west side of the lake. As the cloud approached us there was no lightning so we kept on fishing. My grandpa hooked up with a nice walleye on the bottom bouncer 6lbs+ and it was giving a good pull. All of a sudden he says Ouch... ouch... ouch. He was getting shocked by his rod. Then my rod started to buzz. It was making an audible buzzing noise that everyone could hear in the boat. I dropped the rod and we were all getting a little panicked with a big walleye on the line and what we feared was an impending lightning strike and the end of our fishing day (the end of a lot more than that!). Grandpa was able to get a little bit of grounding by leaning his rod on the aluminum window frame on the boat and we netted the big walleye. He hopped in the captains chair and we drove right into shore near the tree line. Waited a few minutes and the cloud and intensely charged atmosphere passed.

That has to be one of the scariest fishing moments I've had. There have been many others, but this was just FAR OUT! Glad to have survived it to fish another day.

[EZM]

I've had my rod vibrate before and it's not a very comfortable experience.

Got the heck off the lake in a hurry just as storm kicked up - it became a really violent storm really quickly.

Anytime I see a storm moving in - I have my eyes glued to it. Just making sure it's just rain .... and not thunder/lightning ..... first sign of lightning ...... I'm out ...

Sitting in a aluminum boat with lots of electronics doesn't make me feel safe at all in these conditions.

[cube]

We had that happen to my buddy at Pigeon one day years ago....his rod was sparking and gave him a shock.

LC

Might be a good reason to get a cheap glass rod instead of an expensive conducting graphite one.;)

[drivinman22]

Lightning is nothing to ignore. I spend the winter fishing Lake Okeechobee and there are people killed every year there from it. If it even looks like an electrical storm is coming I head for the dock.:scared0018:

[Bushleague]

I used to work at the Edmonton International Airport, you'd be surprised how often they bump the lightning risk up to an amber alert, or even red on occasion, even when the skies are clear.

[Brandonkop]

Lightning is nothing to ignore. I spend the winter fishing Lake Okeechobee and there are people killed every year there from it. If it even looks like an electrical storm is coming I head for the dock.:scared0018:

Interesting info off Environment Canada about Lightning strike deaths:
Lightning is a common meteorological hazard in Canada, which regularly kills and injures people. Based on an analysis of media reports, vital statistics, hospital admission and ER records, and fire loss data, it is estimated that each year on average in Canada, there are between nine and 10 lightning-related deaths and up to 164 lightning-related injuries.

Despite this, deaths due to lightning have declined significantly over the past century. Canadian vital statistics show that lightning-related deaths have fallen from a peak of 2.4 deaths per million population in 1931-1935, to 0.11 deaths from 1999-2003. This observation is consistent with trends in other developed countries.

The majority of lightning-related fatalities and injuries in Canada occur in Ontario. Over 90 per cent of lightning deaths reported in vital statistics since 1921 have occurred in Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba. With the exception of British Columbia, where few deaths have been recorded, the amount of fatalities reflects the current provincial populations and frequency of cloud-to-ground lightning strikes.

Most lighting-related fatalities and injuries occur during the summer season (June to August). More than 94 per cent of lightning-related deaths and 74 per cent of injuries reported in the media since 1986 have occurred between June and August.

Outdoor recreation has accounted for over 70 per cent of those killed and over 62 per cent of injures. Campers and hikers have been among those most commonly affected by lightning, while golfing, picnicking and boating were also common. Results from other studies also show that sports such as soccer and baseball are often associated with multiple casualty lightning incidents. The bulk of fatalities for all of these activities (68 per cent) and injuries (68 per cent) occurred to people who were in open areas or to those taking shelter under trees.

[cube]

I wonder if there is a difference in injury and fatalities when looking at Fiberglas boats vs. metal boats with respect to lightning.

[Tigger72]

Standing in the dock at gull lake last summer fishing with a buddy and you could see a storm rolling in and all of a sudden my graphite rod started buzzing loud enough my buddy and others on the dock could hear it and every time I touched where the rod goes into the handle I would get a shock .... Enough of a shock that I would almost drop my rod. Then when I turned around to get my buddy to hold my rod I looked around and every one had left me there... ( I guess it was time to pack it up!!!) kinda un-nerving !!

[fluxcore]

I was on pigeon last year when a thunder cell started to develop right on top of us, first my line started crackling as it dipped in and out of the water while jigging then my rod started to buzz and my hair stood up while hanging onto it. We got the hell off the water!!! Very uneasy feeling

[Bushleague]

Interesting info off Environment Canada about Lightning strike deaths:
Lightning is a common meteorological hazard in Canada, which regularly kills and injures people. Based on an analysis of media reports, vital statistics, hospital admission and ER records, and fire loss data, it is estimated that each year on average in Canada, there are between nine and 10 lightning-related deaths and up to 164 lightning-related injuries.

Despite this, deaths due to lightning have declined significantly over the past century. Canadian vital statistics show that lightning-related deaths have fallen from a peak of 2.4 deaths per million population in 1931-1935, to 0.11 deaths from 1999-2003. This observation is consistent with trends in other developed countries.

The majority of lightning-related fatalities and injuries in Canada occur in Ontario. Over 90 per cent of lightning deaths reported in vital statistics since 1921 have occurred in Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba. With the exception of British Columbia, where few deaths have been recorded, the amount of fatalities reflects the current provincial populations and frequency of cloud-to-ground lightning strikes.

Most lighting-related fatalities and injuries occur during the summer season (June to August). More than 94 per cent of lightning-related deaths and 74 per cent of injuries reported in the media since 1986 have occurred between June and August.

Outdoor recreation has accounted for over 70 per cent of those killed and over 62 per cent of injures. Campers and hikers have been among those most commonly affected by lightning, while golfing, picnicking and boating were also common. Results from other studies also show that sports such as soccer and baseball are often associated with multiple casualty lightning incidents. The bulk of fatalities for all of these activities (68 per cent) and injuries (68 per cent) occurred to people who were in open areas or to those taking shelter under trees.

That would make sense, while the human population has boomed the number of lightning strikes have probably remained unchanged.

[wildwoods]

Breakdown voltage of regular air is approximately 33,000 Volts per cm, so to jump 1 inch, we're talking around 84,000 Volts. It is low current however,
until you get the lightning strike, so won't hurt you initially.

The reason it happens is because the earth always has an electrical field that increases with altitude above the surface (normally around 30V per foot in fair weather). You're at 0V (Ground) and the tip of your rod so many feet above you. The rod is generally carbon or graphite and is a really good conductor, so when you walk up to it, you're shorting between yourself at 0V and the end of the rod, even though you're touching the base.

During a thunderstorm that voltage gradient is thousands of volts higher, until it builds up to a voltage that can be overcome, when it shorts (strike), it drops down to zero and starts rising again.

When the strike happens, negative leaders come down from the cloud, and if things are real bad, positive leaders will come up from the ground to meet the negative ones. The positive leaders originate from things that are exhibiting coronal discharge, i.e. what you were seeing on your rod.

You were extremely lucky to not get hit. When boating we're generally the highest point on the water and with all the metal/carbon/graphite equipment,
a very good conductor.

There's no way you can outrun a lightning strike. If it happens (or you ever feel your hair standing on end), the best thing is to get the rod flat in the boat and get low in the boat immediately. Any escape plan would be the nearest shore with some high objects on it (trees etc.).

Remember, lightning can strike up to 5-10miles distance from a storm, i.e. you can have clear blue skies overhead and get hit by lightning. If you can hear thunder, you're within 10 miles.

The best solution is to avoid the situation and get off the water whenever you suspect a storm.

There are tools you can get. I've got a gadget where I get a beep every time there's a lightning strike within a 40km radius. I find it gives me time to get to shore. There's also this which is only a few seconds delayed:

http://www.lightningmaps.org

That's an incredible post. Way to go. Signed: a simple carpenter

[EZM]

I wonder if there is a difference in injury and fatalities when looking at Fiberglas boats vs. metal boats with respect to lightning.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was .... but you would need to compare the amount (ratios) of all boats, by material, and correlate that to the amount of hours/minutes each type of boat spends in dangerous conditions and then divide that by the incident rate. I'm pretty sure this has not been studied to that level.

However ....

Aluminum was a common material used in wiring not long ago as it an excellent conductor of electricity.

It would stand to reason a fiberglass boat might be "safer" compared to a boat made from conductive materials like aluminum.

I'm sure the amount of electronics found on many fishing boats does not help the situation either.

Anyone want to buy my copper boat with the tall fly bridge? :)

[madman]

We were out fishing one summer day and seen some clouds rolling in and the wind started to pick up. I noticed my rod started to hum, the higher i lifted it the louder it sang. So i played a little tune like a conducter of a symphony orchestra, pulled anchor and bolted.