Gabe and his 17-year-old son, Christian, were fishing a Missouri lake in the summer of 2010 when the lightning first hit. It lasted about four seconds, which made Gabe think to himself, "That's pretty close."
Christian, meanwhile, offered this take on the situation. "My dad and I knew it was going to rain that day, but we didn't think much of it. The storm came up quick. It started pouring, and we put on our rain jackets. Before long, the rain stopped, and the clouds broke. But then we saw lightning. The thunder rumbled closer, and I looked over at my dad and said, 'That doesn't sound good.' However, we kept fishing our way back to the dock. I actually just had caught a small largemouth. I released the fish and went to cast. That's when everything went black."
Gabe described the moment of reckoning as "if someone hit you in the chest with a sledgehammer. I was in the water immediately."
Christian, on the other hand, said he didn't feel any pain at all when he first came to--he just felt cold. He had been launched backward and landed between the two consoles. "Everything looked like a negative," he said, continuing, "colors were different, nothing looked like it should. It smelled like an electrical fire--the most vile smell. It still haunts me."
At first, Christian was slipping in and out of consciousness. When he really came to, he said he felt like he was on fire. He described everything as seeming to be "in slow motion."
"My muscles were all contracted," he explained. "I couldn't move my legs or my toes or anything else. I didn't know where my dad was. I leaned over and saw a boat coming. Someone was yelling that they were coming to get us. One of the men on that boat, Andy was his name, turned out to be an Iraq war veteran. He, his girlfriend, and his father had been fishing close by, and they pulled my dad out of the water. Andy kept talking to me, while his dad called 9-1-1.
"In the ambulance," Christian continued, "I heard one of the paramedics say to the driver: 'Hit it as fast as you can go on the straightaways.' Then everything started getting far away, everything was echoing, and I thought, 'This is it. I'm going to die.' I remember the paramedic grabbing this box, and he pushed a yellow button that said 'shock.' Then I was out."
When Andy reached Gabe, he was about to drown. Then Andy went to Christian, who as he described, "was still smoldering. I dumped some water on him to put out the fire in his hair. I could tell he was the one who had taken the main hit from the lightning."
"My heartbeat was so erratic," noted Christian, "they said if they didn't do something, it would kill me."
Paramedics arrived and took both men to the hospital, where Christian spent about a week. He still has some scars from his ordeal--mostly on his hand and lower waist. (For a photo gallery of his injuries and the healing process, check out this link: http://imgur.com/gallery/F1S8M?gallery#0. Just arrow down to see all 25 photos.)
Gabe, who makes fishing rods for a living, said he thinks his graphite rod served as a lightning rod. It's his opinion that the lightning struck the rod first, thus saving his son's life. And Christian calls it a miracle "that the lightning didn't just rip us apart."
Both made it back to the dock safely, but not without some harrowing moments. For a very short but "eye-popping" video of the action they saw during their ride (like you see in this photo), visit http://www.wired2fish.com/fishing-close-encounters-with-lightning. Said Jason Sealock of Wired 2Fish.com, "This makes our skin crawl. It might be the best reason we've ever seen not to fish during lightning." Owings shared the photo with Wired2Fish from his Facebook page.
An investigation reported that the lightning had hit either Magdaleno or the boat. His fishing partner, Mike Hardin, was knocked unconscious but survived.
According to preliminary reports, a quick-moving afternoon storm had passed over part of the lake, while other parts remained clear and sunny. Still other parts reportedly were cloudy with drizzle. The deceased and his partner were fishing approximately 45 minutes away from the tournament launch area. Hardin, the boat owner, had gotten his limit during the first half of the day and had relinquished the trolling motor to Magdaleno for his half.
When the lightning hit, Hardin was knocked off his feet and awoke after an undetermined amount of time on the back deck of the boat, not knowing exactly what had happened. He was examined and released at a local hospital, but Magdaleno did not survive.
Noted Matt, the author of this tragic tale, "It's important to stop fishing during lightning storms. When in doubt, call it quits for the day--or until the storm passes. The bass aren't going anywhere."
If you need a refresher on the facts about lightning, you can brush up at this website: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/06/0623_040623_lightningfacts_2.html.
NOTE: The first incident described in this post represents my compilation of two separate interview accounts. One appeared on http://www.fieldandstream.com, the other on http://www.fishingworld.com.au.
Here are some links to additional subject-matter references:
* http://fishing.about.com/od/basicfishinginstruction/a/fishing_light.htm
* http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/boating_safety.html
* http://www.bassfishingusa.com/Articles/BudFields/BF-Article-06.html
* http://www.wmi.org/bassfish/bassboard/boats_motors/message.html?message_id=324859
* http://www.bassfan.com/opinion_article.asp?ID=66#.U6MhpkvD-M8
Debunking the 5 Most Common Myths About Lightning Strikes and Safety
Not true. Among the 261 people killed by lightning between 2006 and 2013, fishermen accounted for more than three times as many fatalities as golfers, and camping and boating each chalked up almost twice as many deaths as golf.
2. The "30/30 rule" can keep you safe.
It's been years since experts relied on the 30/30 rule, which went like this: If it takes less than 30 seconds to hear thunder after seeing a lightning flash, lightning is close enough to pose a threat, so go indoors. And, after the storm ends, wait 30 minutes before resuming outdoor activities. Instead, the new advice is just to go inside, either a substantial shelter or a hard-topped metal vehicle, at the first sound of thunder. Once there, experts still recommend waiting a half-hour before going back outside. The general rule is that if you can hear thunder, you're within striking distance of the storm, and you need to inside right away.
3. If you're caught outside, assume the "lightning squat."
The idea was to squat down low with your two feet together. Some had you putting your hands over your head or your ears, basically to get yourself into a ball. But that's also wrong. People are endangered as much by ground lightning as they are by a direct strike. For instance, lightning can hit a tree and then spread along the surface of the earth. If you're crouching on the ground, you're likely to get hit. Again, the best advice is to head to shelter at the first sign of a storm.
4. Just go ahead with your plans during a lightning storm.
The biggest mistake most people make is not being willing to cancel or postpone activities when dangerous weather crops up. Men, who make up more than 80 percent of lightning fatalities, are notoriously unwilling to postpone a hike or head back to shore on a fishing trip. But that stubbornness may be a deadly decision.
5. You'll hear a storm in time to get to safety.
People are able to hear thunder from about 10 miles away. But any number of factors can interfere with the warning. In many cases, you can't hear it that far because of background noise. You won't hear it if you're near a highway or in a crowd at a fair or ball game--or, as we often are confronted with around here: jet noise. And if the wind is blowing, it will muffle the sound.
Bottom line: Don't take chances with lightning. The odds of being struck may be one in a million in a given year and one in 10,000 over a lifetime, but it's better not to be that one.
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