It's That Time of Year Again To Keep One Eye on the Sky

Was reading in the latest issue of Jay Kumar's BassBlaster where a 36-year-old B.A.S.S. Nation angler from Italy was killed Monday, June 6, 2020, when he was electrocuted by a lightning strike.

The victim and a friend were fishing on Lake Golsena at the time. The friend was unharmed, though "greatly shaken" by the lightning.

I reckon bass pro Greg Hackney is someone else who also can relate to being shaken by lightning. I recently read his account of a tournament he fished back in September 2016. Seems that event was beset by its share of lightning, too.

"On Friday, we had rain early in the morning, but it didn't amount to much. Later in the day, some really nasty stuff started rolling in toward us, though," said Hackney (left). "I fished as long as it was safe, but then I went to the bank. I measured how close it was by watching the flashes and then counting the seconds before I heard the thunder.

"That's not real scientific, and I'm the first to say that it might not have been enough," continued Hackney. "I'm told that if you can see lightning, you should get off the water immediately...so, anyway, we--my marshal and I--went to the bank and sat in the bottom of the boat to get as low as possible. We probably should have curled up in the fetal position, but there was all kinds of water in the bottom of the boat, and it was cold. We stayed that way for about an hour and a half. It was so bad at one point that you couldn't hear the individual claps of thunder. It was just a constant roar above us.

"Once it got real quiet for a few minutes," explained Hackney, "and I thought it was over. I stood up and dropped the trolling motor over when, all of a sudden, without warning, the sky exploded. I just about jumped out of my skin. I thought later that it would be a heck of a thing to sit on the floor of a wet boat for over an hour and then get killed when you thought it was over.

"Afterwards, I found out that several of the guys fished through it. That was crazy. As much as I would have liked to up my placing in the tournament, I want to fish again more. I can't do that dead or horribly disabled.

"If I'm honest with you, I'd say that when I was young, I probably would have fished through it, too. We all think we're invincible when we're young. My thoughts about the other anglers continuing to fish come from a man who once lived in a glass house. I'm careful about throwing rocks. Nevertheless, fishing in a lightning storm just doesn't make sense. It's not worth the risk.

"To give you an idea of how wild it got, I'll tell you this: One angler--I'll not name him--made the decision to continue fishing. His marshal demanded to go to the bank. The angler complied. The marshal wasn't seen again. I told the angler straight up, 'Your marshal had it right.'

"I feel the need to say all of this because I know that the desire to fish can be overwhelming. I've been there...I am there. But some things just don't make sense. If you doubt what I say, check around the Internet and look at the pictures of things that have been struck by lightning. They'll get your attention and give you a fresh perspective on the matter."

According to the National Weather Service, there are steps that can be taken to avoid increasing the risk of being hit by lightning. They encourage you to avoid open areas and the tallest objects in the area, especially tall or isolated trees. The best safety measure, however, is not to get caught in a thunderstorm in the first place. Listen to weather forecasts and get off the water at the first indication of any storm. Then find shelter in a building or hard-topped car. Whatever you do, don't make one more cast; it very well could be your last.