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"I went out for a couple hours this evening and didn't get a bite. The usual thunderstorm threatening with lightning drove me in." JackGaither

Related Resources • Night Fishing • Too Hot To Go Fishing? Never! • Late July Fishing Patterns

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It was a dark and stormy night ...

A few weeks ago I went to Bartlett's Ferry to try to find some fish for the Spalding County Sportsman Club tournament the following Sunday. The third time rain and lightning ran me off the lake I gave up and came home, but not before it reminded me of a trip there several years ago.

Bob Pierce and I were fishing a night tournament in the mid-1970's and ran way up river, planning to fish for the three hours before dark. We planned to run back down the river before it got completely dark and fish near the landing until weigh-in.

Although it was a hot, humid, cloudy July afternoon, everything seemed fine. No rain bothered us and no distant thunder made us worry about an approaching storm. Suddenly, there was a loud crack and boom as a lightning bolt struck near us. Almost immediately huge rain drops started pounding us, so hard we called it a frog washer, the worst combination of a frog choker and a gully washer!

We quickly pulled into a small cut for protection from the lightning and put on our rain suits. We could do nothing but sit with our heads bowed and listen to the pounding rain and crashing thunder all around us. It was so loud it was hard to hear each other so we were not even able to talk about how bad it was.

The boat was sitting in water about two feet deep and for a few minutes I had to keep running the trolling motor to keep us from being blown out of the cut we were hiding in. Then I realized the boat had quit moving. It was raining so hard it had sunk the boat down about 4 inches, enough to put the motor on the ground.

I had to run the bilge pump constantly to keep the boat from sinking. That storm drenched us for a solid two hours as it got darker and darker. The lightning flashes seemed even brighter as the light filtering through the clouds got weaker. Soon it seemed the only light around us was the lightning.

Finally the rain and lightning left, and we had to try to head back down the river. It was slow going since there was some fog from all the rain and I was not real familiar with the water. We did make it back safely and actually caught a few bass before the 2:00 AM weigh-in. Although we did not win, we felt lucky to have survived the storm and the ride back in the dark!

I had a similar experience at Jackson one summer practicing for a night tournament there. The air was so humid it seemed thick and heavy, but it was calm and I did not hear any thunder at all.

A couple of hours before dark I fished up the Tussahaw River and caught several keepers off a deep ledge, so I knew I would start there in the tournament. Just before dark I headed down to the dam to try to find some fish in that area.

I was fishing right at the dam when suddenly the wind started howling over it and blowing rain. Lightning started cracking and crashing all around me in the near dark. I was not about to try to head back to the ramp or even to try to move to an empty boat dock for cover.

Back then there was no buoy line at the dam so I pulled in right beside it, thinking the metal railing on top of it and the dam itself would protect me from the electricity flying through the air. I was able to tie the boat to a log wedged in the rocks and the boat stayed right against the wall of the dam since the wind was coming over it. I could see the rain blowing sideways over the dam in the lights on top of it.

Merlin my dog was with me and she crawled under the console. I had a poncho and I sat down in the drivers seat and covered my head and the console with it, making a tent for the two of us. Even with my eyes shut tightly, I could still see the lightning flashes!

The rain started at 8:50 PM and I finally was able to put the poncho up and head back to the landing at 10:45. Although it was raining a little, I was ready to get off the water and head home!

If you go fishing this summer, I hope all the storms stay away from you!

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