Fishing in a tinny in a storm

[murf]

Back in the Xmas holidays 05 we were out a couple of kms off Pebbly Beach NSW out in the tinny when a thunderstorm was heading up the range about 10km inland. We had cloud around us but the storm front was heaps away and travelling parallel to us. The skip asked me what do you think and I answered we are alright its not coming our way. Well we were getting some nice Tuskies :).
I could here this noise like a hissing sound, I was searching around everywhere trying to find this noise because it sounded like something was leaking air :-?. Eventually discovered that when I put my rod horizontal to the water the noise stopped and then starts again when I stand the rod up :o. So here we are all the rods are singing their heads off now and the skip says stuff this I’m out of here (we both are sparkies) this was one of the eeriest moments of my life but very thrilling in a way. All I could think of was the video of that bass fisherman that was struck by lightening and his rod just turned into a pile of fine fluffy threads.
By the time we had got back to camp the storm (it never did get near us) had passed and it was a great afternoon

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

A photo on the day

cheers Murf

[JasonT]

Wow.. that sounds wierd!
Never seen or heard of it!
Could it have been the wind???


JT

[marlinqld]

a relation to st elmos fire that happens on bigger boats masts?

mike

[staddie_local]

wow, thats crazy.. :o
les.. ;)

[murf]

JT
there was no wind
maybe it was ionisation of the air or something??? but it was like the rods had air pressure inside them and it was hissing out, but it just didn't stop.

mike
st elmos fire? I will have to look that one up

Murf

[oddbudman]

What were the rods made out of?

If it was the storm causing the noise, my guess would be that the Rods were acting as Antennas when you had them upright, and due to the high potential of the storm clouds above you, the rods were actually being induced with a fair amount of electrical potential energy. This potential on the rod was then terminating to the sea water (ground potential) through your fishing line possibly creating the noise you were hearing. Due the fact that both the stom and the location of the tip of your fishing rod were constantly moving, the induced potential on the rod would have been continously changing, and at times this change may have created current to flow down the line at an audible frequency harmonic (the fishing line acting as some sort of crude audible piezo-electric transducer).

Either that or there was wind causing it that you didn't realise (when you rod is upright there is more length and area of line to be caught by the wind). ;)

[Ron173]

Wow!

gives me the heebies just readin about it!!

Ron

[Roughasguts]

Next time you sit in a storm, hook up your Multi meter, to your rods and ground to the tinnie. Could be interesting.

St elmo's fire is similar to those little plasma balls at the science fair, they make your hair stand on end.

You can do the same in an Aircraft during a storm place your finger tips near the wind sheild and there you go little light show dancing of your fingers.

[PinHead]

graphite rods would make great lightining conductors

[murf]

Hi oddbudman
rods are just off the shelf clear tip Uglystick styles. there was no wind and the noise was definatelly coming from the rod. It didn't matter if the line was out in the water, loose or tight against the rod.

felt as though I was holding a lightning arrester rod :-?

boats are out in storms all the time but sitting in a tinny out there we felt like a sitting duck.

Roughasguts

it would be interesting to know the potential across the rod. I couldn't pick a noise change when you held the rod up the middle or on the handle? thought that grounding it out with hand might have made a differance.

Murf

[murf]

mike

thanks for the st elmos fire tip ;)

I did a google and come up with some interesting info
basically its a corona which I have had plenty of experience with (trying to stop it on High voltage gear)

http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/elements/stelmo.htm

still eery stuff though
Murf

[jackster]

read this and the links
you were lucky ya didnt get a strike
thats a static prelude [dont know right name] to a strike...

http://webfishingclub.#########57.com/index.cgi?board=boatsafety&action=display&thread=1127364318

[DazSamFishing]

Interesting story...

I am always worried about holding my graphite rods when a storm is approaching...

Keep in mind that lightning can strike in a clear blue sky well ahead of a storm!

Daz

[Poodroo]

I read a story once about a lady who ended up being in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was in an open field and there was a storm some miles away from her and so far in fact she didn't even give a second thought to being in any danger from it. What happened just simply was a freak thing but has always made me aware of the dangers of lightening. This storm apparently had a bolt of lightning that didn't earth itself and literally travelled across the skies looking for a point to earth itself and you guessed it, it picked this lady. Damn unlucky but she lived to tell the story. When out on the water if there is any hint of a storm we pack it in and head home and we don't even have graphite rods and fish out of a fibreglass boat.

Poodroo

[CHRIS_aka_GWH]

Heath made a similar post a while back about his rocket launchers -

60 million volts and 60 litres of fuel - it'd be better than riverfire from a distance 8-)

chris

[reef_king]

yes have been out in quite a few storms....(scary stuff)....and have had this happen every time lightning was near, but i think it was only the graphite rods the 'glass rods were normal.

was told by the guy who sold us some graphite rods that when lightning is above the rods would buzz and to lay them on the floor of the boat as there thought to attract lightning stikes....never belived him until it happened the first time.


ty