Yes! Even when thunderstorms are miles away, they can send charges that far. I fished a bass tournament on Potholes one time and we all experienced weird stuff, like shocks, and our line hanging in the air when we cast. One guy's foot was almost fried when he had it on the electric motor foot control. Some outside energy came through the water and melted down the wiring in his controls! We were surprised that there wasn't a major fish kill...