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Posts: 663
| Here's a copy of an incredible story I posted on the Eagle River Guides Site. Hope it's ok to do that since it deals with one of our own who really stepped up to the plate.
Dave Olson and his son Zack came to Eagle River for a couple days of relaxation and musky fishing. Dave is an employee of Smokey's Musky Shop in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. He called me a few days ago to ask about conditions and if I thought it would be worth the trip. I did what every good bait shop employee does and told him "come on up they're starting to snap!" This morning we talked a bit more and I gave him a few spots to try. This evening when I got home from Guide's Choice I gave Dave a call to see how they did. "We had a crazy day" he exclaimed. I figured they tied into some monster muskies but the story was more than remarkable. After fishing most of the day on the Three Lakes Chain, Dave and Zack decided to try the muskies on Catfish Lake of the Eagle River Chain. Early in the evening they were startled by a crash between two boats. Dave was nearby and immediately moved his boat over to the scene of the accident. Apparently a speedboat and a pontoon boat had collided violently and both boats were starting to capsize. A young girl had been thrown into the water and was struggling to stay afloat without a life jacket on. Dave maneuvered into postion and was able to pick the girl up. She appeared to have a compound leg fracture and was in serious distress. Dave then made the call to 911 to get emergency services on the scene and did his best to help the other accident victims until help arrived. He was still quite shaken when I spoke to him around 9:00 this evening and said "it was the most traumatic thing I ever saw." Dave is a big hearted soft spoken guy and I think he said it all when he told me, "I'm just glad we were close enough to help."
Thank God he was there and jumped into action that probably saved a great tragedy from occuring. I think I remember a quote about heroes being ordinary people who do extraordinary things. Dave and Zack certainly fit that description. Thanks guys. |
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| True heroes among us!  Thanks for posting it Pete. It's Slamr's birthday, so hopefully it won't get deleted  |
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Posts: 156
Location: Oconomowoc, WI | Great job guys. Musky fishing is truly about being at the right place at the right time! |
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Posts: 5874
| Big O is a MFer, and is one of the good guys. Those people are lucky it was Dave who decided to fish that lake that day. Way to go Big O! |
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Posts: 5161
| A truly great story,good job guys..bill |
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Posts: 1769
Location: Algonquin, ILL | Great Job Guy's, Hope you get a Monster as a reward
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Posts: 2089
| Wow.Read the story last night.Real heros.Brought me back to April 12,1981 when my brother and I were in a similar situation.Boat flipped with my Dad and Uncle.Got my Dad but lost Uncle Tony.Life has never been the same.Be careful on the water. Steve |
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Posts: 32882
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Big O is a great guy! Way to save the day, sir!! |
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Posts: 2112
Location: The Sportsman, home, or out on the water | Only proves what I've been saying all along- MUSKY FISHERMAN ARE THE BEST FOLKS ON EARTH! |
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Posts: 169
Location: Pewaukee, WI | I spoke with one of the girls who was in the speedboat about her friends condition. She had 4 surgeries last night. Her injuries include broken arm, femur, and both bones in her right leg. A cracked hip and lower back injuries. She also had some internal injuries. She is still in an induced coma with 3 more operations scheduled for tomorrow.
There were 5 people, (2 grandparents, husband and wife with their 2 year old) on board the pontoon when the boat capsized as a result of the impact. 4, including the baby were trapped under the boat. There is a family that lives across from Deer Point on Catfish that came at the last minute to rescue the folks on the pontoon boat. 2 guys from that family dove in and rescued them and should be recognized for their efforts. Didn't get their names, but they really saved some lives.
If I can pass along anything, not only to fellow fisherman, but to all who enjoy the water is the have your floatation gear on when at speed. This whole deal happened so fast there was no time to grab any life vests. Some of the life vests were throw from the boat at impact and were no where near to grab. I know we are going to have them on when we are at speed from now on.
Thanks Pete for taking the time to help my son and I with our short trip to the northwoods. Your info was the main reason we had a productive day on the water.
Anyone who is looking to hire a guide, or are looking for an honest current fishing report, Pete from Guides is your man. Hope to get back up there in a week or two
Dave Olson
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Posts: 4266
| The curse of The Eagle River Chain.
Back in the late 70's, I was fishing a tournament that had a division for manufacturers reps. Old guys who were young back then, like Worrall and I were there to promote products and do a little fishing.
After the tourney was over, a few of us were in the bar at The Everett....yes, that's how long ago it was....and a young guy came running in as pale as a ghost telling us that he needed help. They had just pulled a big guy out of the water, and the guys boat was still going around in circles at almost full throttle.
As we ran down the dock, I kidded my buddy Lance that I would do the chest pumping and he got to do mouth to mouth. Nothing could prepare us for what we were about to see. There in the bottom of the boat was a guy laying in a huge pool of blood. He was over 6 foot and over 250#, and I wondered how they ever pulled him in the boat. I jumped in the boat and went over to see what the hell had happened. His back was to me, and he was in a kind of a fetal position. I grabbed him by the shoulder and rolled him over and tried not to let my shock show.
It was obvious what had happened. He had cuts along his rib cage where his bones were showing, the cuts were deeper and continued up under his arm pit, luckily his arm was still attached. He was missing his bottom jaw, his tongue was severed and he looked like a deer in the headlights. I yelled for someone to go and bring as many clean bar towls as they could get. While we waited, he was going through the motions of picking things out of his mouth and trying to spit. Neither was possible, because he had no mouth from the corners of his mouth down. When the towels arrived, I packed some under his arms and over his exposed ribs, and rolled one up and put it under his top jaw, closing the area where his mouth and chin used to be. By now you could hear sirens coming and another guy came running down the dock. He jumped in the boat with me and told the guy, "I'm a doctor, you're going to be alright." Right then the guys eyes changed back to normal size and his breathing slowed down considerably. The first EMT's showed up by boat, but they couldn't do anything more, except clean the areas and put on fresh dressing.
What had happened is the guy had a new rig. Pointed it straight into a 30mph wind and did a hole shot that flipped him out of the back of the boat. The boat then circled him and came around and rode right over him with the prop hitting his ribs then under his arm that he had raised to protect his face and then went on to sever his bottom jaw and tongue.
Luckily the kids that were nearby raced over and pulled him out of the water and put him in the bottom of their boat and raced to the closest place.
I've heard that he is still around and that they manufactured a new jaw out of hip bones and plastic.
If anybody knows him, let us know how he's doing.
Use your kill switch please. It's not so hard to do, and could save your life.
I know that I'll never forget that day.
Beav |
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Posts: 1137
Location: Holly, MI | Great and heartfelt story. Thanks for springing into action you two and saving some lives.
Plenty of "good people" still exist today, you just have to reconize them.
Fisherman in general, imho, have a pretty good rap for being a good guy when needed.
I'll bet you are blessed for your actions. It was done with out any want or need of personal gain. Just plain good old fashoned helping your fellow man in distress. |
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