One Hunting, Harrowing Day

TWO RESCUES MADE IN SAME DAY ON BEAVER LAKE

By Flip Putthoff

Posted: December 31, 2009 at 1:51 a.m.

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Cold is the duck hunter’s friend, when Siberian Express arctic fronts push more ducks into Arkansas from their havens up north.

Deer hunters find winter wind a wanted companion when it steers their human scent away from the nose of a buck or doe.

These frigid friends can turn traitor when they play freezing tricks on boats and gear, as they did on Saturday for a pair of Beaver Lake duck hunters in the Rocky Branch area and three deer hunters on the lake at Hickory Creek.

Ducks In The Cold

A Saturday morning duck hunt at Beaver Lake turned into an ordeal for Matt Hicks of Rogers and Monte Moore of Bentonville when cold weather played a less-than-magical trick on their outboard motor.

The two planned to spend three hours on the lake Saturday morning. Instead they spent eight.

“It was a perfect morning in our minds. Windy, 15 degrees and partly cloudy,” Moore recalled on Monday.

That kind of cold can render a plastic fuel line hard and brittle.

The 25-horsepower outboard on his 16-foot aluminum boat was purring along while the two picked up decoys after calling it a day about 9:30 a.m.

Then the motor stopped.

“I noticed the gas line was stiff from the cold and it got trapped behind the anti-theft lock bar on the outboard,” Moore said.

While steering, the fuel linetightened and the coupling to the engine cracked. Gasoline spewed out like a gusher.

They tried to Ozark-engineer a way to get fuel to the outboard, but nothing worked. Oars were onboard, but rowing 2 miles back to their vehicle at Rocky Branch park was out of the question.

Wind blew harder as the morning went on. By 9:30 a.m.

the lake was pitching up 3-foot whitecaps.

The duck hunters had a broken coupling, but they also had warm clothes, food and a way to make a fire if needed.

Another thing they had was a well-charged cellular phone.

They called a duck hunting friend to rescue them in his boat. The friend answered, but he was 200 miles away spending Christmas with family.

Dialing 911 was their only option.

“I hated to call 911 because we weren’t really in trouble. But if we stayed out there in the cold, we might be,” Moore said.

The 911 dispatcher at Benton County CenCom asked if the two were dry and warm. Affirmative, Moore said. Then the dispatcher said she’d work on getting someone out to rescue them.

She called back in 10 minutes saying authorities were trying to reach a volunteer firefighter in the area with a boat who could tow them.

A part-time Benton County deputy, Sam Reyna, was eventually dispatched to help the duck hunters. Arkansas Game & Fish Commission wildlife offcers were also notifi ed.

Meanwhile, Moore and Hicks fiddled with the engine, trying to find a way to fi x the coupling.

Post-Christmas Deer

Cold wind that kept Moore and Hicks from rowing across the lake to Rocky Branch brought havoc to three deer hunters at Hickory Creek on Saturday, the day after Christmas.

Wind-whipped waves capsized their boat and Game & Fish off cers were told there were hunters in the water.

Capt. Mike Jones with the Benton County Sherift ’s Office said Tuesday that deputy Reyna, dispatched to help the duck hunters, wasdiverted to assist the deer hunters because they were in the water.

Game & Fish Wildlife Off - cer Capt. Brian McKinzie also said Tuesday that all rescue efforts turned to the deer hunters when that report came in.

“The first thing I did was make sure we had someone going to the guys in the water because that sounded like it was going to be bad,” McKinzie said.

He called duck hunter Moore and told him it would be awhile before someone could help them because of the deer hunters in peril.

Meanwhile, the duck hunters were able to reach anotherfriend who eventually towed them back to Rocky Branch about 2 p.m.

McKinzie said when rescuers arrived at Hickory Creek, the three deer hunters were OK, dry and on shore. Winddriven waves had capsized their 16-foot boat without them in it and the vessel bobbed about 5 feet oft shore. They were wearing waders, McKinzie added.

He didn’t have the deer hunters’ names.

Cell-Phone Savior

For the duck hunters, rescue could have been even later if they didn’t have a well-charged cell phone.Mike Richards, second in command at the Army Corps of Engineers’ Beaver Lake offce, said a cell phone in a waterproof container is vital gear for anyone who ventures out on Beaver Lake during winter.

“There’s hardly anyone on the lake in the winter and the chances of someone seeing you are slim,” he said.

Moore and Hicks had food and fire starter with them. A smart move, Richards said. Dress in layers and dress for weather that is colder than on land, he added.

Hunters on Beaver Lake never know when their frosty friends, cold and wind, will turn to foe.

Outdoor, Pages 8 on 12/31/2009

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