Slave Lake Accident?

AxeMan · #1 06-28-2009, 10:47 PM

I heard from some guys that were at the tournament up there that a boat flipped this afternoon in the big waves somewhere by Spruce Point and possibly one guy didn't make it. I hope it is not true. Anybody hear anything about this?

tchcont · #2 06-29-2009, 08:29 AM

was in the Strawberry point area , not sure if anyone
was injured though. was a rumor going around of one
not making it.?

WildCats · #3 06-29-2009, 10:06 AM

One guy was wearing a life jacket, the other wasn't. The fella without the jacket didn't make it. Sounded like a resident of slave lake.

McLeod · #4 06-29-2009, 10:33 AM

High Prairie RCMP responded to call Sunday that a boat that had flipped over near Spruce Point Campground on Lesser Slave Lake and discovered a 42-year-old unconscious man.

The man was found not wearing a personal floatation device on the lakeshore.

Emergency crews attempted to perform CPR but were not successful.

A second man, who was wearing a pfd, survived the incident and suffered mild hypothermia. The passenger was treated at Slave Lake Hospital and later released.

42-year-old Owen John Ostopchuk of Slave Lake has been identified as the fisherman.

Both males were competing in a fishing tournament on Lesser Slave Lake at the time of the tragedy.

fishing_flower · #5 06-29-2009, 11:10 AM

Very sad.

PoorTurtle · #6 06-29-2009, 11:27 AM

best wishes to the family and friends

Scott N · #7 06-29-2009, 11:31 AM

He could have saved his family and friends a lot of sadness by simply wearing a life jacket, which should be a lesson for the rest of us.

jrcw · #8 06-29-2009, 02:17 PM

RIP fellow angler. LSL can truly be an unforgiving and unpredictable lake. They say that in 90% of boating fatalities the victim was not wearing a lifejacket. The truth is that you WON`T be able to put it on after you find yourself suddenly in the water, shocked, cold, and disoriented. I`ll be thinking twice about leaving mine in the storage compartment next time I`m out.

michelle · #9 06-29-2009, 02:46 PM

What an awful thing. Please be safe fellow anglers and wear your PFD.

Fishfinder · #10 06-29-2009, 02:53 PM

Next fish I catch is for John.

Horrible to hear. My condolences to his fam and friends. `R.I.P. Johnboy, up in fisherman heaven.

bsnyder · #11 06-30-2009, 10:11 AM

We were there and the waves were terrable, estimated at 9+ ft.We were at the other end wene it hit so stayed and fished.Very scary!!, We kissed our Lund 2025 when we finished thet day.We here it was a 20 ft Tracker that flipped on a big wave. We where full servival suits on that lake, without floatation you dont stand a chance.

May God Bless them and help there familys

ACM · #12 06-30-2009, 10:29 AM

we have all fished without life jackets and we all think it will never happen to us ... but it does and we need to be better protected for our families sake. Sad sad situation and hope the family will find a way to be OK and stay well in the future.

floppychicken · #13 06-30-2009, 10:16 PM

...but does anyone have photos of that lake when it's rough out there ?

I constantly hear about how rough the water gets out in that Lake, but have never 'actually' seen it for myself. It almost seems surreal that a 20 foot Tracker can be 'FLIPPED', but I suppose it must just be the way wind blows on that Lake or it's size or something...
I know that Newell can get pretty ferocious due to the varying shallow depths which creates instantly large swells and waves but what about Slave Lake ?

It seems weirder still, that a seasoned Fisherman wouldn't have his PFD on when fishing in a DERBY and in such horrible conditions. Man, I just don't get it......

Condolences to the family.

/FC...

BrownBear416 · #14 06-30-2009, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by floppychicken

...but does anyone have photos of that lake when it's rough out there ?

I constantly hear about how rough the water gets out in that Lake, but have never 'actually' seen it for myself. It almost seems surreal that a 20 foot Tracker can be 'FLIPPED', but I suppose it must just be the way wind blows on that Lake or it's size or something...
I know that Newell can get pretty ferocious due to the varying shallow depths which creates instantly large swells and waves but what about Slave Lake ?

It seems weirder still, that a seasoned Fisherman wouldn't have his PFD on when fishing in a DERBY and in such horrible conditions. Man, I just don't get it......

Condolences to the family.

/FC...

Lesser Slave is really bad for high winds and big waves and storms can come quick and out of nowhere.Owens boat was a 21 foot tracker i believe and he was a die hard fisherman and experienced boater.

Why he was not wearing a LG in such bad conditions is a question only he could answer.

Owen was a great person who loved the outdoors and leaves behind many friends,family,wife and young kids....

He will be missed by all who met him...

Chris K · #15 06-30-2009, 11:31 PM

This is very tragic, and it seems very surreal that this happened. I was at the tournament and there was some rough water, and the waves were honest six footers, with the odd rogue seven footer thrown in. I have been in worse waves, on Slave while fishing the Golden out of Shaw's Point, or getting caught running back from Devonshire Beach to Canyon Creek in a bad storm. The wind blows from west to the east, and because they have so much lake to wind up, and the waves are very choppy. From the side where Spruce Point is, six footers or bigger can constantly pound the shore all the way to the narrows to the north east. If you come to Driftpile point and then come out of Faust Bay on the west side of the bay and go to Shaw's creek or accross the lake you can really hit some bad water, and it gets rougher that hell in a hurry. My prayers are with the familes of these fisherman, and there is talk about lifejackets and why the fisherman was not wearing one. We don't know the situation, and unfortunately we probably never will. This is a very unfortunate situation and if anything can come out of it all anglers fishing our lakes may feel that wearing a lifejacket is for safety and is necessary no matter how experienced of a boater they are. I wear mine often, and always don it when I am above trolling speed, and in rough water I kept it on during prefish and the tournament. Maybe there needs to be some changes in what we go out and fish in as far as weather and there will be a lot of discussion about this situation. No matter what the prizes are it is not worth being injured or suffering a fatality while trying to compete to win them.

Condolences to the family and friends.

Chris K

fluxcore · #16 07-01-2009, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris K

This is very tragic, and it seems very surreal that this happened. I was at the tournament and there was some rough water, and the waves were honest six footers, with the odd rogue seven footer thrown in. I have been in worse waves, on Slave while fishing the Golden out of Shaw's Point, or getting caught running back from Devonshire Beach to Canyon Creek in a bad storm. The wind blows from west to the east, and because they have so much lake to wind up, and the waves are very choppy. From the side where Spruce Point is, six footers or bigger can constantly pound the shore all the way to the narrows to the north east. If you come to Driftpile point and then come out of Faust Bay on the west side of the bay and go to Shaw's creek or accross the lake you can really hit some bad water, and it gets rougher that hell in a hurry. My prayers are with the familes of these fisherman, and there is talk about lifejackets and why the fisherman was not wearing one. We don't know the situation, and unfortunately we probably never will. This is a very unfortunate situation and if anything can come out of it all anglers fishing our lakes may feel that wearing a lifejacket is for safety and is necessary no matter how experienced of a boater they are. I wear mine often, and always don it when I am above trolling speed, and in rough water I kept it on during prefish and the tournament. Maybe there needs to be some changes in what we go out and fish in as far as weather and there will be a lot of discussion about this situation. No matter what the prizes are it is not worth being injured or suffering a fatality while trying to compete to win them.

Condolences to the family and friends.

Chris K

Its always up to you as far as safty goes and what prep you think is needed. research can help but as in life its always going to be your choice in the end. God will be with us all when the end comes and it will. My condolences to the family thats where it hurts most

zabbo · #17 07-01-2009, 08:30 AM

Condolences to family and friends. Truely a sad event.

#18 07-01-2009, 09:46 AM

A sad story indeed 42 years of age is way too young to pass on .It dose show the importance of wearing your life jacket.

bsnyder · #19 07-01-2009, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fluxcore

Its always up to you as far as safty goes and what prep you think is needed. research can help but as in life its always going to be your choice in the end. God will be with us all when the end comes and it will. My condolences to the family thats where it hurts most

AMEN

bsnyder · #20 07-01-2009, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by floppychicken

...but does anyone have photos of that lake when it's rough out there ?

I constantly hear about how rough the water gets out in that Lake, but have never 'actually' seen it for myself. It almost seems surreal that a 20 foot Tracker can be 'FLIPPED', but I suppose it must just be the way wind blows on that Lake or it's size or something...
I know that Newell can get pretty ferocious due to the varying shallow depths which creates instantly large swells and waves but what about Slave Lake ?

It seems weirder still, that a seasoned Fisherman wouldn't have his PFD on when fishing in a DERBY and in such horrible conditions. Man, I just don't get it......

Condolences to the family.

/FC...

I said to my wife that I wished we had a Camera with us, nobody would beleive the size of the waves we were in.We were heading across and wathching huge waves that were yellowish and black in color with curling tops .At one point a yelled to my wife to look at the size of a wave about to hit us and looked over to her and she was holding on for deer life with her head down and deep in prayer.It sure was scary but also very exiting.We went across twice , thats whare the big fish were.I kissed my boat after that, haha.Very sad someone lost there life tho.

gramps73 · #21 07-01-2009, 11:49 AM

Thought go out to the family and friends..
I was one of those guys that never wore my jacket until last lear when my 5 year old boy asked why he has to wear a PDF and i don't..Went to Bass and bought a good jacket and it is on when fishing turnys or out with the boys, don't get caught with out one..
gramps

floppychicken · #22 07-01-2009, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by river_runner

A sad story indeed 42 years of age is way too young to pass on .It dose show the importance of wearing your life jacket.

Yeah, I have a few new rules now...

-No one's allowed in my boat anymore that doesn't wear their life jacket 'full time' when the waters too cold (early season) or it's rough with big waves or rollers.

-If we're traveling faster than trolling speed (MINN KOTA for example) then the PFD stays on.

-Only time it comes off is when they want to have a swim (warm water, good weather) or if we're anchored or trolling with good weather.

I would say that's being fairly reasonable. Anyway,.. my boat, my rules....

/FC...

Cal · #23 07-01-2009, 10:03 PM

There have been days that the waves on slave have been big enough that I have SURFED them in my canoe. Canoe surfing is hillarious because every ride ends with the canoe getting flipped when the tail gets too high out of the water and gravity puts you sideways in the trough. There have been days that I would not realy even want to go out and try to surf, never underestemate that lake.

Its terrible what happened to John, I realy feel for his family and wish he had worn his PFD and made it. We can all sit here and talk nonsense about rules and how he should have known better but it could have been most of us. Ive had a few close calls myself and still use my life jacket as a seat pad 99% of the time.