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Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay. | A reminder of what can happen during this early part of the season.
Just got word that two men have drowned on the Saginaw Bay either yesterday afternoon trying to get into the Hot Ponds or while attempting to night troll after dark last night. 
Thier boat was spotted and picked up first with no evidence of foul play. Then the wife of one of the fishermen contacted the officials and reported them missing last night. I heard both had waders on when their bodies were found this morning/afternoon. Which would lead one to believe they were indeed trying to get into and fish the Hot Ponds. |
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Location: Wind lake, Wi | So sad to hear that. What are the HOT PONDS? Hope everyone is safe out there when they hit the water. |
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Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay. | The Hot Ponds is the canal that comes from the coal fired Electric power plant at the mouth of the Saginaw River. Water is taken out of the Saginaw and used to cool the boilers that generate the power at the plant. This water is then discharged out in this canal that leads directly to the Saginaw Bay. I'm hearing now that these guys were bow fishermen, looking to shoot carp that are drawn in to this warm water discharge.
It's my guess they tried to go around the island at the mouth of the river, to avoid some seriously shallow water between the island and the mainland to get to the Hot Ponds. There boat was a flat bottom/blunt nosed boat. Perfect for shooting carp out of, but a bad idea in any kind of turbulant water. |
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Location: Rhinelander | That is terrible! Folks do forget how fast water will kill.
I was at a MuskieFIRST outing in Kentucky this weekend out on Cave Run. A couple of guys were at the Scott creek launch getting ready for a day of chasing Muskies, had their boat in the water and were getting prepared to go, when a truck roared down the ramp and launched out into the water. When I left a day later the vehicle and driver were still in the water; they simply can't find the thing out there. It appeared the guy just plain sat there loking at the guys in the boat as his truck rapidly sank. Rescue attempts failed as a result of very cold water and zero visibility.
An article about this bizarre event is in the News Trawler here:
http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com
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Location: Mt Prospect, IL | <p> A Saginaw news clip.Essexville--The Coast Guard has suspended their search for a missing Burton man who is believed to have drown in the Saginaw Bay. Michael Pratt Sr. and his son Michael Jr. were reported as missing and on Monday the body of Pratt Sr was found. So far the search for Michael Jr. has been fruitless. But friends and family members of the victims have picked up the search On Wednesday they sent out four private boats to search the waters of the bay. These are brothers, cousins, uncles and friends, now searching for the body of 27-year-old Michael Pratt Jr. Joining in the search is a stranger to the family. A man who knows all too well what they are going through.Chris Bolzman's father was killed in a mishap on the bay last October. They searched for sixteen days before finding his body. On Wednesday Bolzman volunteered his services to the search party.Family members say they will search the bay everyday, until the find Michael's body. You are not immune.</p><p> </p>
Edited by seerad 3/24/2004 9:57 PM
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Member
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Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay. | Seerad.
My house is about 1/2 mile from the Hot Ponds at the end of Jones Road. That whole vast section between the man-made island and the shore is very shallow, so I believe they had to have gone down outside the island where it is deeper. The only current being generated in the area right now is from the Saginaw Rivers flow, so I believe/hope they will recover the young mans body soon.
Edited by walleye express 3/25/2004 7:47 AM
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Location: Mt Prospect, IL | I lost a friend to Lake Michigan when I was in high school. I thought I was invincible to these tragedies until that day. We were swimming in a com. ed. discharge in Waukegan IL.,(45 mph out flow and 90 degree water) just like we were a dozen times before. Not the brightest thing we did and unfortunately we had to learn that the hard way. The difference between this day and days previous, was a strong easterly wind. When it mixed with that westerly 45 mph discharge, it created havoc for the strongest swimmer. Out of 6 of us, myself and 2 friends somehow managed to beat the current & waves and make it to a nearby recreational pier, where we were pulled out by fishermen. 2 of my friends were plucked out of the water by the Coast Guard, who are lucky because they were drowning and had to be hospitalized. My last friend was found washed up on shore the next day. To give you an idea on the power of that undertow, his swim trunks were ripped off of his body. This was in 1991. I hate to read about tragedies like this father and son. And i'm sure they thought that this would never happen to them like so many of us. Be safe and be prepared-seerad
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Tragedy on Saginaw Bay.