Sad deal

[tikkalover]

18-year-old Bismarck man dies in drowning incident while duck hunting


BISMARCK, N.D. - A tragic hunting accident Tuesday has left an 18-year-old Bismarck man dead.
The Burleigh County Sheriff's Department says Benjamin Berg entered the Arena Lake area while hunting for ducks.
Authorities say the investigation revealed Berg had struggled in the water and couldn't get out.
The Burleigh County Combined Water Rescue Team was dispatched to the scene shortly after 4 pm.
Berg was located several hours later.


Prayers to his family.

 

[Duckslayer100]

Oh man. That's awful.

"Struggled in the water" leads me to believe he got into some crotch-deep muck and couldn't' get out. No mention of a boat or anything.

I've had a few close calls walking across cattails there were floating and didn't realize until it was too late, I'd busted through and was only saved by my shotgun wedged in the brush.

That poor kid .

 

[guywhofishes]

Oh no...

 

[Mort]

Wow...not good...no mention if you was by himself or had someone with him. just a reminder guys...if you go solo...don't go too far out in the water if you are not familiar with the pond/lake bottom is......that really mucky stuff will anchor you like a block of concrete, then you got to get free out of your boots to get out....then its goodbye boots.

this is not good news to hear...

 

[Duckslayer100]

Looks like yesterday was a mighty windy afternoon by Tuttle with gusts over 40mph.

Wouldn't take much to have a big wave go over your waders as you walked out to get a bird.

 

[Bfishn]

Terrible...Makes me wonder if he was possibly a member of this site. I don't duck hunt to know how this could happen, but i do fly fish and have been in a couple sticky situations in streams. Do duck hunters wear wading belts like fly fisherman do to prevent water from filling up waders?

 

[Duckslayer100]

Terrible...Makes me wonder if he was possibly a member of this site. I don't duck hunt to know how this could happen, but i do fly fish and have been in a couple sticky situations in streams. Do duck hunters wear wading belts like fly fisherman do to prevent water from filling up waders?

Not that I've ever experienced. I have a belt that holds shotgun shells, but it's certainly not tight enough to hold out incoming water.

 

[remm]

Bad deal. Filled up my waders enough times by stepping in holes or muddy bottom when I was younger, had a couple close calls where I figured I was stuck, lost a pair of boots once too. I said to hell with duck hunting over water a long time ago unless it's shallow enough to wear regular rubber boots. Not sure what happened here, but prayers go out to the family.

 

[dean nelson]

Water filling up neoprene waders just makes a guy cold but won't sink you like it does with canvas. There must have been a second person or he was on the phone for them to know he was struggling out there. Arena is a gnarly little lake with all sorts of hazards under the surface to take a guy out so will be curious to see what really happened if he got stuck and died from exposure or got to deep and couldn't swim out. Hard day for his family i can't even imagine and don't want to know what they are going through today but hopefully they scares enough people to save someone else from the same fate.

 

[Rowdie]

Not good, very sad day in the hunting community in ND.

 

[Duckslayer100]

I just read another story that claims a friend was watching him retrieve a duck, and saw him start to struggle on the way out. Then called the cops.

 

[svnmag]

Prayers to family.

 

[Colt45]

I was told he was with his girlfriend, it got deep quick and his waders filled up, and she couldn't do anything to help, just a terrible situation.

 

[deleted_account]

Yeeesh, that's terrible

 

[Bed Wetter]

I was told he was with his girlfriend, it got deep quick and his waders filled up, and she couldn't do anything to help, just a terrible situation.

I know his girlfriend. Little girl grew up next door and I used to get into trouble with her brother. Only know what was in the news.

 

[scrotcaster]

Horrible! could of easily been me or one of my brothers growing up, pushed my limits a few times with waders chasing crippled ducks! God Bless their family with strength at this difficult time.

 

[espringers]

This sucks! Got a crazy story myself involving waders, a 400 "swim", canes above my head and a 30 mph wind. I think it's the only time in my life that I genuinely feared for it. Just thankful the wind was pushing me the right direction.

 

[Duckslayer100]

I know the exact moment I decided I wasn't hunting another duck season without a dog. It was a year when we had low water levels, and the hole we hunted was the worst soul-sucking muck you've ever seen. I shot a duck, it landed just outside the decoys, and by the time I reached it I was absolutely exhausted. I sat there, slowly sinking deeper into the slough, pondering how in the hell I'd find the strength to get back to shore. Well, I didn't. At least not right away. I walked to a little cattail island clump, wrenched myself out of the mud, and sat there heaving and close to puking for what seemed like an eternity. Finally made it back to shore, and decided not to shoot another duck.

To this day I have a mild anxiety attack any time I have to walk a decent distance through mud that's more than knee deep.

 

[BBQBluesMan]

Very sad deal. Thoughts and prayers are with family and friends.

 

[H82bogey]

Got a portion of the story from a co-worker of mine. It's his sisters nephew. Yes, he was with his girlfriend. He was going after a downed duck, but sounds like he took his waders off to retrieve it. Had stripped won to his underwear. The girlfriend saw the struggle and tried to go help, but before she got out to him, he was underwater and she couldn't make it out, so she went back to shore and called 911. Not sure if this is accurate, but what I was told. Sad deal for sure. Sometimes it's not the gun that is the most dangerous.