Sad Day on the White

FAOL Community Fly Anglers Online
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Fisherman drowns Friday
CHANDRA HUSTON
Bulletin Staff Writer

He was known as DiggerH on some of the forums.

A Ponca City, Okla., man visiting Mountain Home for the Federation of Fly Fishers’ Southern Council Conclave drowned Friday night in the White River.

According to the Baxter County Sheriff’s Department, Stephen Wayne Huston, 55, drowned while fly fishing with a friend.

Baxter County Sgt. Ken Grayham said Huston and his friend were fishing on the White River, off of Denton Ferry Road. The two were at one of the river’s islands when the friend, also from Oklahoma, said he looked away to gather fishing equipment. When he turned back around, Huston was missing.

Grayham said the friend searched for Huston for about 10 minutes before heading back to land and calling 911 at about 6 p.m.

The Baxter County Sheriff’s helicopter, along with boats from local resorts, were used in the search. Lt. Rick Lucy said he spotted the victim floating in the water, about one mile from where he’d last been seen, from the helicopter and directed ground units to the location.

Grayham said Cpl. Mike Holland and Cotter Chief Ron Weaver jumped in the water to retrieve Huston, and Cotter fire personnel began administering CPR.

The victim was found at 7:30 p.m., nearly an hour and a half after he went under.

Paramedics tried to revive Huston for approximately 20 minutes but were unable to do so.

chuston@baxterbulletin.com

[This message has been edited by danoinark (edited 08 October 2005).]

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We’ll see him downriver someday. I can think of worse ways to go than on the river.

Dennis

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there are certainly worse ways to die than from doing something you love.

with that said, it is a sad day whenever one of our brothers or sisters takes the final fall.

well see him again…

Everyone dies. Only the lucky ever truly Live. Take your time.

Chris-Bishop, CA, USA

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That is very sad but the article leaves some questions. I noticed the writer and victim have the same last name…related?
Were they on the island? Wading? In a drift boat? It says the friend looked around to gather fishing gear…Sounds like at least he was actually on the island. Was there a water release, a surge? No splash, no yell? Did he have a heart attack? Any family?
Again, always hate to hear of these things and my heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.

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I noticed the writer and victim had the same last name too. But from what I gather the water levels were beginning to recede. I don’t have any other details. If I find out more I will post it.
Dano

[This message has been edited by danoinark (edited 09 October 2005).]

[This message has been edited by danoinark (edited 09 October 2005).]

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From today’s (10/11/05) Daily Oklahoman:.

Funeral Board president drowns in river

Steve Huston, president of the state Funeral Board and a longtime Boy Scout leader, drowned Friday while fly-fishing in Arkansas.
Huston, 55, was fishing with a friend about 6 p.m. Friday in the White River in Baxter County, Ark., when the water suddenly rose, Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery said.

The friend told deputies he grabbed his fishing equipment, turned around and saw Huston had disappeared. He drove to the nearest residence and called 911. Deputies and Cotter, Ark., police and firefighters responded, Montgomery said. A county helicopter located Huston submerged in the water and firefighters performed CPR, but Huston did not respond.

Huston and the friend were fishing under a dam when water was released, said Fred Spellman, another of Huston’s friends.

Huston is survived by his wife and two sons.

He was a Vietnam veteran, an assistant scoutmaster in Ponca City, past president of Hospice of Ponca City and former board member of the Kay County Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Huston’s funeral is set for 10 a.m. Wednesday at Grace Episcopal Church in Ponca City.

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I had breakfast the next morning with 2 of Steve’s friends… one of them being the gentleman that was on the water with Steve. He’s not sure of what happened. Steve had been complaining of tingling in his right arm… nothing about the left … to indicate a possible heart attack. He may have slipped and hit his head… no one knows for sure as of yet. The second friend is a gentleman that posts here quite frequently. He goes by the name Holland. Gene Holland is his name and a nicer guy you will not find anywhere.

Mike

[This message has been edited by maddog48 (edited 11 October 2005).]

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Please wear a life vest if you are fishing below a dam!!!

When I was guiding in the Southeast, I made all my clients wear a Stearn’s Inflatable vest.

Ken

“The memory of a fisherman is more like fiction than journalism, that is, it doesn’t ignore the facts, but it is not entirely bound by them, either.”

John Gierach

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That’s how I want to go. But not til I’m about ninety-nine!

I agree about the life jacket, but what worries me is that if you’re not conscious you can’t really inflate it.

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MadDog–Right arm/shoulder pain is about as a common indicator/symptoom of a heart attack as is left arm/shoulder pain so I wouldn’t rule a heart atatck out. Sounds like somethin sudden tho like a heart attack since there was no yellin. etc. God bless–reuel

“Fish where they is, not where they ain’t.”

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I was glad to see that the sad story of Steve Houston’s passing was posted on the BB. I never met the man but from reading the above posts he sounded like someone I would have liked and would have enjoyed fishing with. Posting it is a nice way of giving a little recognition to a man by fellow fly fishers and it should be noted with a moment of reflection. No matter which train we take we are all headed for the same final destination.

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This is a sad story. Tailwaters have made me nervous since I had a close call. I learned my lesson on the Little Red River. The water was rising fast and my ford had turned into class III whitewater minutes after I vacated. I should have been out of there sooner but I had only fished farther downstream previously and I was used to the significant delay (hours) between the signal of the release and the rising water. Obviously I did not give enough consideration to being closer to the dam.

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Sad Indeed, These are my homewaters and I fish them often and sometimes alone. I move to the bank as soon as I hear the horn or see the water on the rise but have slipped before and had I hit my head or got stuck it could have ended alot different. If you have never witnessed a full power release on the white river it will leave you awe struck how fast the water can come up and swift it gets.
My condolences to his family and hope anyone fishing our taiwaters or any others heeds the warnings and respects the power of a raging river.