FERNAN - As Pat Hatfield stood on the dock watching divers retrieve his fishing boat from the lily pad-fraught waves of Fernan Lake, he shrugged and twisted a smile.

"Embarrassed," the fisherman said of his status.

The 60-year-old's boat capsized during his fishing trip off the East Fernan boat launch early Friday afternoon, leaving him stranded about 120 yards from shore until Kootenai County response units rescued him with a patrol boat and divers.

"It was a typical thing," said Hatfield, a Coeur d'Alene resident. "Boat motor, big body, tank of gas, gust of wind."

Hatfield, who admitted he hasn't been fishing in a while, said a strong wind lifted the bow of his 12-foot john boat high out of the water, allowing water to gush in and overturn the vessel.

With his life vest in the boat, Hatfield climbed atop the upside-down vessel, where he said he waited for about 20 minutes until help arrived.

A witness from the shore called the sheriff's department. Members of the County Recreation Safety Section, Dive Rescue Team and Fire and Rescue responded.

Deputies picked up Hatfield and returned him to the east launch in a patrol boat, which launched from the west end of the lake. A handful of divers salvaged Hatfield's boat, still full of water with rods and a tackle box floating inside.

"You did the right thing," Deputy Tim Leeder told the slowly drying Hatfield, who had no injuries. "The last thing you want to do is swim for shore."

Cold water can quickly overwhelm the body and shut it down, Leeder explained, even when paddling a short distance.

So if a boat capsizes in waters with temperatures like Fernan's 50-degree waves on Friday, he said, don't swim for it.

"That's when we end up with fatalities," Leeder said.

Hatfield should have been wearing his life vest, the deputy added, even though it's only required to be within reaching distance.

"Especially in small boats, you should be wearing a life jacket," he said.

Alcohol was not a factor in the accident.

The motor boat looked in decent condition when Hatfield's truck lugged it to shore. He regretted that his larger tackle box with wallet inside had been lost to the lake.

Hatfield, retired from the military, said the incident hasn't deterred his return to fishing.

"I'm done for the day, though," he said.