Violence in the outdoors

I just read over on the fishing reports page about a fight that broke out on Castle Rock Lake over a shore fisherman throwing rocks at fishermen in boats. I guess the guy on shore challenged the guy in the boat to bring his fat butt up on shore and he did and the guy on shore got a beating and the guy from the boat got a $200 fine. Now from what I take, this was done in front of his boy and he thought what his dad did was fine because the guy was throwing rocks at their $30,000 bass boat. I find this very disturbing and is one of the reasons I fish away from other people. I would have been more upset about some crazy throwing rocks at my son than my boat. I just do not know what the world is coming too. If you see a crowd, why even put yourself in that situation? What example are you setting for your child if you pummel someone and end up getting a disorderly charge? I think it could have been handled better(pull up anchor or never have approached the shore, its a big lake) and this sets a bad example and makes all sportsmen look foolish. Thoughts?

Some people think it is impossible to reach 50 without a disorderly conduct charge on your record. I am not the one to prove them right.

Exactly. This is also why I refuse to fish harbors or rivers for fall salmon during the week. Same for steelies in the spring. I intentionally pick out of the way waters on weekends to avoid people. Walleyes, perch, crappie, steelhead, salmon, they're all just fish and nothing worth getting in a fight over. People can talk about how it's about respect all they want, but altercations with others won't teach them respect or stop their behavior. Some guys are just jerks and it's best to avoid them. Sad thing is that they teach this behavior to their kids. Even if you win out in a fight, the kid sees that and thinks that this is acceptable way to resolve an issue. If you walk away, maybe, just maybe, the kid will realize that you were the bigger man. Probably not, but it's a nice thought.

Just another story that reminds me why I fish alone and don't talk to anyone on the water anymore, be it in another boat or on the shore. If they have words for me or some other issue I don't say a word, I leave and fish elsewhere. Interaction with people just isn't worth the potential problems anymore.

Is this Karma for the guy on shore? Don't you think the guy in the boat gets in the most trouble? As much as all of us are happy the smart a$$ on shore got what he deserved, our wonderful court system will take 2 years and 6 hearings and then will probably throw the book at the boat owner.

well said ol Sarge, wave when you see another boat in those areas, it will be me.

With the warmer weather and the walleye run upon us, it wont be too long before we start hearing about people getting into altercations on or near the water. I refuse to fish someplaces on the weekends just because I dont want to play bumper boats with the guy that comes out once or twice a year and feels it is his right to get to THE spot. Too many people out there with little or no sense. I will stick to the back waters and wilderness areas and take my chances . Lets hope everyone acts like outdoorsman and we have a safe season.

And how would that have been if the shore guy did the kicking. Man puffs up his chest, doesn't use his head and gets hurt bad in front of his kid, who not only has to watch but now has to get dad to the hospital without getting his own butt hurt by the shore guy. Or shore dude, who now feels really threatened because the boat guy, who could have and should have just moved... now came to shore and attacked him, pulls his gun or knife and boat dude is dead, In front of his kid. Man, we better use some of the brains we developed. ChuckC

20 years ago I retired and fish 5 days a week BUT only week days not week ends anymore. What a difference. As far as this incident, I believe in any given group of people, 10 percent are eight-balls and this will never change I am sorry to say.

I fish seven months of the year,it does appear that some that come out on the weekends drink way to much,which causes them to look for trouble. What we do is to keep a cell phone in the boat,ignore those that try and start trouble,or are breaking the rules.When I am a distance away I will report the issue to the Sheriff or DNR.This way no one is aware who called or maybe a random stop. One boat was fined $300,another toed off the lake and last one boat was fined for undersize fish,and other violations amounting to $1200Many others are now doing the same keeps the problems off the lake if the word is out the DNR does patrol.

There is a law in Wisconsin that states,it is unlawful for any one from shore to harass or obstruct any boat or fisherman that is near a dock,a shore line or boat that is docked. All one had to do is call the DNR,or Sheriff.

Throwing rocks at strange boats? The guy was taking his life in his hands. I'm not saying the guy was right in kicking his butt, but seriously, he was under attack and he and his son could have been injured.

Jeez,that's the kind of statement that gives liberals a leg to stand on concerning concealed carry. What do you propose you would do with that 1911 of yours Hevi-Shot? Shoot a guy for throwing a rock at you? Maybe just whip it out and do some good ole' fashioned armed threatening? Pulling a gun out in public is a very serious decision and taking it lightly makes you and unfortunately many of the rest of us look like ignorant fools.

Adams County country over that way. Not the first time I have seen that over there. Couple years ago below the Castle Rock dam I had my kids and nephews with me and watched pretty much the same thing. Seems pretty common in that area.

Part of me thinks, "right on, man! Kick his arse! That douche on shore totally deserved it!" However, as I've aged, I have come to realize that it would probably just be better to move my boat out of his rock throwing range, get out the iPhone, take some video for evidence and then call the Sheriff and have him cited for harrassment. This sort of reminds me of the best butt-kicking I've ever seen in the outdoors. I grew up near Shoto and the dam area was referred to as, "The Combat Zone" back in those days, especially during the spring steelhead run and the fall salmon run. I was fishing with some friends one spring morning for steelhead. There were very few people that morning which was unusual for that time of year. My two buddies hit the dam and I went downstream. There were one or two others upstream including a guy that was fishing near the bridge. All of a sudden I hear yelling so I look upstream and the guy by the bridge is holding another fisherman's head underwater as his driving the boot of his waders into his side and periodically bashing his head on a rock. There was another guy on shore screaming that he was calling the cops. The guy doing the butt-kicking came to his senses and let his "victim" up. He then proceeded to walk downstream towards me. As he got closer, I could see he was bleeding from his nose and mouth. He knelt down next to me and started cleaning up his face in the river. I could see that he was shaking and he said the he figured that the cops would be coming for him soon. I asked what exactly had happened. Turns out the two younger men (the one who got pummeled and the one calling the cops), jumped into the river right in front of him and took over the hole that he was fishing. He said that he politely asked them to move once. The second time he didn't ask so nicely and the guy who got pummeled sucker punched him in the nose. He said that he "just saw red" from that point on. Once he came to, I think he realized that he probably wasn't too far away from having killed that guy which I assume was why he was shaking. The Sheriff's Deputy did show up. There were a couple of guys upstream who saw the entire incident including my friends. They gave their statements to the Deputy. Once that was done, we left. It turns out that the Deputy was a friend of one of my coworkers at the time. He told me that the guy who did the beating got some minor citation but the Deputy cited the two other guys for Disorderly and some other offense that I can't remember. I was surprised that there weren't more serious charges issued but was happy to hear that Justice was served.

I find that violence is usually not the answer and when you have kids around, it is never the answer. I agree after reading on the reports site that the guy on shore had it coming. I just dont think I would risk the fine or the loss of my freedom on some guy chucking rocks. There are just too many crazies out there today and you never know who is carrying. Add alcohol into the mix and it is on. Thinks can go wrong in a hurry. This is one of the reasons I fish out in the middle of nowhere and I am lucky to see another fisherman all day.