MELBOURNE BEACH, Fla. – Hell hath no fury like a frustrated fisherman scorned.
So when a few bad-apple, angry anglers cross a line, they can spoil for everyone one of the best fishing spots around, News 6 partner FLORIDA TODAY reports.
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At Sebastian Inlet fishing pier, lines often cross. And tangled tackle ticks off fishermen so much, they often revert to territorial tactics, casting aspersions and sometimes other things at their angling adversaries, inlet officials and fishermen say. They hurl lead fishing weights, lures and other objects at folks fishing from boats. Or sometimes boaters are the primary aggressors.
Signs and video cameras haven't tempered things much. Inlet officials say that in the past few years, the pier atmosphere has degraded into a state of constant territorial marking, as things just keep hitting the fan — and sometimes even the concrete pier and its cylindrical metal rails.
"We've had reports of people defecating and spreading it on the rail to mark their territory so nobody will fish next to them," said Martin Smithson, administrator for the Sebastian Inlet District. "There have been several citations for public urination."
And boaters best beware when tempers flare. Irate fishermen on the pier — most times at night — fling fishing weights, lures and other things. A few have been on target, resulting in injuries and talk of closing the pier at night. Damage from Hurricane Mathew forced the closing of the jetties before officials could institute such a ban.
"There's been two that I know of in the last six months where people have been treated and gone to the hospital," Smithson said.
The inlet district learns of many of the incidences from an online fishing report on the district's website.
The situation escalated so much that inlet officials have asked Florida wildlife officers to patrol the fishing pier 24/7 and are in talks about how that would work and who would pay for it.
"We don't want to be saddled with the whole bill," Smithson said.
The inlet district learns of many of the incidences from an online fishing report on the district's website.
The situation escalated so much that inlet officials have asked Florida wildlife officers to patrol the fishing pier 24/7 and are in talks about how that would work and who would pay for it.
"We don't want to be saddled with the whole bill," Smithson said.
Earlier this month, the inlet district passed a resolution asking state and county law enforcement officials for more consistent, reliable law enforcement presence at the inlet to keep the peace between frequently feuding fishermen. Ultimately, the district hopes for around-the-clock policing at the pier from FWC officers, who enforce fishing rules.
FWC has yet to decide to what extent the agency will step up patrols at the pier. District officials hope to meet with FWC officials in Tallahassee to hammer out a deal.
"The FWC is committed to continuing to work with our state and local partners to provide for the safety for Florida’s residents and visitors and the conservation of the state’s natural resources," Rob Klepper, a spokesman for FWC's law enforcement division in Tallahassee, said via email.
Jetty fishermen instigate a majority of the melees, Smithson said. But boaters are not that innocent.
"The boaters are fishing up next to the jetty. Some of them have antagonized the jetty anglers," Smithson said.
The district posted signs in July informing fishermen that boaters have right of way in the inlet navigation channel and that casting or throwing anything at them is prohibited. Under state law, hurling hard projectiles into a boat plying state waters is a second degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
No lure-hurling hooligans have been arrested, yet, officials say. But law enforcement is watching.
In late August, the dicey situation at the pier prompted the five-member Sebastian Inlet District Commission to vote 3-2 to close the 745-foot north jetty from dusk to dawn daily. The move was to buy time for tempers to cool and for inlet staff and legal counsel to work with state and local agencies to improve law enforcement. But before the nightly closure could take effect, damages from Hurricane Matthew closed the pier anyway, then district officials changed their minds.
The first three-quarters of the pier recently reopened after repairs. The rest is closed until steel grates that absorb wave energy can be custom fabricated to replace ones lost in the hurricane.
After FWC assured the district of their increased presence at the pier, the district decided to do a little experiment. "We felt that we were getting some positive comments back, so the commissioners agreed to leave it open and see what happens, while we continue to pursue some of these remedies," Smithson said. "If the question is 'What's the ultimate answer?' It's that there's security presence there 24/7."
Part of the problem, Smithson said, stems from state park rangers losing their law enforcement role at the inlet. Agreements in 1988 and 2000 between the inlet district and the state left responsibility of public safety with the park. The state park rangers once had police power, but in 2012 their enforcement powers were merged into FWC.
"This effectively stripped the Sebastian Inlet State Park of their resident enforcement authority," the district's recent resolution says, "resulting in the Park having to rely totally on the response of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission officers and local county Sheriffs' office to maintain order."
People come from all over to camp, fish and surf at Sebastian Inlet, the second most visited state park in Florida, behind Honeymoon Island, north of Clearwater.
The inlet's jetties create some of the best waves around, so just like at Cocoa Beach Pier, even surfers wind up in the fray with furious fishermen.
Fishing at the inlet has been growing too close for comfort in the past few years, Smithson said, with visitors at the pier swelling to 80,000 a year.
But Smithson senses something beyond just sheer numbers — a basic lack of respect for the law and property.
"There is no doubt about it's an escalating problem that we've seen over the last two years. It's the sheer number of people and a deteriorating respect for the environment," he said of the poor treatment of pier property.