It was the perfect setting for the annual Huck Finn Fishing Derby on the Huntington Pier Saturday, a gorgeously hot day that drew hundreds of thousands to Southern California beaches. Nearly 300 participants, volunteers and others showed up to lead the City of Huntington Beach derby, and the Huck Finn-Becky Thatcher costume contest.
It didn't take long, however, for some bad feelings to develop. Many surfers saw the anglers on the pier as infringing on their sacred territory--waves--and they were not about to let it happen.
Seven-year-old Gracie Veith from Long Beach thought a big fish had pulled her rod over the side. It turned out to be a disgruntled surfer.
“My little girl lost her rod and reel,” said her indignant father, Don Veith. “I don't know why they (surfers) can't just give us a break for the kids derby.”
Witnesses including other fathers, a wheelchair-bound aunt who had escorted her nephew from Minnesota and several others, say surfers in the water cut several lines but also, on this YouTube, shouted profane insults at people fishing.
California Department of Fish and Game personnel observed two surfers storm onto the pier pitching a fight with one Dad, although there was no official to make a statement that day.
Watch as another father, Veith, reports indignantly that his daughter's entire rod and reel were yanked off the pier and into the waves.
It appeared no arrests or citations were issued, but the law prohibits interfering with someone engaged in lawful fishing.
Patch fishing and waterfront blogger Phil Friedman was on scene, witnesed the shouting and profanity from surfers in the waves--though not the reel yanking-- and provides this video report. He will be talking about this topic on Phil Friedman Outdoors Radio tonight, with some of those on scene calling in. If you miss the live broadcast, you can always listen to the archived radio shows for free anytime.
If you were present that day and have video footage, post it here and let us know: nancy.wride@patch.com
Sounds a lot more like a sense of entitlement and unnecessary rudeness -let alone unlawful destruction of personal property- than a pre-occupation over sharks, but I am more than willing to be convinced otherwise.
But no sharks were actually seen, so it was a lot to do about nothing.
That was author Friedman's take in any case, who was there at the pier at the time. If a concern over sharks was truly part of the surfers' motivation, Friedman didn't notice it or, if he did, he didn't see fit to mention it in this story. If the surfer's were truly concerned about sharks, why were they still out in the water? Does that seem like a reasonable response to that sort of threat? I can tell you this, though, had I been out there with my kid and someone in the water had damaged or stolen our property, there would not have been just a citation issued, I would have insisted that the person was physically arrested and booked for vandalism or theft.
If you had been there, how would you have issued them a citation when there might have been sharks in the water?
I would have pressed charges and insisted that HBPD take the offender into physical custody and booked him for either vandalism or theft, whichever charge was most appropriate, rather than simply citing and releasing him in the field. It has been my experience that most people who are inclined to commit crimes generally become less so if they are required to always answer, in court, for the crimes that they commit.
"Get out if there is a shark sighting Regardless of how epic the waves are, get out of the ocean to surf another day." http://www.surfscience.com/topics/surfing-lifestyle/life-as-a-surfer/avoiding-shark-attacks/ Maybe some of these surfers missed that memo.
Next year, why not hold the fishing derby at the END of the pier or further down the pier where the surfers are not surfing? There are plenty of fish in the sea, why fish directly over the surfers in the first place? Or move the derby to the Seal Beach pier where the surfers, are a little less hostile & then go get some meatloaf at O'Malley's it's the best!
I know many people who surf at the pier & some of them have children. I can't imagine they would act that way for no reason. Pulling a rod out of a child's hands is pretty extreme.