A father and his teenage son who were fishing from kayaks in the Florida Keys said a local boat captain became angry over where they were fishing, then circled them with a vessel to scare away the fish because he considered them “like pets.”
The case was featured by the bodycam footage channel WildlifeWarden, which reported that the incident happened in Monroe County, Florida, during the summer of 2025 after officers responded to a marina area where the kayakers said they had been harassed in public water.
According to the channel’s narration, the fishermen told officers that a boat came within just a few feet of their kayaks, circled them, revved its engine, sprayed water toward them, and tried to interfere with their fishing.
The situation ended with two arrests. The captain was arrested for aggravated assault involving the use of a vessel, while another man was arrested for battery after allegedly spraying one of the fishermen with a hose.
A Fishing Trip Turned Into A Police Call
When officers arrived, the father told them he and his son were simply trying to fish from their kayaks when someone came out and told them they could not fish there.
The father said he believed they were in public water and had the right to fish from their kayaks. He told the officer that after the disagreement, a man got on a small skiff and started circling him and his son.
“He gets on that little skiff right there and comes out here and starts circling me and my son,” the father told the responding officer.
He said the boat cut his line and later pointed its motor toward him, spraying water while he was still in the kayak.
The father told police he had called 911 because he did not know what was going to happen and felt the situation was dangerous.
That is the key difference between a simple argument at a dock and a criminal investigation. Once someone gets into a motorboat and uses it near people in kayaks, the power balance changes quickly.
The Captain Said He Was Protecting The Fish
The officer then spoke with a man identified in the footage as Eric Link, who explained that people at the marina ask others not to fish near the docks because the fish are easy to hook.
Link said the fish eat almost anything thrown in the water and can end up with hooks and lines in their faces. He described them as if they were familiar animals around the dock, not ordinary wild fish.
“It’s like catching pets,” Link told the officer. “Literally, they eat everything that goes in the water.”
When the officer asked whether there was a sign saying people could not fish in the area, Link pointed to a “private slip” sign, but the officer questioned whether that actually banned fishing in the public water.
The officer then asked him directly whether he had taken a boat and made circles around the kayakers.
At first, Link denied it.
“No, ma’am,” he said. “I did not.”
But when the officer said a witness had told her he did, Link changed his explanation. He admitted he had driven around them, but said he was trying to scare off the fish so they would not be hooked.
“I drove around them,” he said. “Kind of spook the fish so they wouldn’t get hooked. These are my pets. I’ve been around these same fish for 20 years.”
Officers Questioned His Reasoning
The responding officer pressed Link on how the kayakers may have felt when a boat circled them.
Link insisted he had not threatened them. He said he did not spray them and was only trying to protect the fish.
The officer did not accept that explanation as the whole story.
“You don’t know how they felt,” she told him.
When Link said he was not too worried about how they felt, the officer pointed out the problem with that attitude. From her perspective, he was focused on the fish but not on the people in the kayaks who said they felt intimidated.
That exchange became one of the most revealing moments in the footage.
Link kept framing the issue as a dispute over protecting fish near the dock. The officer kept bringing the conversation back to human safety, lawful fishing, and whether he had intentionally used a boat to interfere with people on the water.
It is easy to understand why locals may get frustrated if they believe visitors are harming fish around a marina. But that frustration does not give someone the right to use a boat as a tool of intimidation.
FWC Was Called Into The Investigation
Because the allegations involved boating conduct, officers contacted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for help.
The responding officer said the case may involve marine charges because the captain allegedly circled kayaks with a motorboat. She said that part was outside her main area and that FWC would know more about the boating regulations.
“If he took a boat and actually circled kayaks, that’s a problem,” the officer said.
An FWC officer later explained that intentionally interfering with a person who is lawfully fishing or trapping in Florida can be a misdemeanor offense. The officer also described the alleged circling as reckless operation involving danger, especially if the boat came close to the kayaks.
The officers discussed the possibility that the captain had intentionally gotten into the boat after asking the kayakers to leave, even though they had the right to be there, and then used the vessel to scare the fish or intimidate the fishermen.
That is an important legal point. A private marina or dock can restrict activity on its own property, but public water is different. If someone is legally fishing from a kayak, other people cannot simply decide to enforce their own rules by surrounding them with a boat.
Witnesses And Video Became Important
Officers tried to gather statements from the father, his teenage son, marina workers, and other witnesses.
One woman told police she saw the captain upset but did not see everything that followed because she became busy with a table. Another witness said the captain got into a skiff, went around the kayakers a couple of times, and told them they could not be there.
Police also reviewed video from the marina area.
According to the bodycam footage shown by WildlifeWarden, officers watching the video said it appeared to show the captain speeding up, circling the kayaks twice, revving the engine, and pointing or tilting the motor toward them while one kayaker tried to back away.
The channel’s narrator said the video supported the kayakers’ account.
An officer also noted that the footage appeared to show another man using a hose in the direction of the fishermen.
The father said that when an officer arrived, the man stopped spraying him. He told police he and his son were uncomfortable and felt defenseless in their kayaks.
A Hose Allegation Led To A Battery Arrest
The father also alleged that another man sprayed him with a hose during the confrontation.
When the officer asked whether he wanted to press charges, he said yes. Police treated the hose allegation separately from the boating conduct.
One officer said spraying someone with a hose could amount to battery.
That may sound minor at first, but context matters. If someone is already in a kayak, already dealing with an aggressive boat nearby, and then someone on or near a vessel sprays them intentionally, it can become part of a larger pattern of intimidation.
The father said he believed the captain should lose his license because the conduct put someone’s life in jeopardy.
The officers continued working through the statements, reviewing video, and checking with FWC about which laws applied.
The Captain Was Arrested
At the end of the investigation, officers told the captain he was being arrested for aggravated assault involving the use of his vessel against the kayakers.
Another man was arrested for battery in connection with the hose allegation.
When the captain questioned the charge, officers told him he could not use his vessel that way while the fishermen were lawfully fishing.
“What you did was not right,” an officer told him.
The captain argued that people had done similar things to him on the water before and that he had never reacted this way. The officer rejected that reasoning and said everyone is different.
“You keep saying what other people do and how you tell other people to leave and they leave,” she told him. “It doesn’t work like that.”
That was the heart of the case. The captain may have believed he was protecting fish near the dock, but police said his method crossed the line from complaint to criminal conduct.
A Dispute Over Fish Became A Criminal Case
WildlifeWarden’s report shows how quickly a disagreement on the water can escalate when someone decides to take enforcement into their own hands.
The captain repeatedly said he cared about the fish and did not want them hooked. He described them as pets and said he had known them for years.
But officers focused on the kayakers’ right to fish in public water, the alleged use of a vessel close to small kayaks, the witnesses’ statements, and the video showing the boat moving around the fishermen.
There is a reasonable way to handle a concern about fishing near a marina: call authorities, explain the issue, and let officers or FWC determine what is legal.
What police said happened here was different. A man allegedly used a boat to circle and intimidate people in kayaks, while another man allegedly sprayed them with a hose.
For the father and son, a day of fishing became a police investigation. For the captain, a dispute over fish he considered “like pets” ended in an aggravated assault arrest.
The case is a reminder that public water does not become private simply because someone cares deeply about the fish nearby, and frustration over fishing does not justify conduct that makes others fear for their safety.
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, John developed a love for the great outdoors early on. With years of experience as a wilderness guide, he’s navigated rugged terrains and unpredictable weather patterns. John is also an avid hunter and fisherman who believes in sustainable living. His focus on practical survival skills, from building shelters to purifying water, reflects his passion for preparedness. When he’s not out in the wild, you can find him sharing his knowledge through writing, hoping to inspire others to embrace self-reliance.
