When you are at a city park, you will sometimes have to deal with annoying kids, but that is no big deal since they are usually just having fun.

What would you do if some kids tried to use your fishing equipment, and when you told them no, their mom came over to yell at you?

That is what happened to the fisher in this story, so he explained that he didn’t work for the park and wasn’t going to let random kids use his equipment.

“My taxes pay your salary” No, they do not.

It was the middle of June, and my first weekend off in quite a long time.

This sounds like a great way to spend time off.

I’d been giving my friend a never ending rain check of promising to teach her to fish. Our schedules finally line up, weather’s perfect, it’s fishing time.

We arrive at a local lake. It’s the type where you don’t need a fishing license, just a pass for the lake. Money goes to the city.

What a convenient way to handle it.

We buy our passes from the concession stand, and head back to my car to get the gear. I brought three set ups, one for me, one for friend, one just in case.

It’s a really busy Saturday morning. Lots of people. We do a mini hike across the lake to get to our spot and get to fishing.

Things are going perfectly it sounds like.

Friend learns quickly. We catch a few before the sun’s all the way up, we’re pumped how well the day is going and decide to take a lunch break when it starts to get hot. At about 11 we take the stuff back to my car, we chill/eat/hydrate, and head back.

While we’re walking back, a group of kids break away from their families to follow us around. They were all boys, 4 of them, three of them were probably around 8-11 years old and the fourth is maybe 6.

Not their kids, not their problem, really.

I’m thinking they just want to watch us fish and they likely told their parents where they were going so I don’t even think about it.

We get back to our spot, but the kids are trying to follow us down the hill (the top of the hill has a trail, if you’re careful, you can climb down to reach a small landing that’s close to the waters edge) it was stressing me out watch these kids try and climb down, so I yell up to them a safer place for them to watch (basically next to us, easier to get to, but there’s a gap in between the landings).

They are going to scare away all the fish.

Once they got down, they decided to have a rock skipping contest, not exactly polite to do that next to people fishing, but I let it go.

THEN these kids decide to have a JUMPING contest. They’re jumping from their landing to our landing back and fourth.

Kids get hurt sometimes, that’s how they learn.

There’s only a two foot gap, but if they fell, they’d definitely get hurt.

Friend is getting more stressed than me watching them, makes them promise her to be careful.

Yeah, kids will be kids.

They said what I probably would’ve said when I was their age “fiiiiine” Whatever guys.

The ringleader of the group (oldest, maybe 11) then asks me if they’re allowed to fish. I asked them if they have a pass (stupid me), they say yes in unison.

Great! At least them fishing will be less annoying than their jumping. And safer too.

I tell them “if you got a pass, you’re good to go!”

Um, sorry kid.

Ringleader puts his hands on my fishing pole, that I’m holding still, and asks if he can use it. I pull away, say “no bud, I’m using it” He picks up my just in case pole (without asking) and says “what about this one?”

“No, that’s mine, and I don’t want you hurting yourself with it” little brat gives me an attitude and shouts “well what can I use?”

What an annoying kid.

I didn’t even know what to say at first, but I pulled out old faithful: “go ask your parents”. It worked, they immediately left.

About 20 minutes later we hear a large group of people coming down the trail. It’s the kids and their family, and the kids are whispering and pointing at me (mostly just ringleader).

She has some nerve.

A female a bit older than me (guessing mom) angrily makes her way over to the spot, and lays into me.

I don’t remember everything but the general consensus is that I’m ungrateful and I “need to get shot” (her words).

He is being more patient than she deserves.

Kids are still close so I decide to keep it PG. I also have a little issue with my hearing, if something is too loud I can’t usually make out the sound (like, if you’re yelling at me, I’m not gonna get every word) I explain I can’t hear her when she raises her voice.

She starts yelling louder. I’m getting nothing, friend is MORTIFIED. I stare at her until there’s a break and say “yeah, I didn’t get a word of that.”

Oh, I bet she was furious.

she almost starts to go off again when the husband/ boyfriend/ older brother shouts something at her in another language and she stops.

Angry lady: “Did you tell these boys they couldn’t fish?”

Where did she get that idea?

Me: “No, I said just the opposite”

She’s stunned

AL: “why can’t they fish then? They’re allowed to fish at this lake!”

Yes, this is pretty obvious, lady.

Me: “they can fish, they’re absolutely allowed to fish here, they just can’t use my stuff”

AL: “why not? Everyone else here is fishing! This lake is owned by the city!”

Me: “yup, sure is”

Blank stares for way too long

What? How is it this guy’s responsibility?

AL: “you need to teach them to fish!”

Me: “Miss, I cant watch all of them. What if they hurt themselves?”

Where did she get that idea?

AL: “Yes you are. My taxes pay your salary”

Me: “No, they do not”

AL: “Yes they do! I pay taxes and taxes pay for this lake! And they better not hurt themselves because if they do-“

Clearly, she does.

Me: “you think I work here?”

More blank stares

Me: “Miss, I work at [place I used to work], doing [thing I did while I was there]”

Finally, she is figuring it out.

Even more blank stares

Me: “I fix computers” (I didn’t but it’s easier to say that than explain what I really did)

*silence

Now get out of here, lady.

This poor, lady looks so embarrassed as it clicks that I’m just a person fishing on their day off.

But I don’t even get an apology. No recognition that she was wrong.

No surprise here. People like this never admit they were wrong.

She just climbs back over to the rest of the family as they quietly speak amongst themselves, walking away in their shame.

When they’re finally out of sight, friend and I give each other the “what the heck just happened” look, and break into the most beautiful 45 minute session of uncontrollable laughter I’ve ever had.

Even if he did work there, I doubt the city pays for fishing lessons to give out for free. This lady was crazy.

Let’s see what the people in the comments have to say about it.

I haven’t heard of anything like this either.

No way, why would he?

Now this is funny.

Exactly, what this lady thinking?

Yeah, park rangers have more important things to do.

Teach your own kids to fish.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.