PORT ARANSAS, Texas — Horace Caldwell Pier provides great opportunities to catch fish and catch waves in Port Aransas.
With the allure for both fishers and surfers at the pier, the two groups need to coexist in the waters near it.
“It is a shared space, so we’re all trying to get along and share the space together,” said Morgan Faulkner, the owner of Texas Surf Camps.
Faulkner has been surfing in Port A for more than 30 years, he said, for the most part, there are never any problems sharing the water with fishers.
“Most of the time, it really isn’t a big issue, everyone is aware that it’s shared space. 99 percent of the time there are no issues,” he said.
On the pier, the fishers say the same.
“I try to be courteous, towards anyone around here, other anglers, too. Make sure everybody has their space, we’re not crossing lines, or hitting anyone with it,” said Enzo Elizondo, a fisherman from San Antonio who frequently visits Port A to fish at Horace Caldwell Pier. “Especially kids, if I see there are a bunch of people on the beach, I’ll reel my lines in. I don’t want anyone getting hooked.”
Unfortunately, this weekend some surfers and fishers had an altercation that gave one surfer an injury.
11-year-old Parker and ten-year-old Elliott were surfing the waters around 100 feet from the pier with a few friends and a couple of their dads.
“We were surfing, waiting for a wave, and I think each one of us got casted on,” Parker said.
A couple of fishers were casting their lines near the kids in the water. Elliott’s dad asked the fishers to stop.
“They were like, ‘we’re here first,’” Elliott said.
The fishers continued to cast near the surfers, and one of the friends of the two boys was caught by the hook.
The boys don’t think it was an accident.
“I feel like it wasn’t a coincidence that they casted on each of us, and if it was an accident they would’ve said sorry, or something like that,” they said.
The parents called the Port Aransas Police Department, but the officers couldn’t do anything.
Port Aransas city officials say there is no rule to indicate who has priority on the waters near the pier, the two groups are expected to share the space.
Parker and Elliott had a simple message about sharing the pier.
“The surfers don’t own it, and the fishers don’t own it, none of us own it, so just give other people their space,” Elliott said. “Yeah, we really have to share the pier,” Parker added.
