I've actually had to deal with this exact situation before while I was stationed in Florida. In my situation, I explained to the individuals that the fish in my pail were my property and any attempt to take that property is theft and I have a right to defend my property. In the next breath I explained to the people that they were behaving in an aggressive manor toward me and that I have the right to protect myself with everything up to and including deadly force against any aggressive acts committed toward me. Once I said those two things I waited for them to sink in and then I told them that they had been warned. I guess they may have realized that if they did either of those things, it would be THEY and not ME who would be breaking the law and that I'd be exonerated of any wrong doing should I be forced to smack'em in the process of defending myself and my property, because they never attempted anything like this guy. Oh they yelled and screamed and called me names, but made no attempts to interfere with my fishing or touch my stuff. I caught 2 more speckled trout while they were accosting me and put them in the bucket which made my entire MONTH as poetic justice. I would have said the same thing in this instance, but when that individual touched my fish (ie. property), I suspect that law enforcement and medical personnel would have been called and I may have made their blog page. (Grin)