Young fisherman threatened by charter boat captain, police say

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (Gray News) - A young fisherman is speaking out after being involved in an altercation with a charter boat captain in Florida earlier this month.

The incident was caught on the man’s GoPro camera, and the video went viral.

Gage Towles told WBBH that he lives for fishing.

“It’s what I live for. Every bad day that I have, you go fishing, and you don’t the bad days. It’s more of a good day,” he said.

Towles started fishing when he was 5 years old and has not stopped since. Now at 22 years old, he is out on the water every single day, but a normal day fishing on the Peace River is now a day he will never forget.

While Towles was out fishing by himself on April 1, Captain Brock Horner, 40, of Tarpon Coast Fishing began threatening him. Horner allegedly threatened Towles, unlawfully boarded his boat and grabbed him by his shirt, according to the Punta Gorda Police Department.

“Ultimately, he did slowly inch his boat up to me, and yeah, when he jumped on my boat, that’s when it went from me just brushing this guy off to now fearing that I was going to die.”

Towles saw Horner’s anger about three days before when Horner sped past him and a friend around 5 a.m.

“He stopped and immediately starts cursing at us and calling us all types of names and stupid because we didn’t have our lights on, but we both did have our lights on and I just think maybe he wasn’t paying attention, which happens, you know?”

Towles said the situation has shaken him, but he will not stop fishing.

“I’ll still be chasing the fish every single day. I love to fish. It’s my ion. It’s everything. It’s what motivates me to get through life,” he said.

Towles said he had his gun on his boat at the time of the incident, but he did not use it because he did not want anyone to get hurt or die.

Horner was arrested and charged with burglary with assault or battery.

“This type of behavior will not be tolerated in our waterways—or anywhere else in our city,” said Punta Gorda Police Chief Pam Smith. “We are committed to ensuring the safety of our residents and visitors, both on land and on the water.”

The Punta Gorda police Department said the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the United States Coast Guard are conducting their own investigations as well.