I think the sabre rattling comes from those who spend a lot of time and/or money on their pond(s) only to read posts where someone uses that pond without permission and with such a cavalier attitude about it. I think the average "Pond Hopper/Poacher" doesn't think they are stealing or causing harm, after all they are just fishing, right? Wrong...

I friend of mine who speaks frequently at Pond Management conferences almost always includes the line that the public still thinks that Watermelons, Pecans, and Fish are free. Wrong...

I grew up in the 80's where Pond Hopping was done by many and few landowners cared, because few spent any time or money managing their ponds. Today, that has changed. Using someone else's resource without permission is not OK. Most view it is stealing.