I thought that I could stay out of this, but, I just can't.

Coho- you are way off base in your thinking. In the Law Enforcement community we have a saying, "there is always someone out there that can kick your ars." We believe that the best fight is no fight. We don't want to find out if the next guy we contact is the one that will mop the floor with us. Nothing "wussy" about it. You sound like you think you can take care of yourself with just your bare hands. If you are a skilled fighter then my hat is off to you. The problem is when you bring your fists to a gun fight. You are foolish to believe that you will have the opportunity to control every situation. The Crack Head that approaches you and puts a gun to your head for dope money isn't really in the frame of mind to negotiate with you. In this situation, you don't really have a say in the matter if you're not packing. He chooses whether you live or die. I'm not picking on you, but, one day you may wish that you excercised your right to carry a handgun. (Hope that day never comes)

Krome Brite- I'm still trying to figure you out. As far as I can tell, you seem to thing that other people will bail you out of a situation if you get in one. All I can say is that there is nobody better to rely on but yourself. Your fellow fishermen won't always be there for you.

For the rest of you- I am very impressed and relieved at what I've read. It sounds like most of you are squared away in your thinking and I wouldn't hesitate to fish next to you on a river.
You are right on the money when you say to walk away. Nothing is worth it. It also sounds like most of you will also make the right descision when forced to draw your weapon. After all, it will be after he(badguy) has drawn his weapon first right? Otherwise there is no justification for it. The jury won't believe you.

A heads up- A concealed weapon is just that, a "concealed" weapon. If you think that you are getting away with leaving your weapon exposed for other people to tremble over, then it isn't concealed. If your jacket isn't long enough to cover that weapon then tough, should have purchased a longer jacket. That is part of the responsibility of owning a handgun and following the guidelines of the permit to carry one. If that jacket was never really long enough to reasonably conceal the gun, then the judge won't buy your excuse. In a perfect situation, we should be able to look at each other and not be able to tell if each other is packing.

Point to ponder- Excluding wildlife, There is only two situations to draw your weapon. 1) to protect your own life and 2) to protect anothers life from imminent danger. Here is a scenario that we should all think about...I am Joe citizen fishing next to 2 idiots that descide to start verbally arguing. The argument becomes way more heated then it should and idiot #1 pulls a gun on idiot #2 and points it at him. As a citizen, what are your options? Let me hear them. This scenario is directed at those of you that think it would be wonderful to pull your gun out first in a verbal confrontation.
I picked this scenario because it hits so close to home with most of us, and it may be the scenario that has the better odds of rearing it's ugly head. Jack