Posting on Reddit’s r/AmITheA**hole, Redditor u/Accomplished-Bass408 (otherwise referred to as the original poster, or OP) said he was confronted on numerous occasions about his fishing habits and asked the forum’s 4.3 million members if he handled the most recent confrontation too curtly.

Titled, “[Am I the a**hole] for laughing at my neighbor and calling them stupid before closing the door on them?” the post has received more than 13,000 upvotes and 1,000 comments in the last day.

“I live in my family’s cottage which I was given ownership of,” OP began. “My family has been living here for generations…my neighbors are a different story.”

Continuing to explain that a majority of his childhood neighbors moved out over the years, the original poster said many of their houses were demolished and turned into “designer” homes, complete with new residents and a homeowners association.

The original poster also explained that he regularly fishes in the lake adjacent to his cottage, but recently received backlash from a neighbor concerned about his “dangerous” habits.

“One day after doing some canoe fishing I was approached by [my neighbor] on my beach. She started asking if it was legal to fish on the lake, to which I said it was as long as you pay the [$25] per year license,” OP wrote.

After their initial beach interaction, the original poster said he didn’t hear from the neighbor for two weeks before a scathing letter arrived in his mailbox.

“She wrote about how ‘dangerous’ fishing is to the environment and why I should stop,” OP wrote. “In response, I chose to simply chuck it in my recycling bin and ignore her as it wasn’t worth my time.”

“[Then] two days ago while I had some friends over…we heard a knock at the door,” OP wrote. “It was [my neighbor] and she had another letter…admittedly I was a bit tipsy at the time and…I laughed and called her stupid for believing the HOA can do anything before closing the door on her.”

“On one hand I feel that I was justified in my actions because my fishing is none of her business,” OP added. “On the other…I feel that I could have dealt with her in a more tactful way.”

Between 1960 and 2020, the number of fishing licenses sold in the United States grew by 53.4 percent, jumping from 19.1 million to 29.3 million, according to Wildlife For All.

In 2019, data published by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies showed that 93 percent of surveyed Americans approve of legal, recreational fishing, compared to 80 percent for hunting.

Despite its high approval rating, a large number of anti-fishing advocates still exist.

Across the country, however, “hunter harassment” laws prevent detractors from interfering with lawful hunting and fishing, and can leave individuals convicted of harassing lawful hunters and anglers facing hefty fines and potential jail time.

“No person shall obstruct, interfere with or otherwise prevent the lawful taking of fish or wildlife by another at the locale where such activity is taking place,” Massachusetts’ hunter harassment law reads. “Acts prohibited include…driving or disturbing wildlife, harassing another engaged in lawful taking of fish or wildlife, interjecting oneself into the line of fire, or erecting barriers to prevent access.”

“No person shall willfully obstruct or impede the participation of any individual in the lawful activity of hunting, furharvesting or fishing,” Kansas’ law echoes.

Early in his viral Reddit post, the original poster assured that he was licensed to fish at his residence and noted that his neighbor’s attempts to stop him from fishing were all made to a homeowners association, not a state municipality or wildlife agency.

Throughout the post’s comment section, Redditors acknowledged this distinction and called out the neighbor for interfering with activities the original poster has been involved with for the last 25 years.

“[Not the a**hole],” Redditor u/SigSauerPower320 wrote in a comment which has received nearly 8,000 upvotes. “She’s bordering on harassment.”

“Not only that, I’m sure she’s lying as the HOA knows you’re not a member. Which would mean that they can’t do anything,” they continued. “Not only that, an HOA can’t control how often and where you fish.”

In the post’s top comment, which has received more than 22,000 upvotes, Redditor u/Zorgas shifted focus to the neighbor’s claim that the original poster’s fishing was “dangerous” for the lake they live on.

“It’s kind of ironic as an individual fishing for their own food in a canoe is about as sustainable as it can get,” they wrote. “[Not the a**hole].”

“That is kind of blowing my mind,” Redditor u/andshe chimed in, receiving more than 9,000 upvotes.

“Let me just jump in my car, drive to the store and buy some fish that was [shipped] in from somewhere else instead,” they added, sarcastically. “Is that better?”

Newsweek reached out to u/Accomplished-Bass408 for comment.