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How do you pick up the pieces after a life-altering accident? Annie Nagel stars in the latest episode in Mustang Survival’s “Live Beyond Land” video series. The California angler found the sport while suffering from aftereffects of a serious car crash. Watch Nagel’s story to learn how fishing helped her find a new way forward.
After the Crash: How Kayak Fishing Saved Annie Nagel
Fishing the open ocean might seem frightening to some, but it all depends on your perspective. “The scariest part of kayak fishing for me,” counters Nagel, “is the drive there and back.” On her eighteenth birthday, Nagel was involved in a high-speed car accident that she calls “the scariest moment of my life.”
The accident left Nagel feeling numb for months due to a strong tolerance to adrenaline. But all that changed when she caught her first rainbow trout. “It jumped and it was so acrobatic,” she recalls, “and that was the very first adrenaline rush I felt after my car accident.”
From Fishing Novice to Full-Time Pro Angler
Floating on the ocean in a small plastic boat, Nagel’s not concerned with everyday worries. “I leave it all behind when I’m out on the water,” she says. Since taking up kayak fishing, Nagel has turned pro and grown into a top competitor with over 100 species landed—not to mention a passionate seafood chef. Out beyond land, the future looks bright.