Profile: How AngelAnni became a brand and the fishing boat became a classroom

​For Anja “Anni” Heppner, better known as Angel-Anni, the focus is on learning. She didn’t come into this world as a fully-fledged professional angler. She started out just like many others: curious, motivated, but practically still right at the beginning. In 2015, she obtained her fishing licence in Schleswig-Holstein. In theory, she’s now allowed to fish. In practice, she quickly realises that there’s a world of difference between the exam paper and the water. Assembling a rod, tying knots, handling bait, caring for fish, filleting – you don’t learn any of that from a book. Instead of seeing this as an obstacle, Anni turns it into a format.

How AngelAnni became a brand

She buys a camera, designs a logo, comes up with an opening song, sings, films, edits and starts on YouTube to show how she’s learning to fish. Not in a patronising way. Not perfectly. But right in the thick of it. With questions, mistakes, progress and that open-minded approach that makes it easier for many people to get started. Angel-Anni is becoming a brand, but above all she is becoming a character with whom beginners can identify.

Many beginners who’d love to go fishing or take a boat out don’t give up because they’re not interested. Rather, they’re held back by questions like: Where do I start? Who do I ask? Do I have to know how to do it already? Am I allowed to make mistakes? This is where AngelAnni’s strength lies. Her story says: Yes, you can start without knowing everything. You’re allowed to learn. You’re allowed to ask questions. You’re allowed to give it a go. And eventually, you’ll find yourself by the water’s edge, at the helm or at the front of the boat, and realise that your uncertainty has turned into experience.

Read more on this topic:

• ​Babs Kijewski – the world is her fishing ground

Today, AngelAnni is primarily associated with predator fishing. Pike, perch, zander, cod, herring – freshwater, saltwater, artificial lures, active fishing. Her content is colourful, approachable and often deliberately accessible. It’s not about impressing the fishing community with technical jargon. It’s about getting people on board.

The target audience

This is particularly evident in her activities for women, children and families. In Malchow and on Lake Fleesensee, she introduces people to the water who may never have cast a line before. She explains the basics, demonstrates rigs, and helps with the first cast, the first bite and the first fish. And she doesn’t just do this from the shore. Her boat trips take participants out onto the waters of the Müritz fishing grounds, setting off from Fleesensee. The boat becomes a classroom. This can be crucial, especially for female beginners. From the boat, you’re not just a spectator on the edge of the fishing ground. You’re right in the thick of it. You feel the wind, the drift and the waves. You see how a spot is approached. You understand why a drop-off is interesting, why the depth sounder suddenly becomes important, why a boat is much more than just a floating fishing spot. It’s all about movement. Freedom. Responsibility. And sometimes simply the best place to realise: I can do this.

A Guide to Boat Fishing

AngelAnni’s journey into boat fishing: from her own canoe, through her first motorboat, to the large DeepV on the Seenplatte. Anni talks about mooring, which doesn’t always go smoothly straight away. About her first boat, a Terhi 445C. About her large fishing boat today, which, despite its size, she can slip into the water on her own. About a Mercury ProXS 115 that had to go in for a service after just a few hours of use. These aren’t trivialities. These are the stories every boat angler knows. Because anyone who uses a boat doesn’t just experience the moments of catching fish. They also experience the trailer, the engine, the harbour, the maintenance, the wind, the slipway and the little learning curves in between. Perhaps that’s exactly what makes AngelAnni so likeable: she doesn’t make the journey seem completely smooth. She shows that fishing and boating require patience and experience. But she also shows that experience doesn’t come from watching. You have to get out there. You have to give it a go. You have to make that first cast, move that first boat, mess up that first knot and, eventually, land that first pike.

One of her early fishing experiences sounds like a scene from a beginner’s dream: near the Dutch border, she is invited to go pike and perch fishing. On the first day, her first pike strikes the bait – 1.17 metres. A fish that others might call the catch of a lifetime. For Anni, however, this is just the beginning of her journey.

Today, AngelAnni stands for more than just catching your own fish. It stands for getting started. For encouragement. For learning by the water. For children taking their first casts. For women who don’t just tag along, but want to fish themselves. For families who don’t see a boat as a ‘men’s space’, but as a shared outdoor space. It shows how a passion can grow when you dare to take the first step.

Profile: Anni Heppner/AngelAnni

• ​First experiences of fishing: Getting started with a fishing licence. Full of curiosity, camera in hand, and keen to learn the ropes of fishing step by step.
• Key areas: Fishing for predatory fish with artificial lures, particularly pike, perch and zander. Also cod, herring and other predatory fish in fresh and salt water.
• Areas: The Mecklenburg Lake District, Fleesensee, the waters of the Müritz fishermen, plus other freshwater and saltwater fishing grounds.
• Boat cover: From the canoe to the first motorboat and on to the Lund boat. For her, real learning curves are part of the story.
• Today: YouTuber, content creator (@angel­­anni), a provider of guidance sessions for women, children, families, couples and groups.