Axel Pierce, the son of Rodney Pierce and Marcia Brannan and a junior at Marietta High School, and his partner Carson Owen, the son of John and Lindsey Owen of Ardmore competed in the 13th annual Student Angler Federation Open World Finals June 22 through 26 at Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama. Fishing in their first world tournament together as a team, the young men, who are members of the Texoma Team Trail, made a great showing.
On day one of the competition, the team placed 116 of 418 boats. On day two, they improved to 65 out of 418 teams, earning their spot in the semifinal round by being the highest-ranking angler team from the state of Oklahoma.
On day three of the semi-final round, they fell short of the top 10 cutoff and were eliminated while bringing in three fish for a total of six pounds, four ounces, their smallest bag of the tournament. Although the team didn’t advance to the world tournament, they caught three fish all three days of the tournament.
Pierce has been fishing competitively since last fall when he and Owen teamed up. Since then, the team has fished on Student Angler Federation and Oklahoma Bass Nation circuits in competitions across the area and state.
Although Pierce is active in FFA, plays football, basketball, and throws discus, according to mom Marcia, he eats, sleeps, and breathes fishing. He’s loved it ever since he was small.
“When they fish in tournaments, they go three days before and pre-fish,” she said, “and then they fish from sunup until they weigh in at 4 p.m., and then they’ll keep fishing even after weigh-in. They love it that much.”
Marcia was able to take her son to the tournament in Alabama. They got home at midnight Saturday, June 25, and even after he’d fished several days straight, Axel was back at it, fishing in the pond on Sunday.
Although Axel’s sister, Betsy Kate Miller, hasn’t been bitten by the fishing bug, she still goes along to the tournaments to cheer her brother on.
“Even on vacation, he wants to fish,” Marcia remarked. “We take a trip once a year to get a fish he hasn’t caught yet. Last year it was peacock bass in Miami. This year, we haven’t decided yet.”
Pierce enjoys his school activities, but fishing provides something unique.
“It’s new and different every day and everywhere you go,” he said. “You’ve gotta be able to figure out how to catch fish no matter where you are.
“Different places and different types of fish mean a different kind of strategy. It’s a lot of fun, but it’s the challenge that makes me enjoy it so much.”