The Game Plan with Denny Brauer for His Lake Champlain
Win in Mid-July
The Game Plan for the Tournament and Brauer’s
Quest to Fight Back
 Editor’s
Note: Last week, Denny Brauer told us how he planned
to fish the 2006 CITGO Bass Elite Series’ tournament
on Lake Champlain. We talked with Brauer after the first
day of practice, and much like a pool shooter who calls
a shot, Brauer accurately predicted how he would fish,
where he would find the fish, and how he would catch
them to win this $100,000 tournament. Four days after
we talked to Brauer, he executed the plan he’d
laid out for us. Not only did he win the $100,000 first
prize, he also passed the $2 million mark in tournament
winnings, which moved him into first place as the No.
1 bass angler to win the most money on the Bassmaster
circuit. This week, Brauer will take us day-by-day through
the tournament and show us how he executed the plan
he’d laid out for the tournament won one of the
biggest events of his life. We’ll not only see
the strategy of a champion, but we’ll also witness
the mindset of a winner.
Question: Denny, where did you find the fish that won
this tournament?
Brauer: On the first day of practice, I went about 75
miles from the launch site to Plattsburg in the Ticonderoga
area of the lake, a place well-known for big catches
of largemouth bass. I’d already made the choice
to fish for largemouth instead of smallmouth because
I felt that catching largemouth would give me the best
opportunity to win. While I was down in that hot Ticonderoga
area, I caught a 4- and a 6-pounder. I had a couple
of other big bass bite on top-water baits too. I immediately
left that region in the southern part of the lake. I
could have caught five bass there that weighed a total
of 20 pounds easily. I also found two other places holding
good-sized bass. However, what scared me about this
first area I identified was that southern Lake Champlain
was known for high winds and rough water.  After
having three major back surgeries, I didn’t think
I’d be able to make that 75-mile run every day
of the tournament without encountering bad weather.
Even though I found a spot where I thought I could win
the tournament on the southern end of the lake, on the
second day of practice, I decided to go to the north
end of the lake rather than the south end, where I knew
the fish were. I got many bites and jerked on a few
of the fish. I could see that they were good quality
bass. On the third day, I went back to the northern
section of the lake, expanded on the region I’d
found and located a few more sites I felt were holding
bass. My son, Chad, had found some other regions on
the southern part of the lake where I fished the first
day. Since he’s a bit younger than I am and doesn’t
have any back problems, he decided to concentrate fishing
on the southern half of the lake, and I pretty well
decided to fish the northern part of the lake. The section
I found on the northern part of the lake was only 40
miles from the launch site as opposed to the 75-mile
run to the south. Chad did well in the tournament. He
finished in 20th place and had a good tournament. Since
I stayed in the northern section of the lake, so Chad
and I were fishing about 120-miles apart.
Question: Denny, you decided to stay north in your
secondary area because the ride wouldn’t punish
you as much. But do you think that if your back wasn’t
hurt, you could have made that 75-mile run and possibly
won the tournament from the south end?
Brauer: My back’s fine. I could have made the
run to the south. The question  was,
did I want to endure the pain that rough ride would
create? When I found the spot I located in the north,
I felt my odds of winning were better there than they
were in the south. The area in the north wasn’t
my secondary choice. It was really my first choice.
My game plan was to fish two days of the tournament
in the north. If I used up my water, I’d head
south for the third day to catch another big bag of
fish. However, the more I fished my northern area, the
more I learned how many bass that region was actually
holding, and the better I learned to catch bass in that
location. I decided I could win the tournament in that
vicinity. It didn’t make any sense to leave my
area in the north on the third day of the tournament.
Question: Denny, one of the critical keys to your decision-making
process to win this tournament was your back. When did
you hurt it?
Brauer: I injured my back right after the 1999 Bassmaster’s
Classic that Davy Hite won. I finished second in that
Classic. About two weeks later, we had a tournament
on Lake St. Claire, which was the first tournament of
that year. That’s where I injured my back.
Question: What happened next, Denny?
Brauer: I fished hurt for a couple of tournaments. Then
I had back surgery, and it failed. I ended up having
three more surgeries on my back until I finally met
with the right doctor and got the problem cured.
 Question:
Denny, for most competitors, all those back surgeries
would have been career-ending events. Why did you decide
to come back and finish competing? You’d already
made plenty of money, and achieved much, if not more,
than any other competitor on the circuit. Why did you
decide to not hang it up and quit fishing for bass and
doing TV shows?
Brauer: You’re right, it would have been easy
to say, “I’ve had a great career as a tournament
pro, made a good living for me and my family, and I
don’t have to fight anymore.” Financially,
quitting would have been an issue. At that point in
my career and even today, I’m not out here competing
as much for the money as I am because I love the sport.
I love the fishing, the competition and the guys I’m
competing against. Tournament bass fishing is my world.
It’s who I am, not what I do. I also didn’t
want to be taken out of the sport by an injury. I looked
at my back injury as the greatest challenge I ever faced
during my tournament bass-fishing career. The challenge
for me was to fight through this injury and get back
to my competitive form. Throughout the back surgeries,
I looked forward to coming back to the sport of tournament
bass fishing and proving I could get back into that
competitive form.
Question: Did quitting ever cross your mind?
Brauer: Sure, it did. When things aren’t going
right, anyone thinks, “Maybe I should back away.”
After the surgeries, if I had a bad tournament, on that
long drive home, I often caught myself thinking, “Denny,
it’s about time for you to hang it up.”
By the time I’d arrive at home, I’d be so
mad about this injury trying to force me out of tournament
bass fishing that I couldn’t wait until it was
time to leave for the next tournament. I wanted the
chance to prove that I still could compete, and my back
injury wasn’t going to beat me. Then, if I had
a good week at a tournament, I’d get myself really
pumped-up and decide that I wanted to tournament bass
fish for the rest of my life. I’ve learned over
the years that emotions lie, and I never want to make
decisions based on emotions. I always try to make decisions
based on good reasons.
Tomorrow: Honey Hole on the
First Day
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