Entry 347-1
Denny Brauer – The Babe Ruth of Fishing
Editor’s Note: Most people know that Babe Ruth was the home run king of baseball, but they don’t know that Babe Ruth also was the strikeout king of baseball. We remember his victories but quickly have forgotten his defeats. Every time Babe Ruth struck out, he became more determined to hit a ball over the fence. Great athletes in every sport use defeat as a motivator for victory. Denny Brauer of Camdenton, Missouri, is in the top five of all-time money winners on the BASS fishing circuit.
But at the 2010 Bassmaster Classic held on Lay Lake in Birmingham, Alabama, in February, 2010, Brauer totally struck out and didn’t bring one bass to the weigh-in during the entire tournament. There are lessons to be learned about fishing and life not only from the victories, but also from the defeats. Since most of us strike-out in bass fishing more times than we hit home runs, listen to Brauer this week, learn from him and see how you, too, can take a fishing defeat and transform it into a fishing victory.
Part 1: Denny Brauer Fishes to Win
Question: Denny, how do you recover from a defeat like the 2010 Bassmaster Classic?
Brauer: I really don’t understand the question. The Classic has ended, and it’s behind me. In fishing, as well in life, you have to be willing to accept whatever happens. I had a game plan going into the Classic and told several media outlets that I didn’t know whether I would win or finish last because my performance would depend on water levels in the lake, weather conditions and the bass’ attitudes, all things I couldn’t control.
The bass were only moving-up to shallow water to feed a couple of hours in the day. I knew that if the bass were feeding, I could catch them. On the second day of the Classic, the bass never moved-up to feed, and on the last day of the Classic, I let two big ones get away. I don’t regret anything I did in the 2010 Classic.
When I go into a major tournament, I fish to win. Second place to me is as big a loss as last place. Anybody can go onto Lay Lake and catch a small limit of spotted bass. 
That’s pretty easy to do. But what do you get out of that? You can save a little face and finish in the middle of the pack, which is what some anglers want. But that’s not what I want. I want to win. If I’ll be competing at the Classic, I’ll be there to win.
I owe my sponsors my best attempt to win – not to come in second or be in the middle of the pack, but to win. Most of my sponsors understand that if I don’t catch bass, I just don’t catch bass. But if I catch bass, I’ll try to catch the bass that will win the tournament. That’s the way I play the game. I use a loss like the 2010 Bassmaster Classic to motivate me to win.
