Denny Brauer had high hopes at the beginning of this season. Coming off what he felt what his most successful back surgery yet, he planned to "limp through" the fall of 2001 and go "wide open" in 2002. But unfortunately for him -- and for Brauer fans -- that has not happened.

"Physically I'm obviously still having quite a few problems," he said. (Right now he's 70th in the B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year race, which isn't terrible, but is far from Brauer's top form.) "I have a numb foot and sciatic pain down the leg. I thought that would go away, and I thought it was going away last fall.

"I thought I was pretty well over it, but it's a longer process than I thought," he said. "I'll eventually get there, but not overnight."

Right now he figures he's about 50/50 sitting and standing over the course of a fishing day. "I stand 30-45 minutes, then sit 15-20 minutes and stand again. It's funny -- if I'm catching fish I can stand a lot longer."

He added that he's made a few adjustments to his footpedal and seat to take the weight off his bad leg, and to help him fish more effectively.

Doctors Not Happy

Brauer's doctors are "not happy with the foot still being numb, that's for sure," he said. "I may get another MRI or something, but it's all just part of a deteriorating back, I guess. It's an occupational hazard.

"I wouldn't call the (summer 2001) operation a success yet," he added.

Working Through It

As far as competition goes, "my mind's ready, but I'm not sure my back is," Brauer said. "I still feel competitive and don't want this to keep me from performing the way I want to perform. It's just something I'm just trying to work through."

Asked whether he'd consider taking a year off to give his back a rest, he said: "Life's kind of short. I'd hate to miss out on a year, as much as I enjoy the tournaments and camaraderie. It would be tough for me to leave for a year if I don't have to.

"But I'm not a fan of doing this halfway, and right now I feel I'm going through the motions more than anything else. I hope to get beyond that."

Brauer also didn't think the new B.A.S.S. schedule will help him at all, in terms of concentrating all the Tour tournaments into 6 months. "Who knows how that will play out physically," he said. "But mentally I just love that schedule.

"You might see some (B.A.S.S.) special events in the fall, too, if you do well. And obviously, when you're shooting a TV show on top of that, you really don't have time off. So right now (even 6 months off is) not an option."

Brauer is of course fishing the Guntersville BASSMASTER this week. The last time the BASSMASTER Tour (Top 100 at the time) was there was in 1992, for a MegaBucks tournament. The winner: Brauer.