By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor

As he approaches his 68th birthday in February, returning to the Bassmaster Elite Series isn't a big priority in Denny Brauer's life. But if one of the newly created "Legends" berths on the were to be offered to him, he'd have to at least think about accepting it.

"I've been teasing my wife (Shirley) with it," he said on a recent rainy morning at a Strike King media event at Kentucky Lake. "Every other day I tell her that (B.A.S.S.) called and I said yes.

"But honestly, I don't really know what I'd say if it did happen. A lot would depend on how I felt health-wise – some days I feel like Superman, but the older you get, the more you realize that multi-day tournaments and all that travel take their toll. I'd like to blame it on a lot of things, but at some point I've got to face reality and admit that there's a little bit of old age coming on.

"But I know I can still compete at that level."

Heart Stronger Now

Brauer, the 1987 B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year, 1998 Bassmaster Classic champion and inaugural member of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame, retired from the Elite Series in 2012. That was just a year after he claimed the last of his 17 B.A.S.S. victories at the Arkansas River.

A heart virus he'd contracted was a big factor in his decision to step away. He's since undergone three cardiac ablations (the insertion of tubes through a vein that are threaded to the heart to correct rhythm issues) and received a pacemaker. Along with medication, those procedures have greatly alleviated the problem.

"I don't have the stamina I used to have and I don't have the lung capacity," he said. "My heart's not at full strength, but I can get by. If I'd known how it was all going to turn out, I never would've retired and I'd have just taken a medical exemption, but I didn't want to put myself in that situation – there are more important things in life.

"Plus, the sport's been good to me and I really didn't feel like it owed me anything."

He's not making any specific plans to boost his chances of gaining one of the two Legends berths that will be offered. The criteria provides one point for each B.A.S.S. AOY or Classic championship on an angler's résumé, which would give him two. It also gives top priority to current Elite anglers, followed by Bassmaster Open competitors, and neither of those apply to him.

His schedule for 2017 consists of the Southwestern FLW Series and two Major League Fishing events, along with some local derbies at Texas' Lake Amistad, where he's lived for the past 5 years after relocating from Missouri.

"I'd fish some Opens if they had some on lakes halfway close that I like, but I'm fishing about as much as I like to right now," he said. "I'm actually fishing more than I ever have in my life, but just not as many tournaments. I'm usually out (on Amistad) 5 days a week – I don't go on weekends unless it's a charity event or something."

Style Adjustment Needed

Brauer won the second MLF event ever contested at New York's Chautauqua Lake in 2013, but hasn't been pleased with his overall performance on the made-for-TV circuit. When asked if he enjoys the format that credits all legal fish caught within a given time period instead of employing the best-five standard, his answer is "yes and no."

"The style of fishing I've kind of become accustomed to is being thorough and using big rods and big line in heavy cover," he said. "That's really not conducive to Major League Fishing, where it's all about run-and-gun and catching as many as you can.

"The one I won, I was able to fish the style I like because the lake was set up for that, but since then I've had some mediocre finishes and I think that's mainly because I just haven't covered enough water. I'll have to rethink my philosophy on that and try to be more competitive."

His preferred style works extremely well on his home lake, whether he's competing or just fishing for his own entertainment. Amistad is again turning out some bruisers after a downturn caused by drought conditions and his personal best is a fish that he estimated at right around 16 pounds – it pegged both a Cul-M-Rite scale and a Boga Grip that he had on board, each of which maxed out at 15 pounds.

"I caught it on a Strike King football jig in about 22 feet of water on an isolated hump," he said. "I was practicing for (an FLW Series event) 4 or 5 days later and the reason I let it go was I thought I might catch it again in the tournament.

"Unfortunately, that didn't happen."