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photo courtesy of Denese Freeman
photo courtesy of Denese
Freeman
Pro-Angler Sharri Brazzel from Gilbert, Arizona
Hakuna Matata has become Sharri
Brazzel’s mantra in recent
months. The familiar phrase from
the song in the movie Lion King
gives her peace and comfort as
this pro-angler from Gilbert,
Arizona is following her
doctor’s orders and getting the
things done in her life that she
most wants to do. Fishing is at
the top of Sharri’s list and
fishing the Women’s Bassmaster
Tour is her dream come true. She
made her debut on Lake Amistad
in February.
Adopted at
birth in Lafayette, Louisiana and raised in Natchitoches,
Louisiana, Sharri is no stranger to fishing. Her Dad took her
trolling at 3 years old and she caught her first fish. She and
her mother ran trot lines and Yo-Yo’s every night before bedtime
to get her tired and as she got older, she continued to run trot
lines. She fished her first tournament at the age of 14 by
herself in a 12’ Jon boat with a 15hp Evinrude and no trolling
motor. When everyone told her she was crazy, Sharri told them
that she knew the lake better than anyone else fishing the
tournament. She came in second.
Sharri started attending college while she was a sophomore in
high school. She graduated from Louisiana State University with
a Doctor’s Degree in Veterinary Medicine. She never used her
degree. Her interest in animals started on her Dad’s ranch while
she was in high school. She trained cutting horses and competed
in rodeo barrel racing and roping. She has 2 World championships
and 7 National championships on cutting horses. She also won a
World Championship in barrel racing while in high school.
Another
interest Sharri had on her Dad’s ranch was working for free with
the game and fish wardens. She had a strong desire to learn
about fish and why they needed to be in the ponds and horse
troughs on a ranch. Little did she know then that her curiosity
would led her into a specific line of work when she got older.
Working 9 to 5
has never been on Sharri’s schedule. She got into her present
line of work designing saltwater aquariums on a “dare”. Her love
of the ocean led her to Portsmouth, New Hampshire at one point
in her life. She thought she would never leave the ocean, but
she soon tired of the cold and the snow. She checked all over
the country and found Arizona to be the only state without
natural disasters. She moved to Gilbert, Arizona in 1997. She
has built several large restaurant aquariums and helped open the
Sea World Aquarium in San Antonio, Texas.
Nicknamed “Dr.
Do Little”, Sharri has no two-legged kids, only four-legged
ones. She owns 3 dogs, 5 cats, 1 African Grey Parrot and 2
saltwater fish tanks (300 gallons each). Her Lab is a 3-time
Grand Field Champion. Sharri enjoys teaching field training to
people who love to hunt or to show hunting dogs.
photo courtesy of Sharri Brazzel
Sharri and Ellie
And what does
Sharri do in her “spare” time? She rides to bike rallies all
over the United States on her Harley Davidsons. She owns 2 and
she always rides alone. She prefers it that way. Riding is her
“freedom” and fishing is her “sanity”. It is these two battles
that Sharri is now fighting to keep under her own
control..
In 2004, she
was diagnosed with liver cancer that has now spread to her
intestines. When she first found out, she was shocked to think
that someone as healthy as she who had never done a drug in her
life and very little drinking, could be dealt such a bad hand in
life. Sharri does not cry as she feels being sad does not help
anything. After going through Chemo treatments last year that
only caused her cancer to spread more rapidly, Sharri is
striving to stay one step ahead of her doctors and the cancer
with alternative measures. Sharri now lives in the moment. That
is the only way her life has changed thus far. She doesn’t take
anything for granted and strives daily to be a happy and caring
person.
Other health
problems may prevent Sharri from fishing the Lake Dardanelle
tournament. She is currently being evaluated for possible
surgery called a
urethral
diverticulum. Her doctors will make the decision of when and how
they will proceed once she receives a more advanced MRI. Sharri
may not be able to fish, but she is considering being at
Russellville to hang out and show her support for the new
friends she has made on the WBT tour. It is important to her to
keep active and set an example for others. She wants people to
know that you have to keep a positive outlook, continue doing
what you love as long as possible and to never give up.
In June, Sharri plans to ride alone to
Alaska on her Harley (3700 miles one way) and make the trip in 4
days riding 1000 miles a day. She wants to be standing on the
Artic Circle when their summer changes to 24 hours of daylight.
She will relax and take her time on the ride back home to
Arizona. Her friends and family thinks she is crazy for not
staying home and resting. Sharri says there will be time enough
for that when she is in heaven. This writer has no doubt that
Sharri will be standing on the Artic Circle in Alaska in June of
2007 shouting Hakunta Matata for all the world to hear.
photo courtesy of Sharri Brazzel
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