angler: Dan Morehead
ailment: bad shoulder
cause and effect: Morehead had
been experiencing rotator cuff melt-
down in his right shoulder for some
time, but he hit the pain wall in 2011
while using a heavy umbrella rig to win
the Costa FLW Series Championship at
Kentucky Lake.
Treatment: After a couple
of MRIs and a regimen of
cortisone shots and anti-
inflammatory prescription
drugs, Morehead under-
went surgery in 2013.
outcome and prognosis:
Morehead, in his 40s, is A-
OK and fishes an umbrella
rig any time he sees fit.
angler: Denny Brauer
ailment: bad shoulder, bad knee,
bad back
cause and effect: Brauer hurt his
knee playing high school football
and then reinjured it severely during
practice for a Costa FLW Series event
on Toledo Bend. After previous sur-
gery on his back, he reinjured it in
1998 during a tournament on Lake
St. Clair, and hurt his shoulder in a
Costa tournament on Sam Rayburn
in 2015 (even with only one good
arm, he finished fifth).
Treatment: Surgery, and plenty of it, has
been Brauer’s lot. He’s undergone knee and
shoulder replacements, four lumbar opera-
tions and cervical fusion surgery.
outcome and prognosis: Says Brauer: “I’ve
got so many titanium parts in me that it’s a
given I’m going to set off the security alarms
in any airport I go through.” Otherwise, he’s
still a regular in the Costa FLW Series and a
formidable tournament opponent. ■
february-march 2017 i flwfiShing.com
31