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