By Pete Robbins
Special to BassFan


This Dec. 20 will mark the 20th anniversary of the death of 1994 Bassmaster Classic champion Bryan Kerchal, who remains the only Federation qualifier to win the Classic title in that role. Other Federation qualifiers, such as Ken Cook and Mike Iaconelli, won the trophy as tour-level pros, but to date no one has matched Kerchal’s accomplishment of winning directly out of the amateur ranks.

There were near misses prior to Kerchal’s win, as well as after it. In 1986, Massachusetts angler Danny Correia made a run at the title before falling short of Charlie Reed’s winning total by 13 ounces. In 1997, a dead-fish penalty prevented Dalton Bobo from edging out eventual champion Dion Hibdon. This past February, Paul Mueller, like Kerchal a resident of Connecticut, caught a Classic record five-fish limit weighing 32-03 on day 2, but ultimately fell a pound short of the title when Randy Howell rallied from behind on the last day.

Just about every year, it seems, another Federation (now B.A.S.S. Nation) qualifier makes a strong case for that amateur circuit’s inclusion in the highest-profile event in bass fishing, but each time the would-be contender falls short.

Kerchal, then 23 years old, died when American Eagle Flight 3379 crashed en route to Raleigh-Durham International Airport. It was a short commuter jump from Greensboro, N.C., where he’d spent the day working an employee appreciation event at Wrangler Jeans, which was then the title sponsor of the Federation Championship. Fourteen others also died in the crash.

Kerchal's father Ray, who with his wife Ronnie moved from Connecticut to Georgia in 2006, recalled that hearing the news was understandably difficult, as were the weeks, months and years that followed.

“At first, it was a matter of taking care of things,” he said. “After that, I had some tough times at work. I cried a lot. I’ve always believed that if you really have to grieve it takes about 10 years, and that’s been pretty much right.”

Now, 20 years after the tragedy, he’s able to reflect on his son’s short life, both what it meant to him and what it meant to others. He recalled how Bryan was able to get a loan for his first fiberglass boat with ease, despite having no credit history to speak of. He also talked about the stories that he didn't hear until after his sons death, like the one about his son helping another competitor off of an obstruction during a practice period at Sam Rayburn, losing just about his whole day in the process but never revealing to the unsuspecting angler in the other boat that he’d recently won the Bassmaster Classic.

“Those are the kinds of things I think about – all good feelings,” he said.

Bad Gut Feeling

Opens and Federation angler Frank Giner, who met Bryan Kerchal while working in a Danbury, Conn. tackle store and quickly became a close friend, likewise remembers only the good things.

“There’s not one specific event,” he said. “Where it comes to me is when I’m in the boat. Sometimes I tend to overthink things, but he always had a calming effect. And of course I think of him every time a Federation guy does well in the Classic.”

Giner remembers waking up to the sound of a news report on his clock radio that December day. “It started off ‘Bryan Kerchal of Newtown…’ and I kind of laughed to myself and said ‘Now what? I have to hear about him on the radio, too?’ and then the phone started ringing. We knew that there were survivors (of the plane crash), but I just had that gut kind of feeling.”

While many fishing fans might recall Kerchal’s death like it was yesterday, in terms of fishing history it was ages ago – to put it in perspective, he died before the FLW Tour existed, shortly after Elite Series pro Bradley Roy’s 4th birthday and before 2012 Forrest Wood Cup champion Jacob Wheeler entered kindergarten.

“I don’t really follow professional fishing too much anymore,” said Ray Kerchal. “It seems that everybody I knew back then is no longer fishing. The only ones I really know are Kevin (VanDam) and a few others. I’m interested when a kid comes along and does a great job, especially when someone like (Brandon) Palaniuk comes along.”

Palaniuk, the 2011 Federation champ from Idaho, is now a two-time Elite Series winner and five-time Classic qualifier. During the 2011 Classic in New Orleans, in which he finished 4th, an emotional Palaniuk blew Kerchal’s signature fish whistle on stage. While the 27 year-old is typically thought of as a “young gun,” he’s now several years older than Bryan Kerchal was when he died.

Giner made the connection between Kerchal and Palaniuk, not just because of the latter’s use of the fish whistle, but also because of their similar characteristics:

“Brandon is what Bryan would have been,” he said. “The complete package, a good-looking, well-spoken kid who could relate to people across the country.”

Palaniuk was only 7 years old when Kerchal died, but he became involved in the sport a year later and pretty quickly realized that the Federation was the best path to a professional career for a kid from Rathdrum, Idaho.

“He was the face of the Federation,” Palaniuk said of Kerchal. “I was always inspired by that. I fished the Federation for 7 years and I was 22 when I won the national championship, so I knew how hard it was just to make it to the Classic. Being close and not pulling it off, it just makes you cherish it that much more.”



B.A.S.S./Gary Tramontina
Photo: B.A.S.S./Gary Tramontina

Kerchal's father says that Brandon Palaniuk, himself a Federation national champion, embodies many of the characteristics of his late son.

“I talked to him after that happened,” Ray Kerchal said. “I told him if you need any more whistles, just ask and I’ll send you some. I still get quite a few calls for them”

Palaniuk said that he treasures the relationship that he’s developed with Kerchal’s family.

“It’s humbling to have that sort of connection since I never got to meet (Bryan),” he said. “To hear about him straight from his parents, you can’t get any closer to the source. It’s a special moment and you can’t replace that.”

What Might've Been

Giner said that Kerchal’s role in the sport’s history is enhanced not just by what he did, but also by what he was unable to do, and what others have been unable to do in the 20 years that have passed.

“The unfortunate event of the plane crash is what really made it matter,” he said. “The (Federation) dream was always there, but if it happens too many times it loses its luster. There have been, what, around 40 Classics and only one out of 40 has done it. Every year the percentage goes down. He knew that he did something really special, but I don’t think he ever acted like it.”

Ray Kerchal has made a concerted effort over the years to enhance Bryan’s lasting legacy through youth fishing efforts. Shortly after Bryan’s death, Federation director Don Corkran approached the Kerchals to relay others’ queries about where to send donations and they made a decision to start a memorial fund with that express purpose. The Junior Bassmasters Invitational was born in 1996, and in 1998 the fund provided for a weeklong youth fishing camp in Connecticut. The Kerchals were closely involved with the latter project until they moved to Georgia. They remain on the board of the Bryan Kerchal Fund (www.bryankerchalfund.org ).

His legacy lives on in other ways, too. There are multiple 19- and 20-year olds around the country today with the first name “Bryan” and the middle name “Kerchal.” Ray Kerchal related that one of them was born on December 7, 1994, a week before Bryan’s death. The boy’s father later told Ray that during the pregnancy the parents had vowed to name their child after that year’s Classic winner. “She later told me, ‘Thank goodness it wasn’t Woo Daves,’” Ray said.

Despite the fact the Kerchal story remains fresh in the minds of many anglers and fans, it was a different time. Wrangler is no longer involved in bass fishing. Giner related that the Ground Round, where the young Kerchal flipped burgers, no longer exists. Palaniuk added that the Federation itself is in a constant state of flux, some of it for the better, some for the worse.

How would Bryan Kerchal, who would now be in his mid-40s, fit into that background? Would he have been a one-hit wonder or would he have gone onto more great achievements?

“The way I view it, it’s irrelevant what he would have done,” said his father. “I believe he did everything that he wanted to do.”