The Cast: Kerchal’s Classic win

Watch The Cast: B.A.S.S. Superstar Bryan Kerchal on Sunday, Jan. 26 at 12:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

Before the tournament patches — and the sponsorships that included the likes of Wrangler apparel — Bryan Kerchal was just a 20-something restaurant cook in a Connecticut restaurant with a dream. And he dreamed big. 
Nobody took Kerchal serious about his aspiration to become a pro angler. With his meager earnings, Kerchal bought a used beater truck and shabby boat, working by night and fishing by day.
At age 20, Kerchal joined the Housatonic Valley Bassmasters in 1991, fishing as a co-angler in the club tournaments. In 1993, everyone took note when Kerchal won the Connecticut state berth in the 1993 B.A.S.S. Nation Championship, and then qualified for the 1993 Bassmaster Classic. Kerchal finished in last place.  
Kerchal was soon back on track to return to the Classic after winning the state championship, advancing to the national championship and earning the divisional spot in the 1994 Classic. 
Everyone noticed something was different about Kerchal. He wasn’t nervous. He had pre-fished High Rock Lake; he’d taken public speaking lessons and gotten a haircut. And he was confident.  
As it turned out, Kerchal, by then sponsored by Wrangler Rugged Wear, was the only angler in the entire Classic field to catch a limit every day. Catching a daily limit was his only goal — all Kerchal wanted was to prove to himself he could compete against the top pros. 
Kerchal tuned out the talk of how other Classic pros planned to fish. Instead, the amateur angler confidently made plans of his own. Kerchal did what felt right to him, and it was as simple as fishing with a Texas-rigged plastic worm (along with a topwater lure). 
Kerchal would stun the bass fishing world by winning the Classic as the only amateur bass club angler to win the sport’s world championship, doing so by a margin of 4 ounces. His winning weight of 36 pounds, 7 ounces, surpassed the 36-3 caught by veteran Tommy Biffle. Other seasoned pros in contention were Denny Brauer, Guido Hibdon and Rick Clunn, making the victory even more monumental.  
Kerchal’s win became known as ‘The Dream,’ an inspiring true story of someone who didn’t fit the quintessential mold of a world championship bass angler. Even so, Kerchal remained humble to his bass club roots. 
The story caught the attention of the media, and not just specific to bass fishing. What happened at the Greensboro (North Carolina) Coliseum was indictive of the media attention to come. 
Tragedy struck just four months later. On Dec. 13, 1994, Kerchal, 23, was killed in a commuter plane crash while returning home from a sponsor engagement. At the 1995 Classic, and in complete darkness, a bass boat carrying only the spirit of a man was driven through the same arena where Kerchal had triumphantly won. Thousands of people sat silent in the stands and emotions ran high. Today, Kerchal’s memory lives on in dreams and reality. The Bryan Kerchal Trophy is awarded to the national championship winner. And his story continues to inspire all. 
The January 1995 cover story featured news of Kerchal. Link to the original article here