
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, December 17, 1994                   TAG: 9412190073
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Daily Press
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS                                LENGTH: Medium

KERCHAL USED TALENT TO INSPIRE CHILDREN

The telephone rang Friday and B.A.S.S. National Federation Director Don Corkran picked up the receiver, like he has hundreds of times this week.

This time it was a gruff-sounding man simply calling to talk to someone about Bryan Kerchal, the 23-year-old he watched become the first amateur Federation fisherman to win the B.A.S.S. Masters Classic world championship in July. Minutes later the man sobbed.

``He cried like a baby,'' said Corkran, who worked with Kerchal since the Connecticut native joined the Federation ranks four years ago. ``And he is not the only one. We have three phones in here and I know I have answered literally hundreds of calls on mine from people saying how tragic the loss is.''

The funeral for Kerchal, who was one of 15 to die in a commuter airplane crash in North Carolina on Tuesday night, will be held Tuesday.

The family has asked that, instead of flowers, fans and friends make donations to the Brian V. Kerchal Memorial Fund, which will support youth fishing charities. During his short reign as Classic champ Kerchal never missed an opportunity to inspire children.

``I remember how much fishing meant to me when I was their age,'' he said after a press conference the day he won the Classic. ``And I want to give that back.''

From grass-roots fishermen to corporate executives, folks in the fishing community have mourned together since news of Kerchal's death spread.

``It is a shame for a boy that young who worked that hard to reach his goals to lose his life,'' said Virginia B.A.S.S. Federation president Roger Fitchet. ``His dream came true, but it didn't last.''

But in the four and a half months since his unlikely Classic victory, his impact on the sport of bass fishing had already been felt.

Since Kerchal's victory, Fitchet said, eight or 10 new bass fishing clubs have joined the Virginia Federation.

``I came up through the Federation myself,'' said Virginia fishing pro Woo Daves, a native of Spring Grove. ``So, I thought it was great when he won. It proved to everybody that somebody with little means could still score big.''

by CNB