Chandler crowned co-angler champion on Kentucky Lake

Co-angler Ryan Chandler of Hobart, Ind., emerged as the last man standing out of an original field of 175 co-anglers to claim his first tournament win and the top co-angler award of $15,000 cash. Photo by Jeff Schroeder. Angler: Ryan Chandler.

May 16, 2003 • Gary Mortenson • Archives

Indiana native nets $15,000 in prize money, first FLW win

GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. – Ryan Chandler of Hobart, Ind., knows all too well what it feels like to lose by a few ounces in the finals. And he was determined not to let it happen again. As it turned out, he need not have worried. Although the finals proved to be nail-biter, Chandler ultimately prevailed to capture the prestigious FLW Tour tournament title on Kentucky Lake.

“It feels great. I’ve been fishing tournaments for 18 years now and I’ve been close to winning a lot of times,” said Chandler, who recorded a final-day catch of 14 pounds, 5 ounces. “Finally, I’m not the bridesmaid anymore.”

However, as happy as he was to win, he also said that he empathized with tournament runner-up Rodney Chmolack – who finished a mere 5 ounces behind.

“I know what it feels like to lose by a few ounces,” he said. “I lost to Quint Bourgeois by 10 ounces on Kentucky Lake in 1997 and that was my best-ever finish until today. I really wanted to win this time.”

Chandler also gave plenty of credit to his pro partner, Steve Kennedy, for helping him finally achieve his goal.

“I had a great day,” said Chandler. “I fished with Steve Kennedy, and it’s hard not to catch fish when you’re with a guy who’s catching them left and right. I only caught seven keepers, but these were my best five. I’ve had a great week. This feels awesome.”

Chandler fished a 5-inch Senko in a green-pumpkin color on a Carolina rig to land the majority of his catch in today’s finals.

“I used a Zoom speed worm to get me to the finals,” he said. “But I caught all my fish on a Senko today in about 10 feet of water around the bushes.”

So how does Chandler explain his continued good fortune on Kentucky Lake over the years?

“I don’t know,” he said. “I live 400 miles from here, but this has always been one of my favorite lakes. I’ve been fishing it since 1996 and I’ve won quite a bit of money here. It’s just a great lake.”

Chmolack comes in second by ounces

With five top-10 finishes to his credit, Rodney Chmolack of Phenix City, Ala., is no stranger to the FLW co-angler finals. However, that didn’t ease the pain of knowing that he let one get away – literally. After turning in a catch of 14 pounds, netting second place and winning a check for $6,000 in today’s finals, all he could talk about was the one fish that never made it into his boat.

“I lost a big fish today – a 7-pounder,” he said. “Two times it came to the net. I fought it for probably 90 seconds. My partner said it was the biggest smallmouth he’d ever seen. You usually can’t make a mistake like that and win an FLW tournament.”

But was it really a 7-pound smallmouth?

“I catch a lot of smallmouth bass in Connecticut,” said Chmolack’s pro partner Terry Baksay. “And it was well over 7 pounds. It was a giant fish.”

Despite the tough break, Chmolack said that he still thought he had enough weight to capture the title.

“I had about 10 pounds of fish in the first hour,” he said. “I should have come in with over 20 pounds today. I really thought coming back to weigh-in that I had this won.”

Chmolack trolled a 4-inch Lucky Strike tube along the grass lines to land the majority of his catch.

However, despite the heartbreaking loss, Chmolack could at least go home with the knowledge that he had given it his best shot.

“Overall, I had a great week,” said Chmolack, who recorded his best-ever finish in today’s finals. “And I can go home knowing that every day of the tournament I had the heaviest sack in the boat. I’ve never finished in second place before, so I’m happy.”

Pearson nets third place

Charles Pearson of Auburn, Ala., used an 11-pound catch to grab third place overall and walk away with a check for $4,000.

“I had a beautiful day,” he said. “I’ve had extremely nice pros all week. It was just a great tournament.”

Best of the rest

Barry Ward of Louisville, Ky., finished the day in fourth place with a catch of 9 pounds, 14 ounces.

“It’s been incredible,” said Ward, who took home a $3,000 payday. “I was hoping I could bring it home today being how it was my home lake, but I just came up a little short.”

Ralph Wilson of Warner Robins, Ga., finished in fifth place with a catch of 7 pounds, 15 ounces. Wilson won $2,500 for his efforts.

Rounding out the top-10 co-angler finalists were Quint Bourgeois (sixth) of Knoxville, Tenn., with a catch of 4 pounds, 13 ounces; Derek Yamamoto (seventh) of Mesa, Ariz., with a catch of 4 pounds, 7 ounces; Randall Green (eighth) of Braselton, Ga., with a catch of 3 pounds, 5 ounces; Johnny Taylor (ninth) of Kodak, Tenn., with a catch of 2 pounds; and Richard (Joe) Parks (10th) of Cape Giradeau, Mo., with no fish.

FLW action in the Co-angler Division resumes June 18-21 at Wheeler Lake in Florence, Ala.