Previous Next

Latest News

← Back to Latest News

Heckel & Meunier Win Ranger Classic

Monday, May 07, 2018

Heckel and Meunier Claim Their Third Ranger Classic Title

by: Dominick Schenewerk

USA Bassin Veterans, Kenny Heckle and Kevin Meunier, brought a 26-plus pound bag to the scales on the final day of the 2018 Ranger Classic for a two day total of 38.35 pounds, making a 48 place jump to first place.

Distraught and discouraged after a practice on Kentucky Lake that yielded low numbers and weight, the duo made a gamble on day one and decided to spend their day grinding it out on Barkley Lake.

“We were throwing a shaky head on Barkley on wood stationed near channel banks because we not catching them on Kentucky during practice,” said Meunier.  “We only caught four fish, so we knew we’d have to change something up on day two.

Putting their first-day performance behind them, Heckle and Meunier put all of their trust into fishing main lake points on Kentucky Lake to pull off the ultimate comeback win.

“If your going to with this thing, your going to have to come to Kentucky and swing for the fences,’ said Meunier.

Their day two fishing, however, had a rough start, as Heckle lost his first bite, which he believes would have weighed over seven pounds.

We caught five fish and lost one and somehow came up with 26 pounds,” said Heckle. “And you don't loose fish and win. We didn't even have one in the box at that time, so we just keep on going for the rest of the day and it just played out.”

The Strike King Shadalicious Swimbait and a Carolina rigged Strike King Rage Tail Lizard were their lures of choice to rack up their limit. They said the key to acquiring all of their key bites was to work each cast slowly and methodically. They also said that the low wind speeds allowed them to stay on each spot and fish them more thoroughly.

Heckle and Meunier walked away with a Ranger Z519 with Mercury 225 outboard, a $1,000 cash for using Garmin electronics and a truly miraculous tournament day to remember.

“I’ve got to give it to the higher power,” said Heckle. “this was amazing.”