Marcus Sykora of Osage Beach, Mo. went wire-to-wire to win the BFL All-American on Alabama's Wilson Lake after bringing five bass weighing 12-05 to the scale Saturday. Sykora’s 3-day total of 66-04 bested runner-up Jayme Rampey of South Carolina by 4 1/2 pounds.
Sykora took home $100,000 and earned a spot in the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup, to take place at South Carolina's Lake Murray Aug. 14-17.
“Since I’ve gotten here to start my practice, this has been a dream come true,” he said. “My first 2 days were unbelievable. Today was very nerve-wracking. I’m so exhausted. I haven’t slept. There was no wind and it was hotter than a sauna. I didn’t know if I had enough weight to cover everybody. Now I feel awesome.
“I had found a good school. The first 2 days of the tournament, my co-anglers and I caught more than 100 pounds of bass off of one area. Today the schools were completely gone. I was thrilled that my 12 pounds was enough to get the win.”
Sykora said that his key baits over the first 2 days of the tournament were 6th Sense Crush 300DD and 500DD crankbaits. On the final day he caught his fish on a Chompers football jig and Zoom Ol’ Monster worm.
Here are the totals for the Top-10 finishers:
1. Marcus Sykora: 66-04
2. Jayme Rampey: 61-12
3. Dino Moutogiannis: 61-08
4. Todd Castledine: 54-15
5. Kevin Edwards: 53-05
6. Lloyd Pickett Jr.: 53-05
7. David Nichol: 52-14
8. Bobby Padgett: 52-11
9. Mark Richardson: 50-00
10. John Talton: 49-04
For complete results listing all 49 competitors, click here.
