Sykora Squeaks Out Victory On Ohio River

Marcus Sykora of Osage Beach, Mo., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 13 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Illini Division event on the Ohio River at Golconda. For his victory, Sykora earned $4,756.

Sykora secured the seventh BFL win of his career by flouting conventional wisdom and running up the Cumberland River for his limit.

“I’m very proud of it,” Sykora said of his seventh win. “This one was probably more special than any of my other victories. I’m fishing in the Illini Division for the first time because the regional is on Kentucky Lake. This one is a sweet one. It proves to me that I can win outside of my comfort zone.

“Everybody told me that this event was going to be won in the Tennessee River,” said Sykora. “But it was a lot easier for me to catch ten pounds in the Cumberland River. I caught six keepers in the upper end of the Cumberland River. Then I ran down to the lower end of the Cumberland. The lower end was really muddy, but I caught my three biggest fish there.”

Sykora said he was fishing current seams around rocks, in both the upper and lower portions of the river. He said he used a 3/16th-ounce Chompers shaky-head jig with a green pumpkin Zoom Trick Worm and targeted the seams in 8 feet of water in the upper river. In the lower river, Sykora said he was using a black and blue colored 3/8-ounce Chompers jig with a sapphire blue Zoom Super Chunk and targeted the seams in 3 feet of water.

Rounding out the top 10 pros:

2nd: Luke Budde, Waterloo, Ill., five bass, 13-5, $1,878

3rd: Travis Boley, Weldon, Ill., five bass, 12-13, $1,253

4th: Marion Cordes, Sullivan, Ill., five bass, 11-15, $876

5th: Michael McAtee, Waverly, Ky., five bass, 11-14, $720

5th: James Powell, Murphysboro, Ill., five bass, 11-14, $720

7th: Greg Hirsch, Saint Jacob, Ill., five bass, 11-12, $626

8th: Dan Shoraga, West Frankfort, Ill., five bass, 10-15, $563

9th: Jason Hodge, Marion, Ill., five bass, 10-14, $501

10th: Kyle Danhausen, Kankakee, Ill., five bass, 10-13, $438

Complete results can be found here.

Marvel nets co-angler title

[Co-angler Derek Marvel of Mount Vernon, Ind., won the Aug. 10 Illini Division event on the Ohio River with a limit weighing 11 pounds, 4 ounces. He took home a check for more than $1,800 for his efforts.] Derek Marvel of Mount Vernon, lnd., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 11 pounds, 4 ounces Saturday to win $1,878 in the co-angler division.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:

2nd: Dany Danhausen, Kankakee, Ill., five bass, 11-3, $939

3rd: Brent Werries, Morton, Ill., five bass, 9-12, $627

4th: Frank McClendon, Robbins, Ill., five bass, 9-4, $438

5th: Charles Dammerman, Owaneco, Ill., five bass, 9-1, $376

6th: Brendon Delaney, Highland, Ill., five bass, 8-14, $344

7th: Michael Watson, Morton Grove, Ill., five bass, 8-10, $313

8th: Rick Peppers, New Athens, Ill., five bass, 8-5, $282

9th: Chris Clem, Auburn, Ill., five bass, 8-0, $250

10th: Alan Bernicky, Joliet, Ill., five bass, 7-13, $219

Complete co-angler results can be found here.

The final BFL Illini Division tournament of 2013 is scheduled for Sept. 28-29 on Lake Shelbyville in Shelbyville, Ill. After that last divisional tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 10-12 Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Ky. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.

The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 40 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.