FLORENCE, Ala. (June 6, 2014) – Marcus Sykora of Osage Beach, Mo., extended his lead at the Walmart BFL All-American tournament on Wilson Lake with five bass weighing 27 pounds, 4 ounces for a two-day total of 53-15. He has a commanding 14-pound, 6-ounce lead over second place angler Dino Moutogiannis of Newington, Conn., who has a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 39-9.
The BFL All-American is one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing. The tournament, which is hosted by Florence/Lauderdale Tourism, features the top 49 boaters and top 49 co-anglers from across the country casting for top awards of up to $120,000 in the Boater Division and $60,000 in the Co-Angler Division, plus the opportunity to compete in the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Murray, Aug. 14-17.
“The first day I was done by 9 a.m., but today was a little slower,” Sykora said. “It took me longer to catch my weight, but I was happy to have a bigger bag today.”
Only the top 10 boaters fish on the third and final day. The top 10 that will fish tomorrow on Wilson Lake are:
1st: Marcus Sykora, Osage Beach, Mo., 10 bass, 53-15
2nd: Dino Moutogiannis, Newington, Conn., 10 bass, 39-9
3rd: Kevin Edwards, Knoxville, Tenn., 10 bass, 38-12
4th: David Nichol, Gainesville, Ga., 10 bass, 38-7
5th: Todd Castledine, Nacogdoches, Texas, 10 bass, 36-11
6th: Lloyd Pickett Jr., Bartlett, Tenn., 10 bass, 36-2
7th: Mark Richardson, Eastanollee, Ga., 10 bass, 36-2
8th: Jayme Rampey, Liberty, S.C., 10 bass, 35-14
9th: Bobby Padgett, Lagrange, Ga., 10 bass, 35-8
10th: John Talton, Georgetown, Tenn., 10 bass, 34-7
Overall there were 205 bass weighing 622 pounds, 8 ounces caught by 49 boaters Friday. The catch included 38 five-bass limits. Bryan Cothran of Belton, S.C., leads the co-angler division with 10 bass weighing 36 pounds, 11 ounces followed by Justin Sward of Birmingham, Ala., in second place with 10 bass weighing 34-6. The top 10 co-anglers that will fish tomorrow are:
1st: Bryan Cothran, Belton, S.C., 10 bass, 36-11
2nd: Justin Sward, Birmingham, Ala., 10 bass, 34-6
3rd: Lee Black, Danville, Ala., 10 bass, 33-9
4th: John Bedingfield, Loganville, Ga., 10 bass, 33-0
5th: Brandon Maynard, Cookeville, Tenn., 10 bass, 32-12
6th: Daniel Brock, Anna, Texas, 10 bass, 30-6
7th: David Blackstock, The Colony, Texas, 10 bass, 27-15
8th: Ethan Flack, Cullman, Ala, nine bass, 27-13
9th: Evan Barnes, Hot Springs, Ark., nine bass, 25-14
10th: Nicholas Marsh, Commerce Township, Mich., 10 bass, 25-1
Overall there were 203 bass weighing 446 pounds, 12 ounces caught by co-anglers Friday. The catch included 27 five-bass limits. Anglers will take off from Waterfront Marina located at 4451 Florence Boulevard in Florence at 7 a.m. Saturday morning with the final weigh-in be held following the Walmart FLW Tour weigh-in at Walmart located at 2701 Cloverdale Road in Florence beginning at 5:30 p.m.