understanding how they relate to even the shallow fish. You can take us anywhere, put us on a row of docks, and we’ ll pick out the ones that are likely to have fish and eliminate the ones that probably don’ t have fish.”
Though Lawyer and Sykora often produce similar results, their fishing styles differ. Lawyer is more likely to fish jigs and soft plastics, grinding it out on wood cover, rocky banks, bluff walls and docks in most tournaments. Unless fish are lethargic, Sykora sticks with a crankbait, jerkbait or topwater lure. An oversimplification, perhaps, but Lawyer is more the grinder while Sykora prefers a run-and-gun approach.
Sykora often goes for broke in the events he fishes, eschewing numbers and targeting big bass from the start. Lawyer is more conservative, unless his game plan isn’ t producing as hoped.
“ We swing for the fences when we fish for checks in the Ozarks, so it makes us better in big-fish presentations with jigs and topwaters,” Sykora says.“ The downside of that is that a lot of times it’ s not clicking, and you have to decide whether it’ s time to catch a couple of smaller fish or catch five small keepers and then go back looking for the bigger fish. The guys around here who are the real hammers aren’ t afraid to wad it all up at 1 o’ clock, throw it in the garbage and start all over.”
While it’ s true the guy who weighs in the heaviest stringer by the end of a tournament wins, sometimes going after bigger fish first isn’ t the best gambit, thinks Lawyer. For instance, an angler who’ s fishing a circuit in which his points standing at the end of the season might get him into a championship tournament typically will run more of a tortoise-versus-thehare race.
“ Most of the time, as soon as a tournament starts I try to go to where I think I can catch five keepers the quickest,” Lawyer says.“ A long time ago I learned not to underestimate the power of a five-fish limit, no matter the size. Once I’ ve got a limit, I fish more relaxed, but at the same time I become more aggressive as far as going after bigger fish.”
Quality or quantity, either approach can be justified, if it’ s done right. Sykora has won nine BFL events and scored 34 top 10s, all but three in BFL competition. Lawyer has finished in the top 10 in 35 of the 92 FLW tournaments he’ s entered, and won once( the 2016 All-American). They’ ve experienced success at home against the best of the Ozarks and, more recently, on the national level, proving that the Ozark region is a fertile training ground for some of the sport’ s biggest talents.
Marcus Sykora’ s mastery of electronics and offshore fishing helped him win the 2014 All-American at Wilson Lake.
“ The strongest pattern we have in the Ozarks is fishing jigs,” notes Lawyer.“ Twelve months a year – rock, wood, flooded bushes, whatever – a brown or black and blue jig is what most fishermen go to. If it was a 200-boat tournament, the guys in 195 of them would have jigs tied on.”
The Power of Five
Sykora and Lawyer epitomize most successful Ozark anglers, though they represent two sides of the same coin in their approaches to tournament fishing.
PHOTO BY COLIN MOORE other OZARK hammers
Not surprisingly, Jeremy Lawyer and Marcus Sykora rate each other as being among the best of the Ozark anglers, but they also have other names in mind. Lawyer says that Dennis Berhorst of Holts
Summit, Mo., is an odds-on favorite in any Ozark tournament, and Sykora agrees.
Berhost, who specializes in fishing creature baits and jigs in fairly shallow water, has fished 135 events in FLW circuits and won 10 of them, as well as earning 50 top-10 placements. He’ s collected more than $ 324,000 in prize money.
Sykora also adds Bill Davenport of Waynesville, Mo., to the list of Ozark greats. Though Davenport’ s tournament experience outside local events is practically nil, Sykora credits him with being his most helpful mentor.
“ I’ ve been fishing with him since I was 12 or 13 years old, including in a lot of team tournaments, and he’ s taught me more about structure fishing and the mental side of things than anybody. He’ s a real master.”
Add Joplin’ s Wes Endicott( two wins and 23 top 10s in 60 FLW events fished) and Joe Brantley of Willard, Mo.,( two wins and 12 top 10s in 58 tournaments) to the mix.
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