Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
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TULSA, Okla. Cliff Pace of Petal, Miss., now owns what only 33 others can claim: a Bassmaster Classic title.
On Sunday, Pace won the 43rd world championship of bass fishing, the 2013 Bassmaster Classic presented by Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa. His prize for a three-day catch of 54 pounds, 12 ounces, was $500,000 and the most coveted trophy of the sport.
His victory on Grand Lake O the Cherokees was wire-to-wire, although he shared the first-day lead with the 2003 Classic champ, Michael Iaconelli of Pittsgrove, N.J. On the second day, Pace stepped over the entire 53-angler field, surpassing his nearest challenger Brandon Palaniuk of Rathdrum, Idaho by 7 pounds. Sunday Pace took the win with a margin of 3 pounds, 4 ounces over Palaniuk, who had to settle for second when his hard charge proved to be unsuccessful.
This is a gift that I will always cherish, said Pace, 32, claiming his first Classic trophy at his fifth Classic appearance. This is the ultimate high of a career, a life-changing moment.
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TULSA, Okla. A consistent Cliff Pace of Petal, Miss., not only kept his first-day lead in the Bassmaster Classic presented by Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, he pulled away from the pack by 7 pounds in the second day of competition for $500,000 and the biggest trophy of pro bass fishing.
Pace shook off the angler who tied him for the lead Friday, Michael Iaconelli of Pittsgrove, N.J.
With a Saturday catch that weighed 21 pounds, 12 ounces, Pace has racked up 43-4 over two days of competition on Grand Lake O the Cherokees. His second-day weight was 4 ounces more than the 21-8 he brought to the scales Friday.I didnt fish differently today at all, Pace said. For me, its been all about committing to the way I can catch the big ones. I took a big, big risk to do that. I think Im doing something that has potential and will hold through tomorrow, he said, playing it close to the vest.
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TULSA, Okla. Mississippis Cliff Pace and New Jerseys Michael Iaconelli shared the spotlight Friday with a tie at 21 pounds, 8 ounces for the lead in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic presented by Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa.
Pace pulled off his 20-plus in the last few hours of competition by adding a 6-pound, 8-ounce bass. That big one and another fish came after a nerve-racking lull of almost two hours on Grand Lake O the Cherokees without a bite.
I dont know if I just wasnt around them, or they werent in the right frame of mind to bite. But then I caught two pretty good fish in the last couple of hours, he said.
If Pace, who is from Petal, Miss., can keep his momentum and win, it would be his first Classic victory. He came close in 2008 on South Carolinas Lake Hartwell when he finished second to Alton Jones; the Texan won that year by more than 5 pounds.
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TULSA, Okla. The heroes of the Bassmaster Elite Series, the best collegiate anglers in the nation, top amateurs from B.A.S.S.s grass roots and professionals looking for their last chance to qualify for the 2014 Bassmaster Classic now know the route to their dreams, as B.A.S.S. revealed the sites of four 2013 championships.
Bruce Akin, B.A.S.S. CEO, announced the tournament locations in a press conference Thursday during Bassmaster Classic Week in Tulsa.
- The third annual Toyota All-Star Week heads for Muskegon, Mich., and Muskegon Lake, Sept. 27-29.
- The Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship moves to Chatuge Reservoir and Young Harris College in Young Harris, Ga., Aug. 1-3.
- The Bassmaster Wild Card event, which offers top-level pros an additional chance to qualify for the Classic, will be held on Floridas Lake Okeechobee, Dec. 5-7.
- And amateurs from around the nation and the world will gather at Lake Dardanelle in Arkansas for the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship, Oct. 24-26.
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(Provided by B.A.S.S.)
The field for the 2013 Bassmaster Elite Series is set. With 102 top professional anglers from 25 states and Japan, the lineup is the strongest ever and the largest since 2008.
The group contains 11 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Anglers of the Year (21total titles), 11 Bassmaster Classic champions (17 Classic wins) and more than 200 B.A.S.S. tournament victories.
These anglers will vie for millions in prize money over the course of eight events in seven states covering four rivers, three reservoirs and one natural lake. The season begins on March 14 at the Sabine River Challenge Presented by STARK Cultural Venues in Orange, Texas, and ends in August at the Lake St. Clair Championship out of Detroit, Mich., where the 2013 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year will be crowned and nearly 30 berths in the 2014 Bassmaster Classic on Alabamas Lake Guntersville will be determined.