Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
Thursday, January 08, 2026
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Although most fishing fans know who won the 2013 world championship of bass fishing held on Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, not many fans were able to watch how Mississippi’s Cliff Pace pulled off the victory. More than 100,000 fans attended the Bassmaster Classic presented by Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa (Feb. 22-24), but the end result of the angler’s hard work was all they were able to witness. This all changes Saturday, March 2, at 9 a.m., when ESPN2 will begin televising the event.
Viewers will not only get a passenger-seat view of how Pace picked apart Grand Lake for the $500,000 first-place prize, but also will see firsthand the agony of defeat when Brandon Palaniuk’s last day rally came up just short; and the heartbreaking scene of Hank Cherry losing a fish boatside that might have earned him the Classic trophy.
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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 didn’t fish differently today at all,” Pace said. “For me, it’s been all about committing to the way I can catch the big ones. I took a big, big risk to do that. I think I’m doing something that has potential and will hold through tomorrow,” he said, playing it close to the vest.
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TULSA, Okla. — Mississippi’s Cliff Pace and New Jersey’s 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 don’t know if I just wasn’t around them, or they weren’t 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 Carolina’s 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 Florida’s 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.