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.
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.
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.
(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.
(Provided by B.A.S.S.)
B.A.S.S. LLC announced today that a new combination of sites Birmingham and Lake Guntersville has been selected for the 2014 Bassmaster Classic, the world championship of bass fishing.
The 2013 Bassmaster Classic will be held in Tulsa, Okla., where 53 of the worlds best will compete Feb. 22-24 on Grand Lake o the Cherokees.
Massive Lake Guntersville will provide first-class competition for the Feb. 21-23, 2014, event. Birmingham will host the daily weigh-ins and the Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC).
We are extremely pleased to bring the Classic back to Birmingham, now the home of B.A.S.S., said Don Logan, co-owner of the company. Alabama-born, B.A.S.S. returned to its roots after Logan, Jim Copeland and Jerry McKinnis purchased the company from ESPN in 2010.
The Birmingham-Guntersville combination gives the Classic a new twist, but the city is a tried-and-true Classic site. This is the eighth time that Birmingham has been named the host city. And Alabama will welcome its 12th Classic. Gov. Robert Bentley marked the milestone by being on hand at the BJCCs Arena Club for Thursdays announcement.