Today was the toughest day Cliff Pace has ever endured on the water. He began the morning with a commanding lead in the Bassmaster Classic. Not insurmountable, but very impressive, and everyone knew that he would have to stumble somewhat to not get the chance to hoist the trophy at day's end, even if someone else caught them quite well. Fortunately for Pace, none of his nearest competitors put together a true Grand Lake monster bag, because the day was a grind for him, with two very early fish and then absolutely nothing -- NOTHING -- for hours. Of course, he had no way of knowing what anyone else was doing, so as far as he know, the sport's biggest title could have been slipping out of his hands.
Pace ended up catching two more fish very late in the day and brought in four fish that weighed 11 pounds, 8 ounces. As it turned out that was enough to allow him to beat Brandon Palaniuk by 3 pounds. Palaniuk's 15-pound bag got him closer to Pace, but it wasn't enough to overcome Pace's 7-pound lead, which was the result of 21-pound-plus days on Friday and Saturday.
Pace earned a check for $500,000. More importantly in the minds of most pros, he earned designation as a Bassmaster Classic Champion. Congratulations Cliff Pace.
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