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Keeping Pace with Ike

Anglers tied atop standings after first day of Bassmaster Classic

Keeping Pace with Ike
Mike Iaconelli displays his biggest fish with flare. (Darren Jacobson photo)

TULSA, Okla. — Cliff Pace of Petal, Miss., and 2003 Bassmaster Classic champ Michael Iaconelli of Pittsgrove, N.J., tied for the first-day lead at the 2013 edition of the world championship of bass fishing on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees.

They both brought 21 pounds, 8 ounces to the scales at Tulsa’s BOK Center on Friday, the first of three days of competition for the $500,000 top prize of the 2013 Bassmaster Classic presented by Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa.

Pace pulled off his big weight 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-wracking lull of almost two hours without a...

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