"Whether
I'm fishing for $10 or $100,000, I want to win
just as bad."
Story
by Pete Robbins
Posted
- July 11th, 5:29am CST
Petal, Miss. – Of the 12 Elite Series anglers who will descend on Alabama in two weeks for the second two-event post-season, only five have made it both years. Their small club includes, of course, all-world anglers like Skeet Reese and Kevin
VanDam, both of whom have one or more Classic trophies and one or more Angler of the Year trophies on their mantles.
The group also includes Gary Klein and Tommy
Biffle, two fifty-something veterans of the bass wars who can put their “been
theres” and “done thats” against those of just about anyone else in the sport.
And then there is Cliff pace, the fifth member of this elite cadre, an angler who has yet to win a tour level event, a quiet young man who generally keeps to himself, and a rapidly rising competitor who no one seems to know much about.
Photos
by Mark Jeffreys & Matt Pangrac
Following up a 2009 Elite Series season in which he ended the regular season in 10th place, then moved up two spots in the post-season, this year Pace followed up that impressive campaign by ending up 3rd at the conclusion of the regular season. That left him 248 points behind Reese, and unlike Reese Pace will not get any bonus points heading into Alabama, but if Skeet were to falter there’s no reason he couldn’t seize the title.
Classic is the Goal
Pace claims that heading into the regular season, he didn’t set a specific goal in terms of AOY position, but instead works hard to make sure he’ll end up in the Classic. He made it for the first time in 2005, then missed two before qualifying for the 2008 Classic on Lake Hartwell. After that, he missed 2009 and made it back in 2010. Now, for the first time, he’ll get to compete in two Classics in a row.
“I don’t really set goals as far as points go,” he explained. “I just try to go out and be competitive all season long. Obviously, if you’re making the Classic, that’s strong, but I wasn’t satsified all year.”
Nevertheless, he’s plased that he’s been able to string together two stellar seasons. That sort of consistency had eluded him throughout the brief history of the Elite Series. He finished 93rd in 2006 before making a giant leap forward in 2007 to 16th, then sliding back to 58th in 2008.
“I’m happy to be in the position I’m in,” he said. “It’s great to be back in the post-season no matter what. You can’t look back and complain.”
His season didn’t give him much to complain about, anyway. After missing the money by four places at the season-opening tournament on the California Delta, he never missed the check line again. Included in those seven money finishers were three top twelves, among them a runner-up finish at Pickwick. Which brings up another point – part of his relative anonymity is due to the fact that he’s yet to hoist a trophy at a tour-level tournament. Not only did he finish second to Kevin Short this year at Pickwick, but he was also the runner-up to Alton Jones at the 2008 Hartwell Classic.
“That doesn’t bother me,” he said. “I consider it a work in progress. Of course you don’t go out and fish for second place but I just haven’t had it all line up firght for me so far.”
Fishing to Win
Pace hasn’t crunched the numbers yet to see what sort of permutations of finishes it’ll take for him to slide ahead of Edwin Evers (currently 2nd) and Reese. “You’ll drive yourself crazy” if you spend too much time on that, he said. But despite his recent history as a consistent angler who tends to fly under the radar, he understands that consistency will likely get you little more than a handshake when the two events are over.
“These two events are not about points,” Pace said. “You fish strictly to win. You take more risks and you forget about just catching limits. You try to find the pattern for five key bites. It may or may not present itself.”
That approach fits his style just fine. Asked to describe what fishing fans might want to know more about him, he responded that there’s “[N]ot a lot to know about me. I’ve been in the sport for several years and I’ve been blessed to do as well as I have. Whether I’m fishing for $10 or $100,000, I want to win just as bad. I don’t like to get beat.”
Experience Adds Up
Pace has made no secret of his admiration for Gary Klein, who, like himself, will be fishing the post-season for the second consecutive year. In Klein he has found someone who approaches the sport with a similar level of meticulousness, but also with the perpective added by age and experience.
“Gary and I have become great friends,” he said. “It has definitely benefitted me, knowing what to expect in all of the different situations that present themselves in this sport.” At the same time, he recognizes that comparatively little about this sport can be learned from others’ explanations. The primary educational process is experiential. Pace said that looking back on the past five years, he can see areas where he’s forced himself to become a better fisherman.
“I’m substantially more versatile,” he said. “I have the confidence to fish so many different ways and in so many different situations and I trust myself more than I did five years ago. That has grown into an ability not to worry about everything and just go out and fish and do my own thing.”
The third piece of the experience puzzle is the fact that he’s now made repeat visits to many of the tour’s venues. For example, he’s fished the Alabama River in the 2005 Open Championship as well as during last year’s post-season. “The more times you visit a place, the more you know about it,” he said. “I’ll be able to prepare myself better for different conditions.” It seems to be only a matter of time before he puts the pieces together and makes a splash.
