In order to go from a first-place tie to a dominating lead in 24 hours, Cliff Pace hit the equivalent of two grand slam home runs Saturday.
As Grand Lake's 30-year fisheries biologist Gene Gilliland said pre-Classic, "There are not many 7s, 8s and 9s in the lake, but 4s and 5s are relatively common. If somebody gets a big lead, it's going to be hard to catch up."
Pace essentially landed two of those rare 7-pounders Saturday: a 7-2 and a 6-13.
"I didn't get many bites," Pace said. "I just got two big ones to bite."
Two grand slams.
But Pace hasn't won this Classic yet.
As Gilliland noted, Grand Lake is capable of producing a one-day, five-bass limit of 30 pounds. He has witnessed it. As long as it's not Pace doing that today, the other contenders have a slugger's chance.