Classic Nation angler profile: Steve Lund

Arizona angler Steve Lund hopes he gets off to a better start in the Classic than he did in the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship.

Arizona angler Steve Lund hopes he gets off to a better start in the 2015 GEICO Bassmaster Classic than he did in the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship.

On the first day of the 2014 Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Championship (BNC), Lund caught one keeper weighing 1 pound, 3 ounces and languished in 54th place.

“There was nowhere to go but up from there,” said Lund, 45. “I just came out swinging for the fences after that and it paid off.”

The next two days, Lund rebounded by catching limits to leap into sixth place overall, and he qualified for the Classic by finishing as the top Western Division angler at the BNC.

Lund knows he can’t get off to such a slow start at his first Classic. “I don’t think those pros are going to give me that little bit of leeway to catch back up,” said Lund, who retired from the Marine Corps in 2009 after 21 years of service.

The Glendale, Ariz., angler spent more time pre-fishing for the Classic than he has ever done for other events.

“It is a lot bigger scale so I am preparing for it a lot more seriously than I have in previous tournaments,” Lund said. “You don’t get too many opportunities like this and I feel very fortunate to be a part of it and going to the Classic. But I don’t want to just go there and show up to just fish it and be a part of it. I want to do my best as well.”

Because he faced a 2,000-mile drive to the Classic waters of Lake Hartwell, Lund spent two straight weeks in December pre-fishing the lake.

“It’s a one-shot pre-fish for me, so I tried to make the best of it,” he said. “I couldn’t make multiple trips because it costs too much.”

Lund had never been on Hartwell before, but he discovered during pre-fishing that he could catch bass on some of the tactics he relies on back home.

“I feel comfortable with a couple of the techniques I found there, but then there were a lot of new techniques that I had to pick up,” he said.

Lund has excelled in the Arizona B.A.S.S. Nation. He joined the Yuma Bassmasters in 1999 and won the first state qualifier he ever fished. After earning Angler of the Year honors for three straight years (2007, 2008 and 2009) with the Yuma club, Lund joined the Surprise Bass Club in 2010. Since then, he has made the Arizona state team twice and has already qualified for the 2015 state team.