Long time friend and sportfishing icon Ron Lindner has died. I first meet Ron at the first Professional Walleye Trail event ever held in 1989 at Mille Lacs, Minnesota. During the years that followed our paths crossed many times, especially at the Kenora Bass International. Ron loved to come and fish up in Canada. He would call me on occasion to talk about the industry and ideas about cross promotion.
Lindner passed away on Monday at the age of 86. Lindner is survived by his wife of 66 years, Dolores, and their seven children and numerous grandchildren.
Ron was born in 1934 and he and his brother Al grew up in Chicago, but spent their summer at the parents lake cabin in Wisconsin, where they fell in love with the sport of fishing. Years later they decided to move to Brainerd, Minnesota to start their own fishing tackle and guide business. In 1970 they started a television fishing show with Ron directing and Al as the host.
Ron was an innovator in the industry, coming up with the Lindy Rig system that was a universal success. The greatest impact they had on the industry as far as I was concerned was the development of F+L+P=Success formula that opened the eyes of the many anglers, myself included. I still have the original publication of this journal from 1974, the first edition of In-Fisherman Magazine. This formula really simplified fishing to the masses.
Al and Ron sold the magazine in 1998 and Ron then semi-retired, spending his spare time on the water. Ron wasn’t done though with the sport fishing media. In 2002, the brothers created a new company, “Angling Edge”, which is centered around their Christian faith and the award-winning show of the same name.
The sportfishing industry has lost a legend. Ron will be greatly missed.