Ron Lindner

Ron Lindner (1934 – 2020) –  Ron Lindner — In 1970, about the time Ray Scott’s B.A.S.S. tournaments were starting to gain momentum, two brothers, both fishing guides in the Brainerd, Minnesota, area, decided to “test the waters” of outdoor television by filming a show teaching anglers how to catch fish on Big Sand Lake near Park Rapids, Minnesota.

With Al Lindner explaining and demonstrating the techniques on camera, the show was a success, and it led to hundreds more programs that have taught millions of people how to become better fishermen. As the on-air “talent,” Al was in the limelight, and he became one of the superstars of sportfishing in the Midwest and throughout the nation.

But Ron Lindner, Al’s older brother, deserved just as much credit for scripting, filming and directing that show and the numerous episodes that followed.

Together, the Lindner brothers went on to build a multimedia empire under the In-Fisherman brand, and they continue to influence sportfishing through their family-owned Lindner Media Productions.

In an effort to help anglers understand how to increase their fishing success, Ron Lindner came up with the formula, F+L+P=S (Fish + Location + Presentation = Success. That “algebra of angling” guided all of the Lindners’ educational platforms, beginning with the first In-Fisherman Magazine in 1974. In addition to the iconic magazine, the Lindners produced innumerable videos and DVDs, product sales videos and others.

At its zenith, In-Fisherman magazine had more than 300,000 subscribers, “In-Fisherman TV” was shown in 600,000 households, and the In-Fisherman Radio program was aired six times a week over 800 affiliate stations in 48 states.

Ron also co-wrote 10 books, and he wrote hundreds of published magazine articles and thousands of radio and TV scripts. He also devised a “fish response calendar” and a comprehensive system of classifying lakes, rivers and reservoirs designed to give anglers a shortcut to finding prevailing fishing patterns.

A professional guide, Ron also designed numerous articles of tackle and equipment, and he is an inventor with three patents and 30 unique designs to his credit. More than 70 million of his Lindy Rigs, which anchored the brothers’ successful Lindy Tackle Co., have been sold over the years.

After selling In-Fisherman in 1998, the Lindners turned their focus to Lindner Media Productions, which they founded along with sons James, Daniel and Bill. They continue to produce fishing educational videos under the names “Angling Edge” and “Fishing Edge,” and they produce commercial videos for many companies in the sportfishing industry.

In 2000, Lindner was selected as a member of the inaugural class of inductees into the Minnesota Fishing Hall of Fame. He and Al received the Hedley Donovan Award at the Minnesota Magazine and Publications Association annual awards program for their contributions to the magazine industry in 2002, and in 2007, the brothers were inducted into the Normark Hall of Fame. Ron Lindner was named a “Legendary Angler” by the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward, Wisconsin, in 1988, and he was inducted into that organization’s Hall of Fame in 2008.

After becoming a deeply committed Christian in 1978, Ron Lindner became passionate about sharing his faith, which he did through motivational speeches, magazine articles and radio interviews. He and Al founded or lent valuable support to several Christian charities. Their latest book, First Light on the Water, highlights the life lessons the Lindners learned on and off the water and explains how faith guides their lives.