Ron Lindner

Ronald John Lindner (September 1, 1934 – November 30, 2020) was an American sportsman and fishing industry innovator who has invented, along with his younger brother Al Lindner, many fishing lures and rigs including the Lindy Rig which has been used by tens of millions of anglers to catch walleye since it first hit the market in 1968. Lindner estimates that more than 70 million Lindy Rigs - and, as he put it, "its many imitators" - have been sold. Lindner also co-owns the Baxter, MN based Lindner Media Productions, along with Al and sons James, Daniel and Bill, which specializes in producing educational fishing programs (such as "Angling Edge" and "Fishing Edge"), DVDs, videos, national TV commercials, product sales videos, point of purchase videos as well as providing underwater photography to the sport fishing industry. Lindner Media Productions customers include such well known companies as Rapala, Berkley, Lund Boats, Shimano, Blue Fox, Storm, MinnKota, Mustad, Nature Vision, Lindy Tackle, Humminbird, Frabill, VMC, HT Enterprises, Mercury Outboard Motors, and Gander Mountain. Lindner has been inducted into three fishing hall of fames and the Lindy Rig was featured in the Minnesota State Historical Society's 2008 list of "Minnesota’s 150 — The people, places, and things that shape our state".

Early life Lindner was born in Chicago, Illinois on September 1, 1934. He learned his love for fishing while spending summers at his parents' lake cabin on Lake Ripley in Cambridge, Wisconsin and started fishing at the age of five. Besides catching fish, he was fascinated by the lures, the rods, the reels, and other accessories of the sport. After spending time in the Army in the early 1950s, and after brother Al's short 1965-1966 tour in Vietnam, the pair moved their families in 1966 first to Wisconsin and then to Brainerd, MN to get their start in the fishing tackle and guide business. Once established as fishermen and as fishing guides, the Lindners decided to test the waters of outdoor television in 1970. With Lindner scripting, filming, and directing the show and Al in front of the camera the pair filmed their first episode on Big Sand Lake near Park Rapids, MN teaching people how to find and catch fish.

Over the next thirteen years, the brothers invented and marketed numerous lures (such as the Lindy Rig, No-Snagg fishing sinker, and the Rapala VMC product line for walleye fishing),

The Lindner brothers' most recent book First Light on the Water highlights the life lessons they learned on and off the water and how faith guides their life. Lindner's faith and how he molds it and his sport fishing career has been featured in the April 2005 issue of Charisma, the July/August issue of New Man magazine, and on the God's Great Outdoors Christian radio program.

Life on the water Through his efforts to make fishing more accessible - and successful - to people of all ages, he developed the F+L+P=S (Fish + Location + Presentation = Success) formula, which is described as the algebra of angling. Developed over a period of time, and inspired by Lindner's guru and mentor and well-known Minnesota fisherman, Bill Binkelman, the formula was hammered into shape in the 1974 inaugural issue of the In-Fisherman magazine and includes a simple frame work that anglers could not only understand fish behavior, location and bait presentation, but discuss with each other and could be used independent of the type or location of the lake or river.

Later in life, Lindner has been showered with recognition of his lifetime supporting sport fishing. In 2000, Lindner was elected as a part of the inaugural class of inductees into the Minnesota Fishing Hall of Fame. On May 22, 2002, the Ron (and brother Al) received the Hedley Donovan Award at the Minnesota Magazine and Publications Association annual awards for their contributions to Minnesota's magazine industry. In 2007, Lindner (along with his brother Al) was inducted into the Normark Hall of Fame for the indelible mark their involvement has made on the history of Normark, the angling industry and for their instrumental contributions to the growth and longevity of Normark (which is best known as the distributor of Rapala, Storm, Blue Fox and other fishing tackle companies). In 2008, Lindner was elected to the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward, WI, after being previously elected in the "Legendary Angler" category in 1988. Son James was also recently inducted in the same Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator.

After the Lindners sold the In-Fisherman company to Primedia Broadcasting in 1998, a year in which revenues totalled $13 million, Lindner retired from full-time work, but continued to work with In-Fisherman under contract. Lindner has co-authored 10 books with brother al and owns 3 patents on his fishing lures and has 30 unique designs to his credit.

Death Lindner died at his home in Baxter, Minnesota, on November 30, 2020, at the age of 86.