HEARING FROM AL LINDNER
The column I wrote recently,
recounting the day I spent fishing a bass tournament with the late Ron
Lindner back in the 70's brought a surprising but welcome reply from
someone I thought lived too far away to get the “Daily News,” But
somehow “a bird of the air” got the message to Brainerd Minnesota.
The person who called me the
following week, effusively thanking me for that column, was none other
than my fishing idol, Al Lindner himself. “Gene, I just gotta thank you
for making my day. I've been so down trying to deal with Ron's passing,
and then came your eulogy. God bless you man; I'm gonna send you
something to express my gratitude.”
What came in the mail a few days
later was something I'll treasure the rest of my life, an autographed
copy of “Reflections at First Light on the Water.” a sequel to an
earlier book called “First Light on the Water” “Reflections” was written
by both Al and Ron. One would write a chapter, and, at the end the other
would “reflect” on it. That proved to be a format that was amazingly
effective.
I read that book from cover to
cover in one 3 hr. setting because it was too engrossing to put down. It
details the whole amazing Lindner story-- from Al's growing up in
Chicago, then moving as a young teen to a Wisconsin lake which opened
the door to his most passionate obsession—fishing.
As a kid Al waded and explored
that lake's shore-line many hours each day, learning close-up the habits
of bluegills , bass, crappies and pike and inventing ways to catch them.
In the his teens, he entered a musky tournament and won first prize,
$50.00, and that win convinced him he could make a a living by fishing.
Next came great successes. Ron
with his Lindy Tackle Co, and Al's winning a number of bass tournaments.
Then, Ron and little brother Al together launched “The In Fisherman”
magazine, the most intensive teaching of fresh water fishing ever
developed. That magazine became an instant best-seller, which the
Lindners ultimately sold to Ray-0-Vac Corporation so they could
establish “Lindner Media Productions.” Their present successful venture
built around “The Angler's Edge” TV program and numerous other outdoor
venues all aimed at keeping the sport fishing industry alive. Most of
this was the brain-child of Ron Lindner, a man of amazing business
acumen. His skill in promotion was bringing good jobs and good publicity
of the Brainerd area, a region highly dependent on tourism.
Ron has used Al's charismatic
personality in amazing ways so that Al is featured both as the star of
The “Edge” TV show, and as the man featured in countless tackle and
boating commercials, magazine articles, and sportsman's shows, always
with teaching as the main objective.
I got a sense of Ron's talent at
preparation by observing him instruct one of his young sons. We were
waiting our turn to weigh in our catch at that Lake Lida tournament Al
won. When one of his sons came up to the boat and Ron gently but firmly
told him, “Take all of my rods and change line on each one… Also check
the hooks on the lures on each rod. Any dullness at all replace that
hook with a new one, and off the boy, I think it was Dan, went to do his
chores. “Think
of it this way, said Ron. You pay $20,000 for a rigged out bass-boat and
then lose the fish that might have won you the tournament and $50,000
because you didn't replace a grooved rod tip or a nicked line, or a dull
hook. It's the little things you overlook that lead to lost fish. Like
Solomon says, “It's the little foxes that spoil the vines.”
I was really impressed with Ron's
attention to detail, and even more impressed in the way he was bringing
his boys into the business of angling. Now Ron's sons Jim and Al's son,
Troy, appear on nearly every “Angling Edge” show, and the terrific
photography of those shows is done by another of Ron's sons, Bill, whose
skills are so cutting edge that his talents are showing up in
commercials and many other shows that demand the best in photographic
quality. Another of Ron's sons, Dan, is now the CEO of Lindner Media
Productions with Jeremy Smith as general manager.
Now Al, who once was the front
man on everything only appears regularly at the close of their show.
There he shares insights into the secret of the Lindner success, The
Bible. When you read the astonishing book “Reflections,” you realize
that both Ron and Al overcame many huge obstacles in bringing their
dream into reality, and it was their new-found faith in The Lord that
gave them “The Edge.” That and the determination to believe, as Cathy
Lee Gifford's autobiographical book title says, “It's Never Too Late.”
It seems that the same Great
Fisherman that filled the nets of Peter and Andrew on The Sea of Galilee
has also swept the Lindner family into His great net just as he has
Frank and Cathy Lee Gifford. It is amazing to me that both of their fine
books fell into my hands within a few days of each other, making for me
a very blessed Christmas. These are exciting times to be alive and be
able to witness the amazing people now being raised up to “be about
The Father's business.”
Gene Pinkney 3/2/21 for The Daily
News
edited html update 08-15-2021
“Aren't
those pretty extreme precautions?” I asked.