Angling’s directions: some analysis with Ron Lindner
Jul 6th, 2010 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Jul 6th, 2010 at 12:00 AM
Fisherman Ron Lindner, who works with younger brother Al and other family and extended-family members in Lindner Media Productions, sat on my couch several weeks ago, but not for psychotherapy. Rather, it was a far-ranging yak session about the angling sport-it’s evolution over recent decades, where it’s at now, and where it might go. (Even Ron, The Prophet, is challenged on that one.)
An hour of fishtalk with Ron Lindner involves thousands of words on multiple angling trends, events, and people. This time we hit some of today’s hotter topics, from slot limits to kid fishing, from boats to the status of professional walleye tournaments. I’ll include a few snippets here, and also in next week’s column.
PROFESSIONAL WALLEYE TOURNAMENTS. Two decades ago, some angling high-ups envisioned professional walleye tournament circuits attracting a huge national audience, perhaps at the NASCAR level. What was the potential for marketing fishing-related products, from boats to hooks, via pro tournaments? Would there emerge top-dog anglers with star status, name recognition, and fan-followings equivalent to those of baseball, football, and golf celebrities? Would they be sought after by makers of tackle, boats, and fishing gear-companies competing (with big bucks) for their endorsements and advertising pitches? Angling’s answers to Brett Farve, Joe Mauer, and Tiger Woods?
Over the years, Ron Lindner-one of modern angling’s key architects, analysts, and prophets-has waffled on the question of where major tournament trails might ultimately lead. “The jury is still out,” he’d often say. Well, even if the jury remains sequestered, with no final verdict in the case, there’s room for a few Ron Lindner weigh-ins.
Ron observed that the potential for professional angling tournaments to seize national public interest big-time peaked when Wal-Mart signed on as title sponsor of FLW events in 1997. FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, founder of Ranger Boats, has for many years run tournament tours and trails, especially for bass, then walleyes. Add dalliances with kingfish, redfish, and stripers. “We’re talking about the big national tours here, not to be confused with stand-alone local and regional contests that have gone on for years and will always be with us.”
Now, Ron notes, the professional redfish, kingfish, and striper tournaments are gone. More broadly, the nation’s economic woes have hit outdoor industries, knocking out a ton of tournament and angler sponsors. Participation by would-be pros has precipitously dropped. There’s less money in the pool, especially when matched against expenses, including gas. Lindner remarked that the pro tournament downturn has “dashed the hopes of many a dreamy, starry-eyed young man who thought he could become a pro with sponsors, big bucks, and shirts emblazoned with corporate logos.”
The In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail (PWT), which Ron Lindner helped conceive in the 1980s, folded in 2008. He noted the FLW walleye tour has “dwindled to about 50 players with a low pay-out. After tenth place you get nothing. Truth be told, on a tour like that, you’d have to regularly place very high, maybe as high as third, to come out even. Who’s that good?” And who can afford the gamble?
The new AIM (Anglers Insight Marketing) walleye circuit-whose catch-record-release format has been strongly praised by Ron Lindner-“might be in a little healthier position despite having only 50-some regulars. I don’t know.” But, he adds that neither FLW nor AIM has television. “That hurts pro angler s because without television they can’t really show their stuff. What boat manufacturer or tackle company can invest in a pro and get insignificant product exposure? Why no television? There is no money.”
Ron affirms that tournaments and competitive angling events will always be around, noting how certain local events and regional tournaments still draw hundreds of participants. He recalled that back in the earliest days of PWT he knew that walleyes, unlike far-ranging bass, lacked the potential to attract a national audience. “There’s enough bass water to go around-even in Mexico and the Caribbean. That’s not true with walleyes. What do walleye tournaments mean to Californians? Not much.”
BOAT SAFETY AND PERFORMANCE. A central push behind the professional walleye tournaments has been the marketing of equipment-boats, motors, angling electronics, fishing tackle, and accessories. How has that worked out? Ron emphasizes that tournament anglers helped build safety and performance into boats and motors. “These guys consistently put their boats through the ultimate tests-long-distance traveling and fishing in conditions sane people would avoid. If this failed, or if that fell short, improvements were made.”
What about outdoor media legend Tony Dean’s blunt assertion to me that a main contribution of pro walleye tournaments has been to drive the price of fishing boats to insane levels? Ron: “Do we need $30,000, $40,000, or $50,000 rigs to catch fish? Obviously not.” (He noted that some months ago one manufacturer showed off a $70,000 fishing boat.)
A key theme in free-market economies is adaptation-building what people need, want, and afford. Like the rest of us, Ron Lindner will be watching how the post-recession fishing market takes shape. What will the future bring for boats and motors, tackle and accessories, professional tournament circuits, and the broader fishing-related industries?