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Favorite Fish: Smallmouth Bass

Ryan’s passion for fishing and water was clearly evident at an early age.  Growing up in the Brained Lakes area and having a family cabin “up north” provided tremendous opportunity to develop a life-long passion for the outdoors and multi-specie fishing.  A close family friend, Bill Lindner, introduced Ryan to the world of outdoor fishing photography in his early teens, where he worked as a photo assistant with Bill on various print and video projects.  His angling adventures have taken him extensively throughout the lower 48, and include Alaska, Hawaii, the Florida Keys, and central Asia.  His ideal weekend is fishing largemouth bass on small “sleeper” lakes or chasing smallmouth bass on the upper Mississippi.

An alumnus of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Ryan earned his B.Sc. (2003) in Physical Geography and minor in Biology.  During his undergraduate tenure, he collaborated in several geophysical research projects in places ranging from France, Hawaii, the Pacific Northwest, and the Canadian prairie.  The thrust of his work was in using ground penetrating radar (GPR) at archaeological sites, and the use of geographic information systems (GIS) in cartography and geoarchaeology (ask him about searching for the Holy Grail at Rennes-le-Château, France).  Concurrent with his studies, Ryan earned an Army commission from the Wisconsin Military Academy.  Following college, he attended Military Intelligence School, graduating in October 2004.  Soon thereafter, Ryan volunteered for a 2-year mobilization/deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2004-2006, where he served as detachment commander of a Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems (TUAS) unit.

Ryan made the decision to return to his passion following his tour of duty in 2006, ultimately resigning his commission as Captain in 2009 after ten years of military service.  He made contact with James Lindner to discuss work opportunities, and as luck would have it, there was room on board.  Combining his love of fishing with technology made Lindner Media Productions a natural fit. His favorite aspect of the job is variety – “One day you’re office bound in the editing suite with looming deadlines, the next you’re in the Florida Keys catching grouper, sailfish and tuna.”  Wearing many hats has provided Ryan a strong knowledge of the business model, and how to better deliver and connect with clients on a wide range of projects.  The organizational glue remains forefront: passion for fishing.  It drives all of us to promote this sport to a higher level.