As good as it gets A tale of FFCBC champs and challengers

This is not a story, but rather a tale.
A tale of four men who understand each other better than they know themselves. Four fishermen intertwined by a tournament that has brought triumph to few and tragedy to many.
They are on polar ends of the spectrum—one group enjoying the smell of success as the other walks with the stench of ugly defeat lifting from their footsteps—with respect serving as the thread that fastens them together.
They are James Lindner, Bill Lindner, John Guzej and Ted Stewner. Divided into two, they are competitors and friends. Collectively, they have been “the teams” for the past two years of the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship.
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James and Bill Lindner are brothers and are members of one of the most influential fishing families in the world. They were born with the sport of fishing serving as a backdrop in their chaotically busy lives.
“I grew up in a family where fishing was our lives,” said James Lindner. “We were bred within the whole fishing industry.”
As children, they learned by watching their father, Ron, and their uncle, Al. They learned by practicing for countless hours on central Minnesota waters. Those bodies of water became their office and home. A place that has spawned financial gain and personal fulfillment.
They were heavily involved with In-Fisherman Inc., which was founded by Al and Ron, and was considered North America’s largest multi-media sports fishing network before they sold the network, for a handsome sum, to the media giant Primedia.
They are now key members of the Lindner’s Angling Edge, which is a highly successful sports fishing television series carried by the Outdoor Life Network, Total Living Network and Fox Sports.
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John Guzej and Ted Stewner don’t have a fishing show on television. They don’t come from a renowned fishing family. They don’t have a fishing media network or a web-site highlighting their fishing accomplishments with pictures, biographies and television program listings.
What they do have, is the respect and admiration of every angler in whichever tournament they are entered in.
“I’m in awe to watch the way they work water,” said Al Lindner, who among his many titles, is also the ambassador of the FFCBC. “When you see them go out there in there boat and do so well, while all of these other guys are running out there with $50, 000 bass boats,. It is simply amazing.
“These guys are like fishing machines and they are so efficient. And they have a unique gift of knowing what those big fish are doing and always have. To me, they are the biggest threat here (the FFCBC). I am in shock of how good they are. They have my utmost respect. They are that good.”
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The story of this year’s FFCBC began last year when the Lindner brothers won the tournament for the first time, and Guzej and Stewner lost by 2.7 pounds and came close for the second time.
In 1998, Guzej and Stewner finished third after going into the final day as the leaders, and the memory “still haunts me,” said Guzej. That memory from last year and ’98 is something that drives the duo from Winnipeg. It sometimes keeps them up at night and is something that keeps them coming back to the water.
They had a year to think about those 2.7 pounds, and have talked extensively about it. They put their lives on hold because of a day when they just didn’t have it, and drew up a presentation that would hopefully let them possess it.
“Ted comes by the house all the time, and when my wife comes by the room and sees us talking, she’ll just leave us alone because she knows that we’re talking about fishing, and especially this tournament,” explained Guzej.
You can’t put a price on what this tournament means to Guzej and Stewner. Not even the $50, 000 top prize is the main motivation for being here. They are here to silence the cries from their biggest critics—themselves.
They are chasing a Moby Dick of a different sort. Their mythical beast is not found in the waters of Rainy Lake, but rather embedded in their psyche. And last year’s loss only expanded that search and poured fuel on their competitive fire for this year.
And with 1,809 smallmouth bass caught over three days and 4,311.18 pounds scaled and weighed, Guzej and Stewner must once again wait to silence their critics as they came 3.78 pounds short of James and Bill Lindner’s weight of 53.82 pounds.
“This one hurts. There’s no doubt about it,” Guzej said after the tournament, as he waited to collect his team’s second place cheque of $20,000. “When you come into the last day in the lead and you miss that top spot, it hurts.
“Last year didn’t hurt so bad, but this one really hurts. There’s no denying that this one hurt. But we gave it all we could.”
The two teams, who have known each other over 25 years, traded blows as they fought for that lucrative top spot. And every night after the tournament, called a truce and talked, as friends, about their day on the lake.
“The friendship goes beyond the competition. We like to compete against each other, but we’re really close friends and we’d never hurt each other. We have so much respect for each other and that goes back and forth with them and with us,” said Stewner.
“We share quite a bit of information with each other, but to a degree. We talk every night but not so much on specific locations. But we do talk about presentation strategies. I give them lures and they give us lures. We share bait and everything,” said James Lindner.
The first day saw the Lindners climb 0.18 pounds ahead of Guzej and Stewner. Day Two saw Stewner and Guzej counter back with a 2.34 pound lead. But the third day, which has become the Achilles’ heel of Stewner and Guzej, saw the Lindners catch the tournament’s biggest bag with 19.32 pounds while Guzej and Stewner amassed only 13.20 pounds.
“It’s odd because I sort of had mixed emotions about winning the tournament,” said James Lindner. “I wanted to really bring in a big bag of fish. And I really would’ve liked to see John and Ted win this tournament because it would’ve been a great role-reversal for us because of last year. If we don’t win, I’d like to see them win.”
“It really feels good until the end because it’s anti-climatic,” said Bill Lindner. “The competition is fun but someone’s got to win and someone’s got to feel bad. That’s the drill. But God, did I feel bad when they lost. Especially for Teddy because he’s so sensitive. I did. I felt really bad.”
But don’t feel bad for Goose and Teddy. Yeah, they hate to lose and yeah, they’ll spend another year thinking about it. But they don’t want your sympathy or your pity. They are fisherman and they know that this sport can bring you to the heights of ecstasy and, just as easily, drag you down to the depths of despair.
“We were thinking about it the whole time: ‘When are we going to get this damn monkey off our backs?’” said Stewner.
“We have a lot of years left. I think we learned something this year that will help us out for next year. I wish it was mine and John’s name up there, but you can’t be there all the time. It’s two years in a row now for us but we will win this thing one time. I know that,” added Stewner, as the Lindners were on stage being presented with the FFCBC trophy.
It was obvious to anyone at the tent on that faithful Saturday, as the top 10 teams rode in, with a noise that was heard throughout Fort Frances, that the biggest applause went to Guzej and Stewner. Those, who knew of last year’s tournament, cheered for them now. And it is fair to say that a win for Guzej and Stewner would’ve meant more to them than it did for the Lindner brothers.
“I think up here it means a lot. But back home it doesn’t mean that much. Back in the real world of what we deal with, this is not a critical thing,” said Bill Lindner.
“I don’t care about the glory of it. I’m not a professional fisherman, I’m a photographer. I’m just along with the ride. But I can’t say that I wasn’t integral in making sure we got the fish,” he added.
But what more can Guzej and Stewner do that they haven’t already tried. Maybe the Lindners are just too good. Maybe, just too talented. Maybe, just too skillful to compete with.
They are such a cohesive unit that their chemistry is almost beyond approach. They know how good they are and that isn’t too say they are cocky, but they are confident in their abilities.
“I think we’re just extraordinarily blessed from God. We just use the talents and gifts that have been given to us and we really do love to fish. We want this and we’ve always wanted it,” said James Lindner.
Like a diamond, the Lindner brothers are a multi-faceted wonder, which sparkles in different ways at different times. They are targets. And while they hunt—“It’s like we stalked in the woods, found our prey, worked through it and got them,” said Bill Lindner—they are hunted, but they always manage to gain the upper hand in the chase.
They have conflicting styles, but are able to mesh their opinions and strategies into a precise, studied and proven formula: F + L + P = S (Fish + Location + Presentation = Success).
“The dynamics between Jimmy and I are like this: Jimmy is so intuitive to the way the fish are moving and what they’re doing. He’s micro on the fish and I’m macro. I’m seeing the bigger vision of what’s happening with the whole system, while he’s trying to catch those certain fish,” said Bill Lindner.
“James is, day in and day out, the best multi-species angler that I know,” said his uncle, Al Lindner. “The kid is extremely good. He’s got that sixth sense to read water. Everything it takes to be a very talented and great angler, James has it. He has a real gift.
“Not to take anything away from Billy, because he’s an extremely good fisherman but he’s not at the caliber that James is that.”
But James had help. Of course he did. Who wouldn’t? But it came from one of the most unlikely and likely of places, in his fellow competitor and great friend, Stewner.
“Ted taught me how to win this tournament,” said Lindner. “He showed me the technique. Al and I were fishing an earlier tournament and Ted showed us this technique on how to catch the fish and I say thank-you to him.”
So the end is far from near. And this does not tell the tale completely. It could not tell it all, because it is still unfolding. It is still being witnessed at the FFCBC.
But one chapter of this tale has come to a close, and what we have learned is this: Fishing, does not exist to enlighten. It exists to be experienced – its pleasures, its sadness, its ironies, its tragedies and its comedies. There are no rights and now wrongs, but one thing is certain. There is always tomorrow.
“We will win this thing one time. I know that,” said Stewner. “We will win this thing.”