Tackling the Presidency Ted Takasaki – President and CEO of Lindy Legendary Tackle, – and his family feel right at home.

If you're seeking an example of a perfect union between a quality professional and an exceptional professional opportunity in the Brainerd Lakes Area, you need look no farther than Ted Takasaki. Takasaki is president and CEO of Lindy Legendary Tackle, a company whose corporate headquarters are in Brainerd, but whose products are found in fishing-tackle boxes all across America.

In 1999, Takasaki left a position as a major accounts sales executive with computer manufacturer Hewlett-Packard, based in the Chicago area. After eighteen years with HP, Takasaki, along with his wife, Lori, and daughter, Kristi, moved to our land of forests, lakes, rivers and -- above all -- great fishing.

"Lori wasn't entirely enthusiastic about the idea at first," says Takasaki. "It wasn't so much leaving the big city to live in a small town -- it was more a concern for the financial security we'd become accustomed to. That, and the mosquitoes and ticks she had heard about! Neither of us was aware just how good the quality of life is here. We get to live where other people would, if they could. Kristi, who was ten when we arrived, loves school here, and has become an even more committed student."

Takasaki's professional training was in computer engineering, which, combined with experience in marketing and public speaking, helped him build a successful sales career with Hewlett-Packard. But it had been his dream to someday combine his business skills with fishing.

"I began fishing competitively in small team tournaments in 1989," says Takasaki. "I fished in my first Professional Walleye Trail tournament in 1991. Four years later, I earned honors as best all-around angler on the PWT tour, and in 1998, I won the PWT championship, the equivalent of the Super Bowl of walleye tournament fishing. Lindy was one of my first sponsors as a tournament angler.

"When Lindy's president, Nick Adams, was planning to retire, I popped the question, 'What about me?'" Takasaki was offered the presidency, and given the opportunity to lead one of the most respected fishing tackle companies in the world, based right here in Brainerd.

A high-profile tournament angler and tackle-company executive like Takasaki spends a lot of time away from home. His itinerary includes approximately forty seminars across the country each year, many at sports shows or in-store promotions for retailers. In April, the tournaments begin and continue through fall. There are also TV shows, outdoor writer trips, and photo shoots. November and December is when he finally gets to spend concentrated time at home.

How does Takasaki feel about the relocation decision he made?

"I love Minnesota. A person can fish a different lake every day. My friends elsewhere can't comprehend the natural resources we have here. If a person can't be happy in Minnesota, there's something wrong."