Ryan Gast

Ryan Gast — Erskine, MN

Ryan hails from Erskine Minnesota and has been carving decoys since 2000. Ryan sites some of his early influences as carvers Dennis Bertram and Tim Nathe. Ryan has pioneered his own style of decoys that combine both realistic and folk art attributes. This makes his decoys not only highly unique but also highly sought after. His favorite types of fish to carve are a tossup between Northern's and Walleyes. Ryan had an awesome documentary done revolving around his love for spearing and decoy carving. The documentary titled "Anchored" was beautifully shot and also tells a moving story of Ryan's father and his battle with cancer and how that lead Ryan to his passion for spearing and fish decoys. With the release of the movie Ryan has gotten to do seminars, community education, and outreach for the decoy community. This, in Ryan's words, has been his biggest accomplishment!

See more of Ryan’s work on his Facebook page, Tradewell Decoys.