Decoy & Spearing related sites
A Conversation on Wisconsin Spearing
The Wisconsin Sportsman podcast featured Ryan Ebert talking about pike spearing, Wisconsin sturgeon spearing, and his passion for carving fish decoys. MeatEater’s BENT podcast featured Ryan for their inaugural makers segment (episode 81).
Decoys reflect spearing knowledge
Dennis Bertram worked the curved blade in an unhurried rhythm, releasing thin curls of redwood. The emerging decoy lost its band-saw edges while old-time country played on the radio….
Starry-eyed swimmers
People living during the Depression years found out on a daily basis that many times there wasn’t enough money for items they needed or wanted. The most enterprising learned to make several of the things they couldn’t afford. Rudy Zweig was no different…
Carving Decoys for Minnesota’s long, cold months
Brian Shallbetter may have the perfect job for a guy who lives to carve spearfishing decoys: he’s an estimator for the largest roofing company in the state of Minnesota. For those unfamiliar with Minnesota weather, from December to March, when the mercury can easily dip below zero, it will absolutely take your breath away! ….
Minnesota Spear Fisherman Continues a Local Tradition
Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes, may not be well known for its abundance of handmade waterfowl decoys and identified decoy makers, but when it comes to its legacy of spearfishing decoys, this state takes a back seat to no other. John Pususta, a native of the Great North….
Fish Decoys
It’s difficult to say what lures you — the shimmering patina, the slim curve of a tail, or the delicate contours of a thousand hand-carved scales — but once you pick up a wooden fish decoy, it’s easy to get hooked. Considered an original American folk art…..
Art Form on the Ice
“Keep jigging,” I said. The fish was big and he took a swipe at the decoy, but missed and exited as fast as he came in. It took about a minute of jig stick finesse, then Mr. Pike came back for another look at the decoy. This time the spear was cocked and loaded….
“The Gathering” — 2002
As I drove to Perham, Minnesota in early April, I was reminded of the small-town lifestyle that defines and describes Northern Minnesota. Pulling off the freeway and onto the smaller county roads and highways, I felt the reality of living in a quieter, slower paced world. Perham is a small, closely knit town….
Master Fish Decoy Carver from Lake Minnetonka
Clifford Jason Stubbs was born on August 17, 1892 into a family that played an important role in the early settlement of Minnesota. The Stubbs’ family connection to Minnesota began with family patriarch, Henry Stubbs, who…
Art Seguin: Maker of Duck & Fish Decoys
A dozen or so years ago as I foraged through northern Minnesota seeking all things old, I encountered duck and fish decoys attributed to an Art Seguin. These decoys had some unique characteristics, with the fish decoys being particularly well done and desirable. Managing to buy a few, I picked up tidbits of information about this maker….
A Prolific Minnesota Maker of Spear Fishing Decoys
Dick E. Brown was born on September 14, 1903 in Robinson, North Dakota. When he was still young, his family moved to the iron area in the hills a little more than three miles from Pillager, Minnesota. A veteran of World War II, he moved to Brainerd, Minnesota in the 1950’s to work in the railroad shops. It was at this time that he began making spearing decoys….
Henry Max: “Marathon” Fish Decoy Carver
I am always encouraging young people to collect, even carve, decoys, whether they be waterfowl or fish. One day my son asked me, “Who carved the most ice fishing decoys?” The first carver that came to mind was Leroy Howell, and then Oscar Perterson….
Little Fish
Sneak out on the ice, saw a hole the size of a card table, wrestle out the slippery slab, slide a darkened shanty over the hole, and start jigging with a fish decoy. The sunlight comes down through the ice; the light comes back up through the hole, and big fish ghosts into view like on some video fishing game….
Minnesota Fish Decoy Makers
Despite writing two books documenting the history of spearfishing in Minnesota and identifying the makers of these wonderful folk art carvings, continued information is constantly unearthed that allows us to credit the work of previous unknowns, and in other cases simply add additional material. Such is the case with Carl Satre, Lawrence Lunka, and Frank Minsch….
Whitefish Open
In the Northern Minnesota Brainerd Lakes region there lies a a string of lakes with a long established history of spearfishing. These lakes, the Whitefish Chain, are comprised of fourteen lakes ranging in size from more than 3,000 acres to less than 200. Occasionally, the search for vintage spearing decoys on the Whitefish Chain will produce a quality find….
Tom Leagjeld: Mystery Crafter of the Fred Gibbon Fish Decoys
Let me give you an inside tidbit on the fish decoy world. Many readers already have the scoop on this one but here it is anyway. Some names attributed to decoys are incorrect and are actually contrived for one reason or another. When this happens, it’s rare that the true maker is actually determined….
Four Old-Time Spear Fishing Decoy Makers
The technique of spear fishing is relatively simple-an appropriate site on a frozen lake or river is selected, a hole in the ice is cut, a dark house is placed over the hole, a fish decoy is jigged down into the water, and ultimately, when a large fish is attracted by the decoy, the fisherman attempts to hurl a spear into the curious fish….