Fish Decoys
Glen Tomoson of Alberta has a collection of old spearing decoys that his grandfather Charlie carved and grandmother Bertina painted in the 1950s. They made about 1,000 decoys a year for 10 years up until Charlie’s death in 1960. The lures were named Chet Buss decoys after Charlie’s friend and work colleague who sold them to bait shops in the Alexandria area. Bret joined Glen and his sons at a darkhouse on Lake Geneva where they are spearing for northerns with the handcrafted decoys.
A visit with 6 time world champion fish decoy carver, Harley Ragan.
In this video, we bring you the story of a Wadena, MN man's quest to be crowned a World Champion decoy carver & explore the fascinating tradition behind spearing.
Join host Mark Greenig as he journeys through the lake country of Minnesota to meet with some of the best fish decoy carvers in the world. Meet John Jenson, Duey Johnston, Jay McEvers, Otis Lael, Bob Johnson, Lawrence Bethel, and others as they share web-dltheir stories and a few secrets to their success.
At 22 years old, while other young adults are still navigating their careers, Eric Wallace is well on his way to success. "It's for darkhouse spearing which is a growing sport here in Minnesota," he said. Wallace carves wooden fish decoys that he paints to attract fish for spearing.
A segment from the "Plunging into Ice into Clear Water" episode: Visit the shop of award-winning decoy artist, Curt Soine in Granite Falls, Minn. where he carves a variety of decoys and art pieces -- from fish, waterfowl and shore birds to frogs and submarines.
Spearfishing with Mike Holmes and decoy carving with Harley Ragan.
Sturgeon Spearing
Highlights from the opening weekend of the 2021 sturgeon spearing season on Lake Winnebago.
Join Dan as he tries his hand for the first time at spearing one of these giant prehistoric creatures. Steeped in tradition, the Winnebago system has one of the largest and most studied sturgeon fisheries in the country.
The sport of Sturgeon Spearing has come a long way in recent decades; the tradition is alive and well in the Winnebago system of Eastern Wisconsin. Ben Berger speared a giant 155 pound sturgeon on the Up River portion of the system during the 2018 season. Here is his story.
WTAQ's Rob Sussman and Casey Nelson went to Winneconne and joined spearers on Lake Butte des Morts for the opening day of the 2020 Sturgeon Spearing Season--and ran into a few lucky first-timers.
Sturgeon spearing has been a strong tradition in many families around lake Winnebago for close to a century. Watch Jake Huebschman , his family and friends as they head out to try and fill a tag in this very low odds sport. Follow along with the whole process of preparing the day before season.
The Gathering
Northern Spiked Darkhouse Spearing visits the 22nd Annual Gathering in Perham, MN
2019 The Gathering by Ryan Ebert and WDAA.
The third installment of our program on darkhouse fishing takes us to Perham, Minnesota, for the National Fish Decoy Association Annual Show and Competition. NFDA founder and show organizer Rod Osvold explains the different categories of fish decoys and the process of judging, as we walk the display hall.