What is a Fish Decoy?
By Scott Kimball

People come to our gallery (The Homestead) in Boulder Junction, Wisconsin and see fish decoys on display. For many of them this is the first encounter they have had with a fish decoy. Most of these folks are fascinated by fish decoys but do not know what they are or how they are used. They have never heard of a fish decoy! We decided to create a short paper to help these newcomers better understand what a fish decoy is. I thought you might like to see what we give out to these people to better understand the fish decoy...

Most fish decoys are made of wood and in the shape of a fish, either painted or left with natural wood finish and marked by burning or charring. Occasionally fish decoys in the shape of a frog, salamander, mouse and other so called ‘critters’ are seen. Generally the fish decoy is jigged (moved slowly up and down) at the end of a jigging stick and line. This gives the decoy an action that the naturally curious fish will come in to investigate. The food fish, normally musky or northern pike, will then be speared by the spear fishermen.

The Native Americans generally used a small cone shaped tipi covered with blankets, skins, canvas etc. to shut out the light. The also covered the ice beneath the tipi with balsam or spruce boughs to shut out the light coming from outside the tipi structure. This leaves the hole, cut in ice, clear and light enough to see any fish action in the water below. The Native American traditional spearer would lay on his stomach peering down into the water. As the spearer jigged the fish decoy it attracted the food fish and he then used the spear which is balanced on a ledge cut in the ice at the side of the hole, with as much force as possible, thrust down and speared the fish. This provided them with food in the winter when other food was scarce. This has been a traditional practice by the Native Americans in the midwest states of Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin for many years. (Documentation of Native American spear fishing goes back to the 1700s). In some areas of Wisconsin, the Native Americans recently seem to be changing their styles to include more brightly coloured fish decoys which are more visible in darker water. There are still some that make the traditional fish decoy and spear in the traditional blanket covered tipi.

Spear fishing is also practiced by non-Native people from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. Most of the time this is done while sitting in dark shacks which are also used for ice fishing using lures with hooks, but the two methods are not practiced at the same time. There are different methods of using fish decoys when spear fishing for different species of food fish and different sizes fish decoys are used in certain areas. For instance, larger fish decoys (12”to 50” and locally called coaxers) are usually used when spearing sturgeon in Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin. Brighter fish decoys are usually used in Minnesota to attract northern pike. Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin Chippewa traditionally used a smaller slightly curved, wood tailed fish decoy in order to produce a swimming fish-like action when jigged. They are fishing for musky.

The most important items in spear fishing, through the ice, are a dark shack or darkened tipi, a jigging stick, a spear and most important a fish decoy. Recently fish decoys have become an increasingly popular item among people who are interested in the folk art of both Native Americans and newly arrived winter spearers.

Article reprinted with the permission of The American Fish Decoy Association.