Wisconsin Maker Unknown / Fish Decoy Carved, painted wood with attached metal fins, painted eyes and "jigging" stick. Length.4", c. 1900

The fine examples shown above and below, collected by J. Finn and now resident in his private collection, are good examples of the Wisconsin carved decoys from the turn of the last century. These examples come from the LaCrosse area, a particularily good area for the production of decoys. Fish decoys carved in the area in the early 1900's, are unique and highly sought after. Most of the local carvers made only a few decoys for their own personal use, so they were not produced in large quantities. Maker Unknown / Fish Decoy Carved, painted wood with attached metal fins and glass eyes Length 6", c. 1900 This, along with the high quality of the carving, attributes to their scarceness and desirability to collectors. La Crosse fish decoys are usually small in size, from 2 to 8 inches long, with the average size of 5 inches. Maker Unknown / Fish Decoy Carved, painted wood with attached metal fins and glass eyes Length 6", c. 1900 The bodies were usually straight but some carvers curved the tail to give them a more natural action when being jigged. Lead weight was added to the base of the decoy. Eyes made of old hat pins or beads were added. They were painted with whatever was available and sometimes house paint was used. Some of the carvers added such details as carved gills, mouth and scales. Good examples of this detail work can be seen in the decoys carved by Clarence Zielke, Oscar Peterson and Art Wajahn. Maker Unknown / Fish Decoy Carved, painted wood with attached metal fins and glass eyes Length 12", c. 1900 Jigging sticks were used with most of the La Crosse area decoys. The fish decoys were worked around in a circle to give them a swimming action. Maker Unknown / Fish Decoy Carved, painted wood with attached metal fins, glass eyes and "jigging" stick. Length 5", c. 1910 Short-handled spears were used because the fishing shanties were usually small so they could be easily moved and heated. Spear fishing was outlawed by 1940 in the La Crosse area, bringing fish carving to an end. Very few "old-timers" are left to reminisce and tell their stories of fish spearing on the Mississippi River, but the old days will live on through the fishing artifacts that have been left behind for us to enjoy, appreciate, and collect. Maker Unknown / Electric Fish Decoy Carved wood with attached metal fins and brass propellor . Motive power was supplied by 12V car battery. LaCrosse,Wisconsin area . Length 14", c. 1940's \