Building a fish decoy
By Mike Hilmes
Fish decoys are as old as the spearing through the ice itself. Some type of attractor was needed to lure the fish into range so it could be harvested. Most Darkhouse anglers like to eat fish, that's why they go to such great lengths to build a shack, cut large holes in the ice and sit for long hours looking down hole, hoping to see a pike the size they feel will satisfy their hunger. Unlike hook and line angling, the Darkhouse anglers will "look and release", unharmed, every pike they don't wish to harvest. The hook and line angler, on the other hand, has no choice but to injure every pike or musky that hits his lure or tip-up by driving monster treble hooks deep into the mouth and gills, tearing gills and mouths to pieces and handling the unlucky fish or throwing it on the ice in below freezing temperatures. They may release the pike or muskys, feeling they have done something good, but a great percentage will surely die from their actions. Darkhouse anglers have a greater sense of gratification "looking and releasing", unharmed, any pike they don't choose to harvest. I watched three tip-up fishermen catch and release over 30 northern pike and 5 muskys one January day. The size limit was 24" on northern pike and 42" on musky. All were "rough-handled" and only three northerns were reduced to their bag limit. How many of the released fish would die is anyone's guess. I "looked and released" 9 northerns and 1 musky and harvested none, although three of the northerns were of legal size.
Looking down the hole of the Darkhouse at your fish decoy and having a fish come in an hit the lure, is no different than a nice trout hitting an artificial fly you took special care to tie. It's all the same, the feeling is the same.
To make a working fish decoy all one has to do is follow a few basic steps. First you must decide what type of decoy you want to make. One that looks like a certain species of bait fish like a sucker, fathead minnow, chub, or herring. Or maybe a perch, crappie, bluegill or small pike or musky. Or you could decide to carve a folk art fish that doesn't resemble any kind of baitfish. The main thing about carving a fish decoy for your use is for you to be satisfied with the end result. Some decoy carvers have only 2 or 3 fish decoys they use all the time and are quite happy with the results. Others, like myself, usually have 15 or 20 decoys to play with whenever I am in my Darkhouse. The reason being, some days the northerns like a fast action decoy other times they prefer slow moving ones. I have red and white decoys that swim fast and slow and some that even "flip" when jigged. I have several that are multi-colored, some unpainted with just burned in scales on natural wood and several that would be considered "decorative" with burned in scales and carved gills and mouth and painted to the exact color of the species. I like to do as much detail as possible on all my fish decoys, that's my style and it feels great when a pike or musky comes in and grabs the decoy. That's me, you will find your own way to carve that makes you satisfied. Don't get me wrong about all the extra detail I put in most of my decoys. I have my few favorites. I have a red and white that I purchased from a friend that the pike love. It "flips", swims fast and I usually start my day of Darkhouse angling with it. I have another that is called a "sidewinder" that was made by a deceased friend, Bob Kirk from Ontario, Canada. It is made to look like an injured herring. When jigged it starts out swimming the same way a conventional fish decoy does, but then slowly turns and lays on its side. Where I Darkhouse fish, a lot of the pike and muskys eat a healthy diet of bluegills about 5" long. I made a bluegill decoy about 5" long and left it unpainted, but added a sheet of flash tape to the side. It works great. I do use three decorative, 12" suckers that are painted in all three natural sucker colors and they work quite well.
It is important here to talk about lengths of your fish decoys. Know the lengths. If you know the length of the particular decoy that you are using at the time a pike comes in the hole, you can judge its legal length by using your fish decoy. I have never "made a mistake" as to the size of a fish, ever. The fish must be longer then the legal size in order for me to consider harvesting it. It's just my personal rule and it has worked for me all these 40+ years of spearing.
Whatever kind of decoy you will be making, the steps are pretty much the same. First, you must get some reference pictures. These can be obtained from library books, out-door magazines, on-line sites, etc. Next, you will need to make a pattern. (0228, 0226)
This pattern must then be transferred to a template or cut-out of heavy paper. I use old discarded file folders. They are heavy cardboard and stand up to repeated use. (0227, 0229)
Place the template on your chosen piece of wood. Try to select a piece of wood that is not much wider then the final fish will be. Less carving. I use white cedar for my fish decoys. It does not "swell" when it gets wet and is more forgiving than basswood, which can be a nightmare after is has gotten wet and swells and cracks. (0242)
After the "blank" has been cut out on the band saw, I like to put a pencil "centerline" down the middle of the decoy blank. This gives you a reference point at all times while you are carving or grinding the decoy. If you carve away the line, redraw it. Now you are ready to start carving the decoy. I use a knife and some chisels, but a sharp knife is all you need. I usually carve and round the edges to the approximate shape of the decoy. Next, I always work on the head of the decoy first. That way, if I make a mistake on the head or don't like the way I carved the head, the work on the body will not have been wasted. If you prefer a wood tail, carve it with a curve to the left or right. I prefer metal tails, it's easier and you can adjust the tail to increase or decrease the swimming circle of the decoy. Now that you have carved the fish decoy to your liking, give it a good sanding. If you decided to use a metal tail, your decoy should have a "stub-like" tail, waiting for the added tail fin. Fins are usually made from some type of metal, like copper, aluminum, tin or even tin cans. But the important thing here is, when you make your fins, again using a template, make them larger than they are on the live fish. The principle of large fins allows more surface area for resistance of the water under the fins as the properly weighted fish decoy descends. Larger fins make the decoy swim better, when properly weighted. see Weighting the Fish Decoy article (0247)
Now is a good time to return to the band saw and make a vertical cut in the tail to accommodate the metal tail fin.
Placement of fins on the fish decoy are done by marking a pencil line on both sides of the decoy near the area where the normal fins are located. I do the front fin lines first and hold the decoy in my hand and "eye" the fish from the front to make sure both lines are level with each other. I then do the same with the rear lines. My rear fins are usually about 1/8" higher than the front fins. On fish decoys such as perch, bluegills, crappies, rainbows and walleyes, those fish that normally have both fins in the front, for decoy purposes, I still put the second set of fins to the rear of the decoy. If you place the fins where they normally would be on these species, the decoy will "rock" and it takes a little experience to place the lead to prevent this "rocking" motion. The bottom line? Pike or musky don't really care if the fins are placed to the rear of the depicted fish that normally doesn't have them located there.
Now that we have the lines drawn on the side of the decoy where the fins will be inserted, we will make a "slot" to insert the metal fins. (0268). If you wish to grind detail on the fins to make them look more natural, do so before they are inserted into the fish.
I burn the slots into the decoy using an electric wood burning pen with a knife-like blade tip. This serves two purposes. First, it goes fast. Second, the burned slots seal the inside surfaces of the slots which repeals water. Some people prefer to use the tip of a knife blade, this works, too. If you are putting a dorsal or anal fin on the decoy, the placement of these fins will be where they are normally be located on the real fish. (0249)
At this time, if you are going to use glass eyes, they can be inserted now. I use Eye-poxy purchased from WASCO, a taxidermy company. It is a 2 part epoxy that is moldable and smoothes nicely around the eyes. You can also use a 2 part clear, fast drying epoxy to attach the eyes. Eyes may be painted on later or you could use a push in tack for the eyes. (0250) At this point the fins should be inserted but not glued in. Take a look at your fish decoy. Looking good, right? (0252)
If you wish to continue with the burning of the scales, this should be done now, before the fins are attached and the decoy weighted. (0270, 0269)
Scales are burned in and now it's time to weight the fish. (0256).
The critical part next is the weighing of the fish decoy. This will be covered in "Weighing the Fish Decoy" also on the MDAA web site. However, I want to stress an important step which is also covered in the weighing section, and that is finding the center of balance on the fish decoy. Insert all the fins and place the decoy on the edge of your finger or a pencil and let it "teeter" back and forth until you find the "center of balance" of the decoy. When that point is located, make a mark with your pencil. This will be the starting point or rear edge of the slot that needs to be drilled to accommodate the lead. Draw a line from this point on the belly of the decoy, forward, to the junction slightly to the rear of the gills. This is where you will drill the slot for the lead. (0257)
Before you drill, look at the decoy from the side and visually estimate where 1/3 of the distance from the belly to the top of the back of the fish is. Mark a line. This is the depth of the slot that you will drill out. This 1/3 "rule of thumb" works on all fish decoys. After the belly slot has been made, you can now glue in the fins. I use a 2 part 30 min. epoxy. It works fast but gives you enough time to glue, insert and adjust the fins. Look at the decoy and make sure the fins have been inserted to an equal depth on both sides. Now, before you add the lead weight, you must seal the wood, including the belly slot. I use Krylon Matte finish. It dries quickly and I usually give it three coats. Even after you weigh the decoy and get it ready to paint, give it a couple more coats of finish, the fins, too. One last important thing here. Sign or put your initials in you decoys. Some carvers even number their decoys. Some day after you are gone, a family member or a lucky fish decoy collector will be glad you did. I have an engraver and engrave my name on the bottom of the fins. I sometimes, sign my name in permanent ink on the underside. Now, you are referred to the "Weighing of Fish Decoy" section to weigh the fish decoy. After you have finished painting the decoy, spray a coat of clear lacquer over the fish decoy.
If all goes smooth, (0278, 0279) this is what the final outcome will be. A finished, working fish decoy.
Looking down the hole of the Darkhouse at your fish decoy and having a fish come in an hit the lure, is no different than a nice trout hitting an artificial fly you took special care to tie. It's all the same, the feeling is the same.
To make a working fish decoy all one has to do is follow a few basic steps. First you must decide what type of decoy you want to make. One that looks like a certain species of bait fish like a sucker, fathead minnow, chub, or herring. Or maybe a perch, crappie, bluegill or small pike or musky. Or you could decide to carve a folk art fish that doesn't resemble any kind of baitfish. The main thing about carving a fish decoy for your use is for you to be satisfied with the end result. Some decoy carvers have only 2 or 3 fish decoys they use all the time and are quite happy with the results. Others, like myself, usually have 15 or 20 decoys to play with whenever I am in my Darkhouse. The reason being, some days the northerns like a fast action decoy other times they prefer slow moving ones. I have red and white decoys that swim fast and slow and some that even "flip" when jigged. I have several that are multi-colored, some unpainted with just burned in scales on natural wood and several that would be considered "decorative" with burned in scales and carved gills and mouth and painted to the exact color of the species. I like to do as much detail as possible on all my fish decoys, that's my style and it feels great when a pike or musky comes in and grabs the decoy. That's me, you will find your own way to carve that makes you satisfied. Don't get me wrong about all the extra detail I put in most of my decoys. I have my few favorites. I have a red and white that I purchased from a friend that the pike love. It "flips", swims fast and I usually start my day of Darkhouse angling with it. I have another that is called a "sidewinder" that was made by a deceased friend, Bob Kirk from Ontario, Canada. It is made to look like an injured herring. When jigged it starts out swimming the same way a conventional fish decoy does, but then slowly turns and lays on its side. Where I Darkhouse fish, a lot of the pike and muskys eat a healthy diet of bluegills about 5" long. I made a bluegill decoy about 5" long and left it unpainted, but added a sheet of flash tape to the side. It works great. I do use three decorative, 12" suckers that are painted in all three natural sucker colors and they work quite well.
It is important here to talk about lengths of your fish decoys. Know the lengths. If you know the length of the particular decoy that you are using at the time a pike comes in the hole, you can judge its legal length by using your fish decoy. I have never "made a mistake" as to the size of a fish, ever. The fish must be longer then the legal size in order for me to consider harvesting it. It's just my personal rule and it has worked for me all these 40+ years of spearing.
Whatever kind of decoy you will be making, the steps are pretty much the same. First, you must get some reference pictures. These can be obtained from library books, out-door magazines, on-line sites, etc. Next, you will need to make a pattern. (0228, 0226)
This pattern must then be transferred to a template or cut-out of heavy paper. I use old discarded file folders. They are heavy cardboard and stand up to repeated use. (0227, 0229)
Place the template on your chosen piece of wood. Try to select a piece of wood that is not much wider then the final fish will be. Less carving. I use white cedar for my fish decoys. It does not "swell" when it gets wet and is more forgiving than basswood, which can be a nightmare after is has gotten wet and swells and cracks. (0242)
After the "blank" has been cut out on the band saw, I like to put a pencil "centerline" down the middle of the decoy blank. This gives you a reference point at all times while you are carving or grinding the decoy. If you carve away the line, redraw it. Now you are ready to start carving the decoy. I use a knife and some chisels, but a sharp knife is all you need. I usually carve and round the edges to the approximate shape of the decoy. Next, I always work on the head of the decoy first. That way, if I make a mistake on the head or don't like the way I carved the head, the work on the body will not have been wasted. If you prefer a wood tail, carve it with a curve to the left or right. I prefer metal tails, it's easier and you can adjust the tail to increase or decrease the swimming circle of the decoy. Now that you have carved the fish decoy to your liking, give it a good sanding. If you decided to use a metal tail, your decoy should have a "stub-like" tail, waiting for the added tail fin. Fins are usually made from some type of metal, like copper, aluminum, tin or even tin cans. But the important thing here is, when you make your fins, again using a template, make them larger than they are on the live fish. The principle of large fins allows more surface area for resistance of the water under the fins as the properly weighted fish decoy descends. Larger fins make the decoy swim better, when properly weighted. see Weighting the Fish Decoy article (0247)
Now is a good time to return to the band saw and make a vertical cut in the tail to accommodate the metal tail fin.
Placement of fins on the fish decoy are done by marking a pencil line on both sides of the decoy near the area where the normal fins are located. I do the front fin lines first and hold the decoy in my hand and "eye" the fish from the front to make sure both lines are level with each other. I then do the same with the rear lines. My rear fins are usually about 1/8" higher than the front fins. On fish decoys such as perch, bluegills, crappies, rainbows and walleyes, those fish that normally have both fins in the front, for decoy purposes, I still put the second set of fins to the rear of the decoy. If you place the fins where they normally would be on these species, the decoy will "rock" and it takes a little experience to place the lead to prevent this "rocking" motion. The bottom line? Pike or musky don't really care if the fins are placed to the rear of the depicted fish that normally doesn't have them located there.
Now that we have the lines drawn on the side of the decoy where the fins will be inserted, we will make a "slot" to insert the metal fins. (0268). If you wish to grind detail on the fins to make them look more natural, do so before they are inserted into the fish.
I burn the slots into the decoy using an electric wood burning pen with a knife-like blade tip. This serves two purposes. First, it goes fast. Second, the burned slots seal the inside surfaces of the slots which repeals water. Some people prefer to use the tip of a knife blade, this works, too. If you are putting a dorsal or anal fin on the decoy, the placement of these fins will be where they are normally be located on the real fish. (0249)
At this time, if you are going to use glass eyes, they can be inserted now. I use Eye-poxy purchased from WASCO, a taxidermy company. It is a 2 part epoxy that is moldable and smoothes nicely around the eyes. You can also use a 2 part clear, fast drying epoxy to attach the eyes. Eyes may be painted on later or you could use a push in tack for the eyes. (0250) At this point the fins should be inserted but not glued in. Take a look at your fish decoy. Looking good, right? (0252)
If you wish to continue with the burning of the scales, this should be done now, before the fins are attached and the decoy weighted. (0270, 0269)
Scales are burned in and now it's time to weight the fish. (0256).
The critical part next is the weighing of the fish decoy. This will be covered in "Weighing the Fish Decoy" also on the MDAA web site. However, I want to stress an important step which is also covered in the weighing section, and that is finding the center of balance on the fish decoy. Insert all the fins and place the decoy on the edge of your finger or a pencil and let it "teeter" back and forth until you find the "center of balance" of the decoy. When that point is located, make a mark with your pencil. This will be the starting point or rear edge of the slot that needs to be drilled to accommodate the lead. Draw a line from this point on the belly of the decoy, forward, to the junction slightly to the rear of the gills. This is where you will drill the slot for the lead. (0257)
Before you drill, look at the decoy from the side and visually estimate where 1/3 of the distance from the belly to the top of the back of the fish is. Mark a line. This is the depth of the slot that you will drill out. This 1/3 "rule of thumb" works on all fish decoys. After the belly slot has been made, you can now glue in the fins. I use a 2 part 30 min. epoxy. It works fast but gives you enough time to glue, insert and adjust the fins. Look at the decoy and make sure the fins have been inserted to an equal depth on both sides. Now, before you add the lead weight, you must seal the wood, including the belly slot. I use Krylon Matte finish. It dries quickly and I usually give it three coats. Even after you weigh the decoy and get it ready to paint, give it a couple more coats of finish, the fins, too. One last important thing here. Sign or put your initials in you decoys. Some carvers even number their decoys. Some day after you are gone, a family member or a lucky fish decoy collector will be glad you did. I have an engraver and engrave my name on the bottom of the fins. I sometimes, sign my name in permanent ink on the underside. Now, you are referred to the "Weighing of Fish Decoy" section to weigh the fish decoy. After you have finished painting the decoy, spray a coat of clear lacquer over the fish decoy.
If all goes smooth, (0278, 0279) this is what the final outcome will be. A finished, working fish decoy.