Michigan


 Pecore Fox Fish Decoy

Pecore Fox / Fish Decoy
Carved, painted wood, with attached metal body fins and wooden tail fin. Carved, painted eyes.
Circa 1930's. Length, 12.5"

Ken Bruning - Rainbow Trout Fish Decoy

Mark & Ken Bruning / Rainbow Trout Decoy
Carved, painted wood, (Body by Mark, paint by Ken) with attached metal body fins and painted eyes.
Circa 1957. Length, 6"

Michigan has always been a mecca for outdoorsmen. In the 1920's, weekend campers from the Detroit auto factories hunted and fished side by side with professional outdoorsmen and shipwrights who produced and maintained the boats neccessary to the economy of a lake-bound state.

Many of the Michigan's residents were renowned for their skill as hunters, trappers and fishermen as well as their abilities as master woodcarvers and craftsmen.

Ted Vandenbossche Sucker Fish Decoy

Ted VandenBossche / Sucker Decoy
Carved and painted wood, nailhead eyes, Length 9", Circa 1930

Ted VandenBossche Fish-Decoy

Ted VandenBossche / Bass Floater
Carved and painted wood with mother of pearl eyes and attached metal fins
Length 16", circa 1930

ChrisCraft and other major American boatbuilders were located in the state and attracted talented craftsmen, boatwrights, painters and carpenters from around the world.Centered in and around the one-time spa town of Mt. Clemens , such masters as Hans Janner Sr., Theodore VandenBossche, Andrew Trombley and Gordon "Pecore" Fox have become some of the best known and most widely collected carvers of ice fishing decoys. Extravagantly painted and painstakingly executed, they are among the best examples of American art.

Hans Janner Bass Fish Decoy

Hans Janner, Sr. / Bass Decoy
Carved Wood with attached metal fins and glass or plastic rod eyes
Length 12". Circa 1932

Jesse Ramey, Brown Trout Fish Decoy, fishdecoy, fishdecoys, fish decoys

Jesse Ramey /Brook Trout Decoy

Carved wooden full bodied model of a Brook Trout by William Jesse Ramey of Cadillac, Michigan. Tail is wooden insert and all other fins are sheet metal. Painted tack eyes, carved mouth and gills. Body appears to be made of two pieces of one-by glued together. Tail, dorsal fin and adipose fin areoverpainted by the artist. Circa 1950. Dimensions, 17 1/2" x 1 1/2" x 4" "