Dakota Trading Post

Click on the mailbox to send us some e-mail!

Fish Decoy inventory on pages 1 to 24, approx. 25 pictures per page

|1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|18|19|20|21|22|23|24|

Fish Plaques and Carvings

John Jensen Decoys

Carvers Corner

Doug Davis,

Williams Bay Wisconsin

Born November 18, 1958 in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey.  My father was in the Army at the time but when his enlistment was done we returned to southeastern Wisconsin.

I was raised in the Lake Geneva area of southeastern Wisconsin and remain here still.  In my youth the area was a great place for hunting, fishing, and whatever else a young man could find to do.  I had at least 200+ acres of land within walking distance that provided me, my brother, and my boyhood friend “ Gus “ with all the adventures we could handle.  I also had a pond and 2 lakes within a mile walk of home.  I now live in Williams Bay, a small town just a few miles from where I was raised. 

I’m married with 2 children (Erin-19, Brian- 16) and I have a great wife (Renee’) who supports my carving and other outside (fishing) interests.

After 20+ years of being a chocolate maker / supervisor at Andes Candies I recently left to pursue other interests.  I’ve also worked as a fishing guide on Lake Geneva part time for the last 8 years.  I enjoy fishing, so I thought I might as well do something I like and get paid for it.  The money earned helps support my fishing and fish decoy “habit“.

I started collecting fish decoys in 1987 when I saw a couple at an antique show I attended.  I was collecting old advertising items at the time but became interested in these wooden fish.  The folky, funky look appealed to me.  Plus, the fact that they were carved by regular guys like myself in order to spear a fish, made them more unique than the factory produced lures.

After collecting fish for a few years I decided to carve one for myself.  I had no formal training as an artist but had always been able to sketch fairly well.  I carved my first fish in 1994.  It was rather simple looking and I don’t believe it would even sink, let alone swim.  I didn’t carve a fish again until 1997 and that effort was more decorative than functional.  In 1998 I took a more serious approach and since then have refined and improved my carving, painting, and weighting techniques to produce a working fish.  Spending time with other carvers such as Rodney Podd (WI), Harley Regan (MI), Mike Holmes (MI), Gregg Owens (IL), John Snow (WI) helped in the development of a working fish.  These guys were always happy to answer any questions I had and offer advice.  My goal as a carver is to make a fish that appeals to the eye but will also swim and stand up to use in the water.  With this in mind all my fish are swim tested in Lake Geneva before they are sold.

To date I’ve carved 35 fish.  Species done include northern pike, musky, sunfish, perch, sucker, cisco, brown trout, and even a frog or 2.  I have also carved a working sturgeon decoy for use during this year’s spearing season on Lake Winnebago.  One of my favorite fish to fish for are panfish and these are also some of my favorites to carve.  My sunfish has been my best seller.  I enjoy custom orders from collectors and like carving new things when time allows.

I guess over the short time I’ve carved, I’ve developed a “style” to my fish.  You really don’t see that you have a “style” until you put your fish with those of other carvers, but then it becomes apparent.  I guess my style is on a line between folk and realism.  I use basswood for my fish and carve with regular old X-Acto knives in different styles.  My fish are hand brush painted with enamels, have wood tails, a tack and washer eye, and painted brass fins.  Usually my fish will have a multiple line tie and a carved mouth and gills.  I sign all my carvings " D. DAVIS ".  I also date and number them.  If the fish carved, is the first of that species I've carved I usually note that on the bottom also.  I try to keep the first fish I carve of a species for a reference but that's not always possible.  I feel it’s important for a new carver to develop his own style of form and paint.  Don’t be afraid to ask the other established carvers for advice. Take their advice and apply it in your own way to make a fish.

Since I started carving myself, I’ve come to appreciate the work put into a fish by the carvers whose fish I’ve collected over the years.  One of my favorite carvers is Henry Max of Fergus Falls, Minnesota (deceased).  His teardrop shaped fish with a variety of paint jobs have a great eye appeal.  His fish have a more rounded form than most Minnesota fish.  Another Minnesota carver I admire is Lawrence Bethel.  He turns out a lot of fish but the quality is always there.  He’s been a carver for many years and his style of fish has gone through some evolution.  To be versatile enough to span this many years of carving and still make an appealing fish is quite an accomplishment.  I hope to have the opportunity to meet Lawrence Bethel sometime.  Another Minnesota native whose fish appeal to me, are the fish of Jerry Matzen.  His fish are working folk art and have great detail in the paint.  One carver from my home state who is a favorite of mine is John Snow.  I have had the opportunity to “ talk fish “ with John Snow on a couple of occasions and each time it has been a treat.  John is a member of the Lac du Flambeau tribe of Ojibwa Indians.  His fish are a thing of beauty, both in form and paint.  In fact the fish of the Lac du Flambeau Native Americans are truly a thing of beauty.  The simplistic coloration and working form are tough to beat.  I hope to carve with John Snow and other Lac du Flambeau carvers next summer.

I entered a couple of fish decoy competitions in 1999.  I did it as a kind of “just for kicks” thing but also hoped to learn more about working fish.  I entered the Lac du Flambeau decoy competition at Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin last September.  This competition is put on by the Lac du Flambeau Native Americans and is judged by active carvers and spearers of the tribe.  I was lucky enough to finish 2nd in this competition.  This was my first contest and to be judged so highly by the people who basically invented spearing was a great compliment.  Also in September I entered some fish at the World Carving Championships in Livonia, Michigan.  I received 2nd place for my sunfish in the Panfish Service Working category, a 3rd place for my mini brown trout in the Folk Art Miniature Working category, and a 3rd place with my Found Wood Jigstick.  I also received several Honorable Mentions for other fish I entered.  I considered this a success since it was only the second competition I’d entered and the fish used were from the first 10 working  fish I had carved.  In both the competitions the working ability of the fish is more important than its looks.

My own spearing experience is limited to a couple years of sturgeon spearing on Lake Winnebago.  At this time I remain a “Sturgeon Virgin” and have not stuck one of these prehistoric creatures.  But I’m going to continue to try and hopefully I will be rewarded for my patience.

 Keith asked for a “tale” to accompany our bio and since the “Art of the Told  Story (b.s.ing)” is alive and well among Wisconsin fishermen I will relate a tale from my youth.  While I would love to tell a tale of a big fish and the fierce battle put up by said fish, that isn’t the case here  A story that all icefishing veterans can relate to comes to mind.  I’ve ice fished as long as I can remember and this story took place when I was somewhere around 12 years old.  We lived about a mile away from a lake named Lake Como.  Lake Como was shallow and weedy, a good bass and duck hunting lake.  My friend Gus came over one day and we headed to Lake Como for some tip-up fishing and jigging.  In those days we only had the simplest of gear but the most important was a good spud bar or ice chisel.  It was said over and over when you were a kid using dad’s spud bar, “Tie the rope around your wrist when you’re spudding a hole in case it slips out of your hand”.  Well, we walked to Lake Como and headed out onto the ice.  We came to a place that was surely a “hot spot” and Gus began chiseling a hole.  Chopping a hole with a spud bar is a workout when the ice is more than 6 inches thick.  Well Gus was hard after it and I was untangling my gear when the sound of chiseling stopped.  I looked up to see Gus with a blank expression on his face and no spud bar in his hand.  I walked over and sure enough Gus hadn’t put the rope around his wrist and the spud bar fell down the hole.  The “what are we going to do now” look was upon both are faces.  We’d walked all that way and now we had no way of cutting a hole.  No other fishermen in sight to help us cut a hole, we had no choice but to head home.  At that point Gus happened to look down into the murky water that filled the partially chopped hole and there against the inside wall of the hole lay the handle of the spud bar.  The water was so shallow that the spud bar had stuck in the muck and stayed in the hole.  Gus reached down and pulled it back out, both of us grinning at our change of fortune.  I wish I could tell you we caught a lot of big fish that day but actually I don’t recall catching anything.  I’ll never forget the look on Gus’ face when that spud bar slipped away.  And then the look when we were to able to pluck our day of fishing out of the hole.

The following information is supplied for those that wish to contact Doug Davis:

Webpage    www.elknet.net/dgs

e-mail        dgs@elknet.net