Decoy Mania
By Mashkode-Bizhikigahbaw - Benji Sam
Leading the life of a fisherman, I have always had to be creative in ways to lure and attract bigger and better fish. This is not a new concept as many companies often pour thousands of dollars a year into product development of lures, plastics, and decoys. I can remember in the not-so-distant past it was not uncommon to spend a few evenings every fall with my dad working on our own spearing decoys to attract the big one.
Our work began in the summertime while harvesting wiigob from the basswood tree on the first horribly warm, muggy day. After harvesting wiigob for our decorative wiigwaas canoes, baskets, etc. we always intend to use the entire tree. Once a tree was stripped of its bark, we would notch the bottom of that tree to fall and dry out for the remainder of the summer. We would then collect this wood during deer season to begin decoy making when the weather began to turn cold.
This basswood makes for great carving because it is light, soft, and often keeps its shape without splintering. Historically, white pine and cedar made for great carving wood for decoys as well due to their strength, water repellant nature, and great buoyancy.
I remember watching my dad and uncle Don Wedll as they both took a different approach to their carvings. Dad had the mind of an engineer and would measure, draw, cut, re-measure, draw, cut again, and sand until the shape took form while Uncle Don would sit down with a piece of wood, a vision, and a small pocketknife to complete the job.
Over the years we spent plenty of time playing around with the perfect size, weight, color, and action — spending hours on end in the spearing shack waiting for a curious, hungry fish to swim by. It wasn’t uncommon for us to bring out five to ten decoys into the spear house each winter, but we always seemed to leave something with red/white or fluorescent tied on. As fishermen we often will spend so much time trying new attractants, but sometimes sticking to your guns seemed to produce year in and out.
Decoy making is a small piece of our culture’s history and one that can help fill the winter months or kill time while boiling sap in the spring. As I looked back through our collection of decoys, most homemade and some bought at auctions, each tells its own story and holds a memory as tall as the fishermen who used them. I came to the realization that I have not spent nearly enough time with a carving knife and sandpaper in my hands these last few years. This is an art and skill I am going to spend more time on in the next few months with a growing love and appreciation for sitting in a spear house. This is just another way I can help keep our cultural crafts alive and I can’t wait to add to our collection.
