Decoy Ice
Being a “Duckaholic” just gets in you blood and Duckoholic Rehab is not an option.  Our 2008 waterfowl season was a success, with a few twists. Once again the boys and I finished another waterfowl season with decent numbers. We had our moments of glory and some days, well you just wonder why you bothered getting out of bed. Hunting quackers in three states is challenging and exciting.
We hunted both the Mississippi Flyway in Arkansas and the Central Flyway in Western Oklahoma this last season. We have now detrermined that waterfowl in different flyway’s actions are different. We used one tactic to hunt waterfowl in the Central Flyway, while using another in the Mississippi Flyway. Waterfowl in the Western Arkansas seem to be in more of a resting mode searching for rivers, lakes and ponds to spend a night or two, regaining their strength before heading south to the lush rice fields of Louisiana and the Arkansas Delta. That’s what makes it tough hunting waterfowl in Western Arkansas. Waterfowl come in, stay a day or two and then take off for greener pastures are gone. Alto of running and gunning to hunt waterfowl in Western Arkansas. Granted it might be tough to hunt waterfowl in in Western Arkansas, but it is also rewarding. The hunter is able to make use of all of their knowledge of waterfowl hunting.
The waterfowl have a prime resting and feeding are at Foss Lake in Western Oklahoma known as Foss Lake Wildlife Refuge. Waterfowl rest on the refuge and fly to surrounding crops to feed. Waterfowl will hang out a week or more in this area, giving hunters more shooting opportunities. The hunter is almost guaranteed daily action at their favorite honey hole in this area. There are so many agricultural crops in western Oklahoma it transforms to a huge filling station for the ducks and geese. Remember, waterfowl have to take in a certain amount of carbohydrates each day to maintain their migration ability. The Central Flyway gives waterfowl ample opportunity to take in and store those needed nutrients with all of the corn, wheat, maze and peanut fields available for grazing.
We also got into hammering those honkers this year. We shot a little over 800 ducks and 245 geese. Not bad for three rednecks from the Arkansas River Valley… what can I say? Hammer time with those new Mossberg autos from! Â D’Baz bagged a Canvasback, Redhead, Pintail and a Bufflehead, all in one day. That’s probably going to keep some taxidermist very busy.
On average, we met our per-day bag limits. A big part of our success came from the way Capgun and Ducky set up and called the ducks into our decoy spreads. Another key advantage is our working knowledge of the areas we hunt and the way we build blinds around that area. Ducky is always surveying the land, watching the wind, and looking for waterfowl habitats. Capgun’s superior command of a duck call offers us pass by shots others don’t get. That boy can sweet talk those green heads right into our decoys. We use three different types of decoy patterns. We would use the old reliable “J” decoy layout pattern, the “U” pattern and the family pattern. The decoy patterns we used would depend on the situations we were facing on a particular hunt. We have since learn a new pattern from the Duck Commander himself. He has taught us the “Empty Hole” pattern and went into great detail to descibe how it works, we’ll give a report on it after this season.
Mother Nature had her way with us a couple of times this season. One January morning while hunting one of our many honey holes in Oklahoma, Old Man Winter came a knocking. Well, shall we say he came a pounding with a monster winter storm! Needless to say before we were able to get back across the lake to the cabin our clothing, gear, boat and motor were covered with a thick sheet of ice. We were miserable. High fuel prices kept us in the river valley more than normal. That didn’t mean less ducks, we just had to go out and find them, and that we did. We’ve got 4 new leases 40 miles from home base, sweet!
Jim “Duckie” Newcomb, president of ShellShocked Outdoors, http://www.shellshockedoutdoors.com, he is an outdoorsman with 45 years of personal experience in hunting, fishing and the great outdoors. He is an accomplished and respected waterfowl hunter along with guiding upland bird hunting adventures. He has trained thousands of gun dogs throughout his career. He is the host of an outdoor radio show and a respected outdoors writer and editor. His company does a lot of product testing for manufacturers of outdoor products.
Perch Chasing my Decoy
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HUGE WOOD ICE SPEARING DECOY #ED ITEM #004 BLUE WHITE 20″ $32.30 |
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Nice Wooden Ice Fishing Spearing Fish Decoy Minow $9.99 |
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VINTAGE ICE FISHING DECOY 10″ LONG $38.95 |
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VINTAGE ICE FISHING DECOY 10″ LONG WOOD $38.95 |
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VINTAGE ICE FISHING DECOY 7″ LONG WOOD $37.95 |
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R Folk Art NIP Duey’s Minnesota Spearing ice fish fishing decoy New York Mills $29.00 |
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R Larry Lange Lange’s RARE Spearing ice fishing decoy wooden Award Winner Minn $79.00 |
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R4 Never seen water! Minnesota Folk art ice fishing spearing spear decoy smurf $49.00 |
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vintage wood and metal spearing decoy ice fishing cabin decor $19.95 |
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Hand carved wood ice spear fishing 2 lures decoy airplane Minnesota Cec Hanson $34.99 |
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Hand carved 3 wood ice spear fishing lures decoy Minnesota Cec Hanson folk art $49.99 |
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Primitive Vintage Large Decoy Ice Fishing Paint Decorated Fish 13″ Folk Art $49.99 |
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BEAR CREEK BAIT COMPANY ICE KING DECOY FISHING LURE $23.99 |
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BEAR CREEK BAIT COMPANY ICE KING DECOY FISHING LURE $23.99 |
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VINTAGE ICE FISHING / SPEARING CARVED FISH DECOY W/ GLASS EYES MARKED $68.00 |
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DAVID PERKINS TROUT~FOLK ART FISH SPEARING DECOY~ICE FISHING LURE $56.01 |
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DAVID PERKINS 9 1/2″ PERCH~FOLK ART FISH SPEARING DECOY~ICE FISHING LURE $81.00 |
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RARE DAVID PERKINS PENGUIN~FOLK ART FISH SPEARING DECOY~ICE FISHING LURE $168.50 |
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RARE 1920 HEDDON FOUR POINT FISH SPEARING DECOY~PERCH SCALE~ICE FISHING LURE $105.49 |
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ICE FISHING DECOYS [GERMAN BROWN DECOY] VINTAGE $18.50 |
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Italian Ice Ice Baby $3.96 … |
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Fish Decoys: Folk Art Beneath the Ice Join host Mark Greenig as he journeys through the lake country of Minnesota to meet with some of the best fish decoy carvers in the world. Meet John Jenson, Duey Johnston, Jay McEvers, Otis Lael, Bob Johnson, Lawrence Bethel, and others as they share their stories and a few secrets to their success. Learn the history of fish decoys, how they work, and how they’re made. Discover why fish decoys … |
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9269B511 3in1 Solar Power charger for LG KG810 90 920 KS20 WM6 phone KU580 800 KU990 U990 Viewty VX8550 8550 chocolate 2 VX9900 enV KF600 KM380 KF700 KF750/KF755 Secret KM710 LX260 Scoop/Rumor Trax cu575 Venus VX8800 Voyager VX10000 Wave AX380 KF350 Ice Cream Decoy VX8610 CB630 Invision KF900 Prada 2 KP500 Cookie KC780 Reina KC910 Renoir LX600 Lotus KC550 Orsay KF390 Brand New 3in1 Solar Power Charger for cell phone/PDA;It’s a 1200ma battery that can be charged by solar power; AC power and USB.;Simply put it under sunlight and it will automatically be charged.;After charged; it can supply 5V/1A power to different devices like MP3/MP4/Cell Phone/PDA..etc.;Plug and charge; no setting is needed.;Items in the box: 1x 1200ma solar charger battery; 1x AC adapter(for… |
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Prism Stowaway Parafoil Kite, Ice $29.95 High flying, indestructible soft kite with a spectacular,flowing tail that’s visible a mile away. Perfect for travel,there’s nothing to break, nothing to assemble, and it stuffsinto a 6″ pouch so you can take it on all your adventures…. |
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Prism Hypnotist Stunt Kite, Ice $139.95 The Prism Hypnotist is a great introduction to freestyle tricks as well as a durable all-around wing for everyday fun. Prism combined the wing geometry of the Quantum Pro with the bulletproof frame design of the Quantum to create a performance hybrid with the balance of a competition kite but the durability to handle all the abuse you can dish out while you learn. The full-sized, 8-foot wing span … |
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Prism EO Atom Box Kite, Ice $23.99 The EO Atom is the newest and smallest member of our brilliantEO (Expandable Object) series of single-line box kites.The three intersecting planes give it great stability but letyou experiment with a wide range of tumbling tricks.No assembly required and folds flat…. |
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Folk Art Fish Decoys $48.74 With over 500 color photographs, this thorough text introduces the reader to the wide variety of decoys currently available, decoys made earlier in the century by “old time” artists as well as examples of contemporary design. The construction and special attributes of fishing decoys are discussed in detail, information vital to recognising the most collectible decoys. Detailed histories of early t… |
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Beneath the Ice: The Art of the Spearfishing Decoy $17.95 These decoys are a superb example of indigenous American folk art. The need to make a utilitarian object led many carvers to fashion pieces that were supremely functional and yet were works of art. This book is an excellent, very well-illustrated history and survey…. |
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Commercial Fish Decoys $27.00 Collecting spear fishing decoys is rapidly gaining popularity. Over 350 color photos of commercial decoys from both major and minor manufacturers. Decoys from more than 100 companies in both the United States and Canada. AUTHORBIO: Frank Baron grew up fishing with his dad and uncles in Detroit, Michigan and has always been intrigued by winter ice fishing, its methods, and the related tools of the … |
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Prism Nexus Stunt Kite $68.95 Big enough for real-kite performance, small enough to pack in a suitcase, the Nexus is an adrenaline-filled introduction to sport kiting and you will get hooked. Hybrid carbon/glass composite frame for instant response and great light-wind performance. Comes complete with low-stretch Spectra lines, winder, flight straps and a handy travel case that’s small enough to bring every time you head for t… |