Finned fakes

Finned fakes
Belleville man is world's best at carving fish decoys
John McCoy Daily Mail Outdoors editor
"Reprinted with permission from the Charleston (W.Va.) Daily Mail, Sept. 6, 2002."

BELLEVILLE -- Some people carve duck decoys for a hobby. Scott Morrison carves fish decoys.

Yes, there is such a thing as a fish decoy. People in Midwestern states use them to lure real fish within spear range. And Morrison, with only four years of experience at carving decoys, already is the world's best at that arcane pastime.

He has a bit of an advantage. As a fisheries biologist with 22 years of experience, he knows how fish look and he knows how they swim.

That knowledge helped set him apart from the crowd two weekends ago, when he captured the world championship of fish decoy carving at the Great Lakes Fish Decoy Carvers and Collectors Association's convention in Livonia, Mich.

"It's a natural fit for me," says Morrison, who lives next to the Ohio River near the Belleville Locks and Dam in Wood County. "It's kind of refreshing to be involved with a group of people who care as much about the way a fish swims in the water as they do about its looks."

Unlike duck decoys, which are judged solely upon their looks, fish decoys also must move properly in the water to score points with contest judges.

"In order to attract fish, a fish decoy has to have some movement to it," Morrison explains. "When activated by a pull on its tether line, it should ‘swim' in a lazy circle."

Six Midwestern states still allow anglers to spear large fish such as sturgeon and northern pike.

Because spear fishing takes place through the thick ice of frozen lakes, anglers use decoys to attract fish to the holes they chop through the ice.

"It's pretty neat how spear fishing works," Morrison says. "You sit in a black- walled tent that shuts out all the light. You lower your decoy into the water, and it's just like looking into a television set. When the big fish come over to inspect the decoy, it swims into the picture and you spear it."

Morrison had never even heard of a fish decoy until six years ago, when he saw one displayed at a duck-decoy competition in Cleveland. The sighting struck a chord in the 52-year-old biologist, who had carved duck decoys for years with only modest competitive success.

"I figured I knew a lot more about fish than I know about ducks," he says.

Two years later, he began entering fish decoy competitions. His works earned immediate acclaim.

"That first year, I got a third-place ribbon," Morrison recalls. "The next year, I got five first-place and five second-place ribbons. Last year, I got one first-place and six second-places."

Most of Morrison's winning efforts came in the category known as "service working decoy." Neither as detailed nor as ornate as entries in the decorative or folk-art categories, working decoys are judged as much for their movement in the water as their looks.

That criterion suits Morrison's talents to a T. Though he makes his decoys' colors and markings quite realistic by employing many thin washes of acrylic paint, his creations take on a life of their own when dropped into a tank and pulled with a jigging stick.

"I like for my decoys to be just a little heavier than water, and to glide down slowly in wide circles until they reach the end of their strings," he says.

Morrison acknowledges that his training as a fisheries biologist helps him to better understand how real fish balance themselves in the water. He tries to impart that same balance into his decoys.

"The big difference between my decoys and other peoples' is that I micro-adjust the amount of weight I put into them," he says.

Most decoy makers balance their decoys by pouring molten lead into holes drilled into the carvings' bodies. Morrison pours tiny lead shot into the cavities.

"That way, if it's tail-heavy or head-heavy, I can just remove the plug and take out some shot," he says.

No one apparently had thought about using the technique until Morrison came along. "It was my little secret," he says. "But now that I've won a world championship with it, I probably won't be the only person doing it in the future."

During the recent show at which he won the world title, judges were particularly impressed by the balance and action Morrison imparted to one particular decoy, a lake trout that exhibited the peculiar ability to swim smoothly regardless how quickly or slowly it was pulled.

"Usually, decoys are either fast workers or slow workers," Morrison explains. "I prefer for mine to work slowly. But that lake trout worked well regardless of the speed. I think that really impressed the judges."

It impressed them so much, in fact, that Morrison's lake trout won the overall title out of the working-decoy class -- something that rarely happens.

"Usually, the world champion comes out of the decorative classes, which are much more detailed," he says.

"It took the judges 45 minutes to make the final call between my decoy and the other finalist. They must have swum both decoys five times before they decided. But ultimately, I won."

Morrison's triumph caught him off-guard.

"I figured I'd do well in the service-decoy category, but I was flabbergasted to win the whole thing," he says.

Now that he's captured a world title, Morrison isn't sure exactly what to do for an encore.

"I'll probably get asked to judge some competitions," he says. "And now that I've reached the top, I probably won't take carving as seriously as I have in the past. Other than that, I'm not sure. I don't think what I've accomplished has really sunk in yet."

When it does, however, you can bet it will sink slowly to the bottom of its tether, all the while describing a lazy arc -- a perfect lure for any big fish that might be lurking under the ice.