Rare & very early Trout spearing fish decoy from the Chautauqua Lake region of New York. Circa pre-1905, that is when spearing was outlawed in NY. Paint is all original with minimal wear & structurally excellent, retaining original leather tail that still retains most of the original paint also. Measures approx 6 1/4 inches long. Has original brass braid eyes & 4 metal fins. Has classic carved gills & mouth that gives fish decoys from this area the best look. Also has the classic thru the body line tie. Chautauqua Lake fish decoys are classics & some of the hardest to aquire. Spearing was outlawed in 1905 or 06 & not many examples have survived, especially in this outstanding of original condition. You would never see these fish if it wasnt for the fine collection that was dispersed of the late Annie Hooper. So hard to find but very exciting to collect these. More pics avail on this classic beauty.
SOLD!

Scarce hardback copy of AMERICAN FISH DECOYS by Steven Michaan. Limited printing in 2003. Excellent conditon, I have a few copies still in original shrink wrap. This is one of the best photographed & layouts I have seen in any sporting collectable book. The photography is awesome & Michaan is very well known for his fish decoy knowledge & collections, all together it makes for a great & must have book of some of the finest known examples of fish spearing decoys in existance. Has chapters on American fish decoy history, New York fish decoys, Oscar Peterson decoys, Mt Clemens fish decoys, Hans Janner fish decoys, & Michigan styles of fish decoys. The top makers & some very rare examples are presented thru out this 208 page book. Measures approx 12 1/4 X 10 1/2. Don't miss out on this one, this is a very hard book to find. Price includes shipping to lower 48.
$100

Outstanding Peterson style carved eye 9 inch Perch fish spearing decoy by C. B. Lewis, Hancock Township, PA . Circa 2005. Paint is mint all original & if you know C.B.'s work you know the finish is superb! Very cool carved eyes with gill & mouth carving. Fish is proper balanced & weighted for actual use or display. Marked by maker with stamping in fins so his work is never passed off as a fake. Has 7 metal fins & measures approx 9 inches long. If you follow the market of contemporary makers of fish decoys you know how hard it is to get any of C.B.'s fine carvings, they are scarce & superb! Good buy here & rarely offered.
SOLD!

Early & very cool old Perch fish decoy by maker unknown to me. Circa 1930-1950's. Very nice all original paint & condition, has been used & shows some wear, mostly to metal fins. Cool paint style of canary yellow body & blood red stripes. Measures approx 5 3/4 inches long with 2 line ties. Has very cool carved mouth & gills, the eyes & anal area are beads. All 7 fins are metal & very nicely done the rear side fins go thru the body & fold to secure. Weighted by poured lead in belly & shows proper old age. This fish was purchased from Frank Barron, a noted fish decoy author & collector. Good honest, 100% guaranteed old fish decoy for any collection with good folk art appeal. More pics avail.
SOLD!

Rare HEDDON "TADPOLLY" 5000 model bait in rare "red-scale" color, with original box. Circa 1920. Excellent plus condition, perfect glass eyes & "L-rig" hardware. Rigged with double hooks. Color is strong, clean & superb, with pin head size varnish flakes from age. Has original "down-bass" box but # is hard to now read from how I displayed, but is original. A rare & superb lure for any collection & one of the tuffest colors.
SOLD!

"Michigan's Master Carver, OSCAR W. PETERSON 1887-1951", by Ron Fritz. Signed by Ron. Copyright 1987. The only book exclusively on one of the finest folk artist that ever made a fish decoy. Outstanding color photos & the most complete group of Peterson's work ever to be put in one book. 104 pages in hard cover format with original dust jacket. Excellent like new condition. A must have decoy book if you collect Peterson fish or folk art. $150

Rare small size Oscar Peterson (1887-1951), Cadillac, Mich., 5 inch Perch, fish spearing decoy. Circa 1936, this fish is a late Period 3, early period 4 (1935-38) decoy. This fish has very good all original paint & condition with only small wear to edges, wear to belly & some loss on fins & line tie area, as would be expected of a fish that was used of this vintage. Paint is very clean, & very strong with excellent color & brush work & nice thick original finish. This fish is a pellet tack eye model & is a very rare to find size. See Ron Fritz's excellent book "Michigan's Master Carver OSCAR W. PETERSON ", for like examples. Any Oscar Peterson in condition this clean, strong & honest is desirable & rare. This fish is guaranteed forever to be 100% Oscar Peterson, & would make a nice addition to any old fish decoy collection. More pics avail. This is a beauty and fresh to market from one of the top Oscar Peterson private collections in the world!
SOLD!

Nice old fish decoy by maker unknown to me. Circa 1920-1940's. Very nice all original paint & condition, has been used, but shows little wear. Folky paint style of red with black dots, eyes are white as is a stripe on belly, has silver tack in anal area of belly & may be a later add on as an attractor, can be seen in photos above. Measures approx 5 3/4 inches long with staple line tie & has wrapped wire to hold tail to body, I guess the guy didnt have any tiny nails? All 5 fins are metal. Weighted by poured lead in belly. Good honest, 100% guaranteed old fish decoy for any collection with good folk art appeal & great color. More pics avail.
SOLD!

Rare small size Oscar Peterson (1887-1951), Cadillac, Mich., 4 3/4+ inch Brown Trout with original rare breeding spotted finish, fish spearing decoy. Circa 1936, this fish is a late Period 3, early period 4 (1935-38) decoy. This fish has very good all original paint & condition with only small wear to edges, wear to belly & some loss on fins & line tie area, has one flake to primer on top back as would be expected of a fish that was used of this vintage. Paint is very clean, & very strong with excellent color & brush work & nice thick original finish. This fish is a pellet tack eye model & is a very rare to find size. See Ron Fritz's excellent book "Michigan's Master Carver OSCAR W. PETERSON ", for like examples. Any Oscar Peterson in condition this clean, strong & honest is desirable & rare. This fish is guaranteed forever to be 100% Oscar Peterson, & would make a nice addition to any old fish decoy collection. More pics avail. This is a beauty and fresh to market from one of the top Oscar Peterson private collections in the world! SOLD!

Early & original fish decoy by maker unknown to me. Circa 1900-1940's. Very nice all original paint & condition, has been used & shows lite wear. Cool paint style of silver body & red, white & blue dots. Measures approx 7 inches long with triple line tie. Missing the original anal fin, all fins are metal. Weighted by poured lead in belly & has tip of lead coming out on top of nose, which may help ID it. Good honest, 100% guaranteed old fish decoy for any collection with good folk art appeal.
SOLD!

Early & nice HEDDON "150" model 5 hook "DOWAGIAC MINNOW". Circa 1920s. Color is WHITE & is scarce on any Heddon bait. Condition is Excellent, with all paint on belly weight & with only a paint ageline on the right side, worst side shown in photo. Eyes uncracked, & all hardware good (background drop with pics distorts hooks, but all are good), has L-rig hardware. Has 3 HPGM. Very nice aged color & minimal varnish flakes. Tuff one here.
SOLD!

Superb Rainbow Trout fish decoy by Larry Ackerman, Virginia. Circa 2000. Signed "LA". Outstanding Rainbow Trout fish decoy carving with awesome realistic paint detail done in oils. Paint is all original, very clean & strong in color. Trout measures approx 7 1/2 inches long & has glass eyes. Body is full body carved & has copper fins & is weighted proper for use with inletted poured lead. Larry makes great fish & they are quickly snapped up when available, he only makes 4 or 5 pieces a year for the past few years. Larry's decoys are pictured in Art Kimball's 3rd volume of "FISH DECOYS". A great looking piece here with good carving, paint & form. A very pretty fish decoy & sure to please.
SOLD!

Nice old wooden HEDDON "CRAZY CRAWLER" fishing lure. Excellent all original condition. Nice old fishing lure here. Nice frog color, with all original shine present. Has 1 very small pointer in back. Hardware is surface style & excellent condition. These are fun to collect, affordable, lots of colors & crazy looking, make a nice display as a color collection group. Plus if you are into Bass Fishing you know what a great lure they are & a blast to catch fish off the surface with.
$50

Nice old Trout fish decoy by Sherman Dewey (deceased). Michigan. Circa 1930-1950's. Has "S" and a "D" stamped into the front fins. Very nice all original paint & condition, looks as if never used . Cool paint style of blue & gray body with black details & a reddish stripe on belly. Measures approx 8 inches long with cotter pin style line tie. Six fins are metal & tail is carved wood. Weighted by poured lead in belly & shows proper old age. Info on Dewey can be found in Art Kimball's 3rd Fish Decoy book. Good honest, 100% guaranteed old fish decoy for any collection with good folk art appeal. More pics avail.
SOLD!

Superb J.K. RUSH "RUSH-TANGO SWIMMING MINNOW" bait with box. Circa 1914-20s. Great "mottled" color pattern in yellow/red & green. Excellent plus condition only 2 pointers & slight roughness to hardware. Comes with very cool 2 piece picture box that advertises "$50 GOLD PRIZE" & pictures the bait. A neat bait for any collection. $175

Outstanding Peterson style carved eye 7 1/4 inch Pike fish spearing decoy by C. B. Lewis, Hancock Township, PA . Circa 2005. Paint is mint all original & if you know C.B.'s work you know the finish is superb! Very cool carved eyes with gill & mouth carving. Fish is proper balanced & weighted for actual use or display. Marked by maker with stamping in fins so his work is never passed off as a fake. Has 7 metal fins & measures approx 7 1/4 inches long. If you follow the market of contemporary makers of fish decoys you know how hard it is to get any of C.B.'s fine carvings, they are scarce & superb! Good buy here & rarely offered.
SOLD!

Early Fish Decoy by Bud Stewart, Flint, Mich. Circa 1950s?? Tiny at only 2 3/4 inches long. Nicely carved gills, eyes & sucker type mouth. Has a curved body with 2 line ties & the third has a "cheater" hook attached. Paint is thick & all original. Condition is excellent. $145

Excellent Oscar Peterson (1887-1951), Cadillac, Mich., 7 inch Pike, fish spearing decoy. Circa 1936, this fish is a late Period 3, early period 4 (1935-38) decoy. This fish has excellent all original paint & condition with only small wear to edges & some loss on fins & line tie area. Paint is very clean, & very strong with excellent color & brush work & nice thick original varnished finish. This fish is a pellet tack eye model. See Ron Fritz's excellent book "Michigan's Master Carver OSCAR W. PETERSON ", for like examples. Any Oscar Peterson in condition this clean, strong & honest is desirable & rare. This fish is guaranteed 100%, & would make a nice addition to any old fish decoy collection. More pics avail. This is a beauty! Sold!

Rare HEDDON "GREAT VAMP". Mint, never used condition, with original properly marked box. Rare bait here, only made from 1937 to 1939. Nice red/white color, with all original shine present. Hardware is perfect (heavy toilet seat with brass) & shiny as are the eyes. Big bait made for the musky fisherman, 5 inch body. Comes with nice & proper marked "up-bass" box. Sold!