Duane Steinkopf's motivation for carving his own spearing decoys was hardly storybook stuff, far less romantic than good old-fashioned German frugality would allow. "I started because I wasn't going ...

PINE RIVER -- Spearing divides ice fishing enthusiasts into sharply opposing camps, but most would agree on one thing: John Oman makes some pretty cool decoys for the controversial sport. His ...

After sawing a wide rectangle into the ice, a person holds a fish spear at the ready while looking through the water, past a small decoy meant to lure northern pike into range. A well-placed throw ...

DULUTH, Minn. — When he was a kid, Dave Perkins and his friends speared northern pike on cold Minnesota Days. Perkins made all of his own spearing decoys, the wooden fish designed to lure pike close ...

“Hard to tell this thing from a real crappie,” said my friend Dan Scherer, as we passed around the glistening decoy. “Except for we can’t clean and fry it.” In my hands, the crappie was solid, but its ...