| 3 Schipper spear fishing decoys from Minnesota |
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| I have a fondness for stuff from Minnesota, probably because I went to college there. |
Okay, so you're wondering what in the world would possess someone to collect such things. Well, a couple years ago, either 1999 or 2000, I went to my first auction and enjoyed it even though I had no idea what was going on, how much things were worth and I couldn't afford to buy anything. Since I had fun at the auction, I decided to go to more of them, but I needed a reason to drive around central and northern Illinois wasting money on useless things.
The old adage in the collecting world is "collect what you like", so I decided to begin collecting old fishing lures. Without knowing an iota about value, I began buying old fishing lures and quickly amassed a nice size collection of very mediocre, low value lures. My search expanded to ebay and I developed quite a habit while expanded my collection to include old wooden duck decoys. Add to that mix old duck and goose calls, old fishing minnow buckets, books, nets, advertising, fishing reels, ice fishing spears and decoys....you get the picture I think. If it was related to hunting or fishing, I was interested.
Now that I am wiser, but only a few years older and many dollars poorer, I have focused myself on acquiring quality lures, decoys, etc while getting rid of the low quality stuff.
I feel my actions are justified based on the investment value alone. I've lost over $2000 the last 2 1/2 years from my annuities; when I can buy some great outdoor collectibles that will only increase in value as I get older, hey, more power to me! The only question is, will I ever sell my good stuff!
Here are some good links to collecting old hunting and fishing stuff:
| A couple beautiful wooden duck decoys. |
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| On the left, a Pratt or Mason redhead pintail and a Mason mallard |
| Three more "dekes" ( short for decoys). |
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| The middle one is a nice hand carved Illinois River valley sleeping duck. The style is rare. |
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