This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s June, 2024 Newsletter edition.
Editors note: WWA was recently honored with a hand-carved decoy donation to be used as a fundraiser for our organization from a very talented young carver by the name of Evan Casper. Casper created Fin and Feather Decoys and recently attended the Ward World Championship Carving Contest. We asked Evan to write a short article about his amazing success as a young decoy carver in Wisconsin:
Evan Casper, left, with his pair of Cinnamon Teal at Ward World Championship
My carving career started around three years ago with my passion for waterfowl hunting and wanting to learn to make my own duck decoys. My first couple decoys were very crude and rudimentary. I slowly improved as I made more and more and incorporated feedback from others until I finally built enough confidence in my work that I started selling and taking commissions. I created my business “Finn and Feather Decoys” named after Finn, my American Water Spaniel. My most recent memorable experience was attending the 2024 Ward World Championship carving contest. After long debate and consideration I decided on making a pair of cinnamon teal decoys. I entered them into the Lem and Steve category where the goal of the decoys is to be functional and durable working decoys. I began by creating a pattern referencing a photo I found online. As I cut and carved it out, it slowly took shape and soon a pile of dust lay on the floor and it was ready to be painted. After I finished painting, I attached the keel and shipped it out to Ocean City, Maryland, the site of the event. Days later I flew out to Maryland with my family and attended the competition in person for the first time ever. I competed the previous year by mailing my entry and watching videos of the event Tom Christie had posted on his YouTube channel. The amount of talent brought together in a single venue was amazing.
Casper’s dog, Finn, poses proudly with two of his decoys
There were hyper-realistic owls, ducks, and many other bird species. Along with the decorative carvings there were working decoys meant to withstand the rugged and harsh conditions of duck hunting. I was very grateful to receive a third place in species on my pair of cinnamon teal. I felt honored to receive the award, but the greatest reward for me was the feedback and knowledge I gained by talking with other experienced carvers.
An Evan Casper decoy
Besides carving in my freetime I am involved in many conservation organizations. My senior year of high school I devoted myself to gaining experience and getting involved in as many conservation organizations as I could. I joined the Youth Conservation Congress (YCC) and was elected the Vice President of the Lomira High School Outdoor Club. I shadowed multiple natural resource professionals learning more about the different conservation careers and I engaged with the Trout Unlimited (TU) , Wisconsin Waterfowl Association (WWA), Pheasants Forever, and Dodge County Sporting Alliance organizations regularly attending their meetings and volunteer events. Through these organizations I learned about the need to involve more youth in conversation and started looking for ways to connect people in these organizations to my outdoor club. I invited many presenters to teach my peers how to tie flies, diver duck hunt, and build wood duck boxes. The club teamed up with the WWA to install the wood duck boxes on the local Theresa Marsh and volunteered with TU to help with trout restoration efforts. As I embark on a new journey at UW-Stevens Point to major in hydrology, I look forward to more opportunities and to continue to help out with the conservation clubs I have been a part of and become a part of the next generation of conversation leaders.