A Decoy Corner Article
By Bruce Urben, WWA President
A Mike Trudell decoy from the author’s collection. Photo: Bruce Urben
Some of our experienced decoy carvers began their passion of carving on their own out of necessity for their use in the field, others were mentored by experienced carvers. This month’s carver, Mike Trudell, is no different. He began carving on his own, but was later mentored by some of the best carvers in Wisconsin!
Mike Trudell was born in 1956 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. His family was not into waterfowling, but Mike developed his waterfowling passion a little later in life. Mike attended college at Indiana University, served in the military and was able to move to Neshkoro, Wisconsin while changing jobs after his military service. Mike worked as a Sporting Goods Mfg. rep and later as a Meat Co. rep.
Mike’s passion for carving began when the moulded decoys he was hunting with needed repairs. He soon found he could easily make his own decoys, which he could also easily fix. He started decoy carving in the 1980’s and never looked back. His personal carving ability improved gradually. When he began carving, a head would take him hours to complete, but eventually he became more comfortable and proficient and could carve one in under 30 minutes! While living in Neshkoro (Northwest of Princeton) in Marquette County, he frequently hunted the Winnebago chain, including Lake Puckaway and Butte des Mortes. He soon developed a relationship with local carvers and waterfowlers Ron Koch and Charlie Brisky, who helped him develop his Winnebago carving style. Check out Ron Koch’s book, titled “All Duck Hunters are Crazy” for a unique story about Mike hunting with Ron titled, “Iron Mike”. He also quotes being tutored in painting by fellow Wisconsin carver Bob Swann.
Winnebago style canvasbacks from Trudell’s personal collection. Photo: Mike Trudell
Mike began carving his decoy bodies out of cork when a friend of a friend was able to supply him with a large amount of black and brown cork. He later carved his decoys from wood and hollowed most of them. Most of his decoys were working decoys, but later in his career many of his decoys were sold to collectors as mantle birds, some before he had them completed.
He began carving using basic hand tools (handsaw, files, rasps and draw knives), along with a bandsaw to cut out the heads and bodies. At one time, Mike’s working hunting decoy rig totaled more than 200. His decoys were all painted in oils, which left a beautiful patina and were painted wet-on-wet to get the desired shading and blending. He has carved most species of puddle ducks, however his favorite decoys to carve and hunt were diver ducks. His favorite carving species is the Winnebago style Canvasback!
Mike estimates that he has carved over 1,000 decoys in his career, however he has not been able to carve recently due to his Parkinson’s tremors. He is hopeful he will be able to get back to carving and painting in the future using an electrode imbedded glove currently in development to reduce his hand tremors.
The bottom of a Trudell decoy. Photo: Bruce Urben
Mike Trudell is a passionate and experienced waterfowler and decoy carver. He has served as a judge in WWA’s Decoy Carving Contest and Exhibition for several years and has had his wood and cork decoys in exhibits at the Milwaukee Public Museum. Of course, his decoys are in high demand by collectors. Mike’s decoys are easily identifiable because he labels each with a metal tag as “Ye Olde Duck Toller”. Mike still resides in Neshkoro with his wife and raises and trains Chesapeake Bay retrievers.
I am honored to have one of Mike’s bluebill decoys from his personal working rig, a great example of the Winnebago style diver decoy. Another true Wisconsin original decoy carver.