John A. Gabriel

National Fish Decoy Association

NFDA MEMBER

John A. Gabriel
PO BOX 547
Lombard, IL 60148

folkartfishdecoys@sbcglobal.net

John's largest Northern speared was 27" long

When John was in his early 20's (the early 70's), he began the craft of carving. He was fascinated fishing with the homemade lures that a friend made. This gave him the drive to start creating lures of his own. The fish decoys were soon to follow.

John has always been intrigued with the work of Oscar Peterson as his decoys were so identifiable at just a quick glance yet each one had a unique characteristic of its own.

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John says,
"In 1968, my father drowned from a boating accident while fishing at
Sandpoint Lake near Orr, Minnesota.
My memories of him are short but, all are good ones.
He died doing what I believe he truly loved to do... fish.
He was a World War II veteran who became a POW and earned the Bronze Star.
In honor of him, I make all my copper fish decoys as a tribute to him."

John likes to carve at least one decoy each week.
He does not have a set price for any of his works.
He actually gives most of them away to friends and relatives.

Don't hesitate to contact John to make arrangements to add one
of his decoys to your collection.

folkartfishdecoys@sbcglobal.net