Had never heard of them, of course I never fished in Wisconsin, Minnesota or
Michigan either. These things have the general shape of a fish, are painted
in bright colors not resembling any kind of fish whatsoever and are hung on
a string. The ones I saw were from 5 inches to about 12 inches. Apparently
you put them on a string, drop them through the ice and move them around, a
fish comes up to investigate and you spear it. Like I said, never heard from
them before and thought I had seen all types of fishing. Apparently not.
Also they are valued high ti collectors. A modern one made by a well known
Decoy maker can bring $150 and an antique (50s era) can bring 500 to 1000
dollars.