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fan modification

180class

180class

Well-Known Member
For the past couple years, I've been using a Pretty Boy with a tom's fan. Alot of the birds seem to shy away from it. This year, I'm thnking about cutting the fan down to make it look more like a jake. Would this work or would it take more than just trimming a few feathers to make the tom decoy look more like a jake?
 
I think the Pretty Boy decoy in itself is intimidating. It is a pretty big decoy. You can definitely cut the fan down and see if it works. I had better luck with the peep n tom with a jake tail that is on sale for $29.99 and is a smaller body than the PB. . I have had even better luck with the half strut decoys like the $19.99 on the site below. I would paint him up a little bit though for the half strutter. I saw a guy pain one up the other day and it looked fantastic. More red in the head has been better for me.

http://www.carrylitedecoys.com/catalog.aspx?catid=carrylitespecials
 
Lance. I use the pretty boy when i'm after the older tom's. If you can add movement to it that works much better. If i have some younger birds that are shying away from the pretty Boy i use the pretty boy jr that Liv is showing above.
 
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Hey Lance...thats what I did last year and it worked good. I just took an older crappier looking tom fan and trimmed down some feathers.Early in the season I was having the problem of them hanging up but once I modified the PB...I had 2 seperate toms come all the way in.I also cut off that big fake beard and put on a lifelike stubby.
Coincidence? I dont know but it did work for me last year.
I also agree that movement is very important.I just tie some fishing line to him and swing him back and forth when needed.What do some of you guys do to add movement to your stutter? Any tips or tricks to make the ol' fishing line method easier or better?
 
I was watching the old double bull movies and they were using a pretty boy with a cut up fan to look like a jake. They killed a pile of them over it. I agree, movement is key by far. My success has quadrupled by adding movement. That Zink Lifeline avian X is pretty hard to beat for $20 to add movement to the spread.

If you were to buy one of those, I can tell you how to make it much better from the get go and save a little hassle.
 
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