SO WHO IS ART LADEHOFF?
Make no mistake about it, over thirty years ago Art Ladehoff and, "Big Foot, the Decoy", established the industry standard for field model full body goose decoys.
Background
About the time World War II was ending, Art Ladehoff was already helping his dad paint their hand made decoys. Through the years, Art's interest in decoy making persisted. In 1958 he started Decoys Unlimited in Clinton, Iowa.
For the next 30 years, Decoys Unlimited furnished do-it-yourself decoy making kits to thousands of waterfowl hunters. In 1982, Art was interested in purchasing, for his own use, a number of really good looking, easy to handle, full body, field goose decoys.
After a lengthy search, it was apparent there was nothing available to suit his requirements. It seemed the only alternative, to acquire the quality hunting decoy he wanted, was to do what he had been doing most of his life, design and carve working decoys for his own satisfaction and use.
A True Hunting Decoy
Art's creation had to be a true hunting decoy, rugged, durable, and practical to use. Overall, it had to look better and be better than the popular stuffers preferred by many in the famous Chesapeake Bay goose hunting region. In 1984 Big Foot was introduced. Decoys Unlimited, the part time mail order business, was renamed Clinton Decoy Company, and the Big Foot Revolution began! Right from the start there was little doubt that Big Foot offered the goose hunter everything he could desire in a hunting decoy. Art never imagined that Big Foot would become so popular and continue to set the standard for full body decoys for thirty or more years. As it turned out, Big Foot was, and still is dollar for dollar your best buy.
Even with extra hard use, Big Foot is good for the long haul. It is possible that all the decoys sold in those first years are still in use today.
