Swamp staff?

[Steve Sanford]

Kevin~

I used Cypress for the 3 fins/blades/toes. Clear White Pine would work as well.

The important thing is to run the grain of each blade parallel to the outside edge when you lay them out (otherwise they would be very susceptible to splitting off). I flattened the mating face on the pole with a plane then screwed and epoxied each in place. Finally, I coated the whole "foot" with epoxy + duckboat paint. The rest of the pole gets just linseed oil.

Hope this helps,

SJS

 

[Jim Boyer]

Many years ago and old friend told me about using a ski pole in the marsh. My dear wife is a "garage sale rat" and I placed an order. A few weeks later, I had seven. Since then, I never leave the shore or boat without one. "Night and day" pretty much describes the difference.

 

[Kevin B]

Kevin, I use a 6ft guide boat paddle with a notch on the blade for decoys

 

[william gaynor]

I use an old ski pole that I covered with camo tape to reduce the glare.