A Decoy Corner Article
By Bruce Urben, WWA President
Charles Brisky II, photo courtesy Wisconsin Sporting Collectibles
Charles W. Brisky was born in July, 1951 in Berlin, WI, the son of Florian (Bill) Brisky and John Rodensal Brisky. Charlie graduated from Berlin High School in 1969. He was married to his wife, Jill (Katzenski), in September of 1982 and together they had a son, William (Willie). Charlie lived his entire life in Berlin and was the co-owner of Brisky Heating and Cooling in Berlin for over 40 years. Charlie was a decoy maker, duck call maker, skeet shooter and had a passion for duck hunting from an early age. Both his father and grandfather were avid waterfowlers. Charlie’s regular hunting buddies were Ron Koch and Joe Gonyo. Charlie was a member of the Sawbill Duck Club and made all of the decoys for that club! He is the grandson of Charlie Brisky I (1889-1979) who was also a noted decoy carver in Berlin.
Charles Brisky Canvasbacks. Photo courtesy Wisconsin Sporting Collectibles.
Charles learned the decoy carving business quickly and carved a number of rigs for his own use. He studied with longtime Wisconsin carver, Les Beattie (1912-1999), and it is told he developed his painting skill from Les. Charlie’s decoys are bold, hollow and high headed. He made several thousand decoys in his lifetime, outputting over 100 decoys a year, with many going out of his shop before the paint was even dry.
Charles Brisky Coot. Photo courtesy Wisconsin Sporting Collectibles.
Berlin, WI, has been a decoy making and duck hunting community for over one hundred years. Charlie upheld the carving tradition of the area, which was approved by all the old timers who came before him. He carved most species, including, coot, canvasback, mallard, widgeon, merganser, Teal, wood duck, shoveler, ruddy, bluebill, pintail, black duck, geese and even seagulls. A number of his decoys were oversized, particularly those used in his own rig; he claimed they were easier for the ducks to see. His decoys were hollow, quite boldly painted with acrylic and a number with oil paint. Most of his heads were of the high style with excellent bill carving.
Charlie’s decoys are in high demand by collectors and have sold at auction for hundreds of dollars.
Charles Brisky Canvasback. Photo courtesy Wisconsin Sporting Collectibles.
Charlie W. Brisky ll died unexpectantly on May 14, 2012 at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton, WI.
Below is an excerpt written by Ron Koch and printed in Hunting and Fishing Collectibles Magazine (July-August 2012 edition, now out of business). As written by Ron Koch:
“Among those in attendance at Charlie’s funeral were the members of the Sawbill Duck Club and other duck hunters. After the service at the church all donned camo hats and formed a line as his body was carried to the hearse. After the graveside service, the Club members gathered and blew their duck calls for several minutes… many of them had calls that Charlie made for them. When the calling stopped, one of the Club members fired 2 shots from Charlie’s double gun… and yes, the shells were Federal Black Cloud, his favorite shell…”
The Brisky decoy gifted to Bruce Urben by fellow board member, and Charles Brisky friend, Joe Gonyo.
Here is a photo of an oversized bluebill decoy made by Charlie and used in his rig. It was presented to me as a gift by Joe Gonyo, WWA’s longtime Board Director and hunting partner of Charlie. Thank you Joe! A decoy I will cherish, and one with history and tradition by one of Wisconsin’s finest carvers.