After band-sawing the profile and roughing out the body, the Merganser duck is clamped firmly so it'll be easier to work on. I left the tail part still squared so the clamp would hold tight. The first live Merganser I ever saw was on the East Branch of the Delaware River in the Catskills. There were a two on the far side of the river where I was casting for rising trout. I couldn't reach the other bank with my cast. I got as close as I could without filling my waders. These Mergansers were catching fish. I've been intrigued by decoys carved by others. The Merganser has a narrow bill which has serrations on the edges which really help for catching fish. I understand their Mom doesn't feed them, they catch their own. Within 12 days they're catching fish. My kind of duck. One decoy I recall had coarse hair inserted at the rear of the head to represent the crest, I going the carve the feathers in rather than implant hair. I'm also working on refining the way I do Crows, another bird I find fascinating. I'll show them both finished in a later posting.
