Bringing Decoys to Life Attracts Waterfowl

MOUND CITY, Mo. - With little wind blowing early Saturday morning, most of the 300 decoys the hunters had put out were still and lifeless.

But there were some noticeable exceptions.

Six of the imitations were dipping and darting around on the surface of the marsh near the Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, creating life-like activity on the water.

Why the stark contrast? Pan to the blind, where Brett Ware was at the controls, using a remote device to create movement in the battery-operated decoys he helped design.

"It's like those remote-control boats we used to play with when we were kids," said Ware, who runs the Ultimate Hunter Co. that...