Brad Snodgrass was born in the heart of the Lake Country in Northern Minnesota to a family with a strong water-fowling tradition. As a boy, Brad hunted over his grandfather’s rigs which included carvings by Elliston, Schoenheider and his grandfather’s cousin, Hiram Hotze, Brad is pleased to report that most survived his shots at low flying birds and have been retired to places of honor on the fireplace mantel.
Brad’s own carving career didn’t begin until he moved to Juneau, Alaska to take a teaching job and pursue hunting and fishing. He had the good fortune to find an old WWII Balsa-wood life-raft washed up on the beach and a friend with a chain saw and a draw knife. Brad carved a rig of hunting decoys that he would hunt over for almost 30 years.
After 37 years in Alaska, Brad moved to Northern California, across the Trinity River from his long-time mentor, friend and carving champion, Dennis Schroeder. Brad met Dennis at the California Open in 1991, and Dennis agreed to help Brad improve his decoy carving skills in exchange for a fishing trip to Alaska. The two had so much fun, they repeated this experience on several occasions. They still carve together whenever time and circumstances allow.
Since moving to California, Brad has realized his dream of competing regularly in the West Coast carving competitions. He has quickly become well known for his decorative decoys and is frequently a top finisher in the shows he enters. He is also frequently asked to conduct seminars on texturing, air brushing and carving.
Brad’s interest in Sea Ducks, which he hunted and observed extensively while in Alaska have led him to sponsor a Sea Duck carving competition at the Pacific Flyway Decoy Competition in Sacramento in hopes of bringing those beautiful birds more into focus for other carvers around the country.