Joe Salato has been an avid waterfowl hunter since he shot his first duck at the age of eight. He grew up in the Finger Lakes area of upstate New York and hunted the Atlantic Flyway. In 1984, he moved to Minnesota, where he grew to love the abundant wildlife and picturesque Midwestern wilderness.

	Joe Salato - Inventor of the Wing Waver - with Buck

Joe has hunted much of Minnesota and Wisconsin. He recently hunted snow geese in South Dakota with former Vikings head coach, Bud Grant. However, each fall you can regularly find him in Hastings, MN on the Mississippi river, where his unique calling skills have made him a notable figure.

Joe has been photographed by Ducks Unlimited photographer, Bill Buckley for the pictorial, The Waterfowler's World. He has also written an analysis of the impact of robotized decoys on the waterfowl population, which has been reviewed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

The idea for Wing Wavers, like many good ideas, was born out of frustration. Although Joe had a vast and varied supply of decoys, it had become obvious that despite his calling skills, the birds had become decoy shy. He introduced motion to his spread by utilizing the only product available on the market at that time, a flag. Flag waving was very effective in drawing attention to his spread, however once the birds drew in close, and the motion was stopped or the waver was spotted, the birds flared. Joe realized there had to be a more effective way to lure the birds in close without being seen.

Joe began work on the Wing Waver decoys in 1999. He has field tested them for three years and has found them to be a very effective tool for adding motion to any decoy spread.