Inventor’s corny idea drawing interest

COUNCIL BLUFFS — Sitting in a duck blind gives hunters a lot of time to be inventive, especially if the birds are landing somewhere else.

Like the time Mark Andersen of Council Bluffs tinkered with a 25-foot clear plastic hose and a duck call. More about that later.

Another time, camouflage-clad Andersen was hunting ducks and Canada geese near Pierre, S.D. He was freezing. Shooting was slow. He stood to peer out of the blind.

“I looked over and saw a bunch of ducks pouring into a field and I said, ‘What’s going on over there?’’’ Andersen said. “Well, a farmer had spilled a big pile of corn, and the ducks were just pouring on top of it to feed.’’

Andersen was inspired. Ducks and geese eat corn. Why not lure birds with waterfowl and corn decoys? Not using artificial ears of corn, but something that resembles a small pile of spilled corn kernels.

After nearly three years of designing and testing, Andersen’s patented and trademarked invention is for sale in 13 stores in six states and online.

He calls it “Cornouflage.’’

“I’m like any other duck and goose hunter,’’ Andersen said. “You look for any advantage — a bigger glow — that your spread (of decoys) would have to draw in the birds.’’

Cornouflage is a circular piece of non-ultraviolet fabric (birds can see ultraviolet light) printed with a photograph of field corn. The diameter is about 25 inches, but it twists and folds into a circle less than half that size for stuffing into a day pack. A plastic-coated steel cable is sewn into the rim of the cloth to give it stability.

Setting Cornouflage over a few dirt clods or pieces of corn stubble elevates the center of the cloth, giving it the appearance of spilled grain.

The fabric is printed at a plant in Tennessee that produces camouflage cloth for clothing manufacturers. A St. Paul, Minn., business produces the final product. Andersen and business partner Amy Gillett of Council Bluffs package and ship the product. Cornouflage sells for $38.95 each.

Andersen would not disclose figures, but said sales have been good since launching the product online in July. Its retail debut got good reviews from vendors at the Nation’s Best Sports trade show in Fort Worth, Texas, last month, he said.

Field tests filmed in southwest Iowa show white-tailed deer pawing and nibbling — nearly fighting — over a Cornouflage device. Wild turkeys approach, cock their heads and give it a close look.

“The key is to put them in places where you know there is deer traffic,’’ he said.

Andersen initially tried to eliminate human scent on Cornouflage in field tests by hanging the devices in the open air for at least 24 hours before setting them out. Now he sells bottles of scent blocker with a sweet corn smell for deer hunters to drip on Cornouflage.

“Set a spread of feeder (duck) decoys around three or four Cornouflages, and it looks really good,’’ Andersen said. “They really pop out in snow.’’

Hunters in most states, including Nebraska and Iowa, are not allowed to bait wildlife by setting out corn, apples or other edible lures. Cornouflage is legal because it isn’t edible.

Andersen, 46, owns and operates Andersen Construction Co. He is an inventor who isn’t afraid of his hunting buddies’ jokes when a gimmick flops. He once wondered why duck calls come from the blind and not from decoys in the water.

“So I got this big long hose and put the call on the end out in the ducks,’’ he said. “I’d sit in the blind and puff, puff, puff and it’d be quiet in the blind, but out in the ducks you’d hear the quack, quack, quack. It would wind you. Everybody was laughing. We had a lot of fun with it.’’

Some are laughing at his latest invention, too. Cornouflage is generating hunter buzz on Internet chat rooms. Many are skeptical. One person said it could always be used as a welcome mat.

Does Cornouflage work for waterfowl?

It didn’t hurt his snow goose hunt last spring in northwest Missouri. Duck season where Andersen hunts in southwest Iowa started Saturday. But Andersen wasn’t optimistic that he would be patient enough to give Cornouflage a true test.

“I never get the chance to ask the ducks,’’ Andersen said. “I get excited when the ducks come in and shoot them before they land.’’

Contact the writer:

444-1127, david.hendee@owh.com