Keep it for a skin mount or have a replica made?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Shawn O'Connell on February 4, 2011 at 3:54pm

Personally I think the replicas if done properly are much nicer, less maintenance and have a longer life.

Permalink Reply by Jake Anderson on February 4, 2011 at 3:58pm

There's nothing to think about Larrick.   Get a replica done.  You will feel better knowing you turned the fish back to the water alive after a picture, a lenth, and a girth, and you will have the replica for as long as you are alive that looks good with the wipe of a cloth. 

 

 

Permalink Reply by Jon Werner on February 4, 2011 at 7:26pm

Replica

Permalink Reply by Chris Blandi on February 4, 2011 at 7:56pm

Replica

Permalink Reply by dave meyers on February 4, 2011 at 8:21pm

Replica

Permalink Reply by Kevin Bye on February 4, 2011 at 8:23pm

I would say replica,depending on who does the work. I've seen some real quality stuff by a few and have seen a few bad ones....real bad. Like they were painted by Ray Charles.

I'm sure there are some local replica creators but not sure who or where.

Heres a couple links to some well known replica makers,they do a lot of musky and northerns but seem

to do pretty well with bass as well.

http://fittantereplicas.com/index.shtml

http://www.laxreproduction.com/index.html

http://www.stenzelfish.com/

Permalink Reply by Mark Byrne on February 4, 2011 at 8:26pm

Replica

Permalink Reply by Rodney Heupel on February 4, 2011 at 9:20pm

Replica

Permalink Reply by Steve Hastings on February 4, 2011 at 9:40pm

 

I admire the skill required to produce a quality real mccoy, but I'd go for the replica myself.  I am not sure if there is an actual difference in value as an antique or  to a collector, decorator, etc (people collect some strange things, another dudes personal best wouldn't be something I would have much interest in)

 

Maybe one exception is if there is something special in the situation, like it was that fish KVD caught in Pittsburgh to leap frog everyone to win the classic . no record just a special fish.

Permalink Reply by Ben Holten on February 5, 2011 at 1:21am

You can't convince me that a replica looks better. Cruise around Cabelas and you can see 100's of replicas and they don't look quiet right. Now they may look cleaner, and be easier to maintain but they do not look as life like.

 

And second---- "Yes Mr. Taxidermist I caught a 12 lb smallmouth on the river yesterday and I would like to have a replica made of it." --- Anyone can get a replica made of any size fish.

Permalink Reply by Kevin Stenzel on February 5, 2011 at 6:08am

Just stumbled upon this thread (great website by the way!) and thought I would chime in. I've been doing fish taxidermy for almost 40 years now so know a little about the subject. My personal preference is replica's simply because I can produce a more convincing replica than skin mount. If someone brings me a frozen fish, I usually attempt to convince that customer to let me custom mold it as opposed to doing a skin mount because it's a much better product in the end. Not all taxidermists are equal however and it pays to do your homework as I've seen way too many many replica's (& skin mounts too) that I would never hang on my wall. I've posted a couple video's on here showing the process of creating a LM Bass Replica if anyone is curious how it's done. No secrets here!

Permalink Reply by Jeff Grimes on February 5, 2011 at 7:03am

I have both Smallmouth and Largemouth replicas on the wall.......and they look better than a real fish mount.  I have seen many real mounts over the years in the Midwest and South....and they deteriorate and fade and tend to fall apart over time.  

 

A good Taxidermist can replicate the fish colors and features such as dark spots or distinguishing marks from a photo.  You can look at my Smallmouth and compare it to the picture and can not tell the difference. The Largemouth was done in Texas , which was I believe where the replicas first started as a result of the Share a Lunker Program, and it looks great.

 

As someone said before, it also is a good feeling to know that you released a trophy fish for someone else to possibly catch later.

 

Take good pictures and measurements and  let the fish go.

 

On my page, there are 3 consecutive photos of me releasing one .

 

 

Jeff

Kevin Stenzel said:

Just stumbled upon this thread (great website by the way!) and thought I would chime in. I've been doing fish taxidermy for almost 40 years now so know a little about the subject. My personal preference is replica's simply because I can produce a more convincing replica than skin mount. If someone brings me a frozen fish, I usually attempt to convince that customer to let me custom mold it as opposed to doing a skin mount because it's a much better product in the end. Not all taxidermists are equal however and it pays to do your homework as I've seen way too many many replica's (& skin mounts too) that I would never hang on my wall. I've posted a couple video's on here showing the process of creating a LM Bass Replica if anyone is curious how it's done. No secrets here!

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next ›
• Page