Fish mounted

[cheese]

What size would your fish have to be before you consider mounting it? a) Steelhead Largemouth c) Walleye?

 

Do you know a good taxidermist east of TO, west of Belleville?

 

Still looking for a big one, BG

[zman]

I got a 14lb Steelhead done from advanced

They did the best job

[Bob]

Only fish I ever had mounted was a lake trout just under 36" and I didn't get it done because it was a major trophy but because it was such a pretty fish. Most lakers get fat like a football but this one was long and slender and looked really nice. A fellow named Haegemann on Hwy 17 near the Espanola turnoff did it for me but I think he's retired now. What an artist he was though.

[Terry]

world record.......but that's just me

 

whatever one considers a trophy could be stuffed or fiberglassed

[ccmtcanada]

Depends on the person and the circumstances under which it was caught.

 

My wife (bly) caught a trophy walleye this past fall. We catch and release all walleye that we land, however, this one took the lure very deep and after over a 1/2 hour of trying to revive it, it didn't make it. Instead of having it to go waste, we are looking to have it mounted.

 

I could see why someone would mount a fish if there were sentimental reasons behind the catch. Maybe 3 generations fishing together and the youngest catches a huge fish....mount that one cause it's special. Maybe a bad example, but you get my drift.

 

Maybe if you entered a tournament and you had the winning fish...why not remember the win by mounting it?

 

Just a few examples to ponder.

[lew]

An old friend of mine owns Havelock Taxidermy and has been in the business for 20 odd years and does very nice work.

 

He did this one for me about 10 years ago and it still looks as good today.

 

I would never normally keep a large fish like this but the bait snagged her gills and she bled out and died, so I figured she would make a nice mount and had it done.

 

Havelock isn't too far north of you so it's something to keep in mind.

 

http://www.havelocktaxidermy.com

 

[GbayGiant]

I'm not going to lie I would probably keep a WR, anything else other than small shore lunch swims away, like Terry said get a girth and length measurement along with some nice close pictures and the replicas can look just as good or better. If your going to eat the meat that you mount than at least it's not a waist.

 

Plus I can't aford to get mounts.

[outdoorguy61]

I would look at a replica done by Ron Reynolds in Adolphustown or Advanced Taxidermy in I believe Scarborough.

 

outdoorguy61

[Steve]

something to consider re replica mounts...

 

in order to have your replica mount done, the artist needs to have a mould made with the same specs of the fish your looking to mount.....

 

most folks on here mount Quinte Walleye.....sure, why not? they are easy to catch a 'trophy'.

 

however, many folks think, you should be releasing them, why not get a replica mount?

 

Well, i thought the same thing.....and my three biggest walleye, i've called advanced taxidermy.

 

Not one could be done.....they dont have mounts for fish that are short (28",29") by girths such as (20",21",22").

 

The fish with those girths are easily over 13lbs.....Advanced doesn't have any Walleye with those measurements....

 

Sometimes SKIN is the only way. (in those cases, i let the fish go)

Edited April 10, 2007 by Steve

[Eddyk]

I had a 12lb. Pickeral mounted for my son years ago. I dont know the name of the taxidermist but its on Hwy 45 about 10 k north of Cobourg. They do good work. If your interesred PM Ron. He would probably know their name.

Edited April 10, 2007 by Eddyk

[PAZE]

one thing i would like to remind many of you considering REPLICA mounts...

 

in order to have your replica mount done, the artist needs to have a mould made with the same specs of the fish your looking to mount.....

 

most folks on here mount Quinte Walleye.....sure, why not? they are easy to catch a 'trophy'.

 

however, many folks think, you should be releasing them, why not get a replica mount?

 

Well, i thought the same thing.....and my three biggest walleye, i've called advanced taxidermy.

 

Not one could be done.....they dont have mounts for fish that are short (28",29") by girths such as (20",21",22").

 

The fish with those girths are easily over 13lbs.....

 

However, good luck getting a replica mount done.....Advanced doesn't have any Walleye with those measurements....

 

Sometimes SKIN is the only way. (in those cases, i let the fish go)

Very true,This has happend to me aswell, but not with advance, what most people dont realise to get a replica made, a fish of the same girth and lenght had to be killed, so when you catch that trophy or world record get ready to kill for a replica or just get something smaller.

[jeffw]

I'm just getting into taxidermy and can tell you that replicas are the way to go.

Steve there are many commercial made replicas that are probally available. Try taking a look at Van Dykes Taxidermy. some taxidermists might paint and prep a replica body for you. Also take a look at [post=taxidermy. net

]www.taxidermy.net[/post]

Cheers Jeff

[camillj]

I did a 11.5 lb Pickeral back in the early eighties ..... in those days that was considered a once in a life time fish .... now you just go to quinte ... but this was from a little lake up in the Calabogie district .... anyhow it was done by a guy in Brockville named Jack Wilson .... a spectacular skin mount .. one of the best I have ever seen (in fact he asked my permission to keep a mold for future use) .... it has aged little over the past 25 years ... but not nearly as much as many I have seen and still looks almost as good as they day I got it.

 

 

A few years back I did a little 19" Speck for my daughter ... the guys at Advanced (Weston Road in Toronto) did a masterpiece job on a replica mount ... even though I gave them the fish they talked me into the replica .... I cannot tell it isnt a skin mount ... except that 5 years later it still looks exactly as it did the day I got it.

 

Edit :

 

I just did a google search for Jack Wilson ... and (I guess it makes sense since it has been 25 years) ... he has passed away but was considered one of the best in the world .... no wonder I am so happy with the mount

Edited April 10, 2007 by camillj

[Rattletrap2]

Advanced Taxidermy has relocated to King Sideroad near Hwy 10. They do nice work (very nice!) but are pricey.

I don't buy all the stuff I have heard about skin mounts not lasting. They will last just fine if they are done right. And they don't need to take 2 years to be done right either!

 

I have used Jeff Brain on Hwy 11 near Orillia several times and this guy is a true master with the air brush! He does them right and has the artistic talent to paint them up too.

 

As for size, that is entirely up to you. The fish I have on my wall are there because they would not have made it after being hooked and I have them for my enjoyment to look at all winter long. They are not there for bragging rights, so "trophy" size was not a consideration.

[DT10Sam]

Well this can be a can of worms at times wanting to keep or replicas. For those that know me I have been doing taxidermy for over 30 years and I have a couple of salmon skin mounts in my store that were mounted in 1986 and they are just doing fine and look just as good as when they were mounted 21 years ago. I also mounted a display of 6 walleyes that I did 7 years ago and they also look like they were mounted just recently.

 

Replicas of course are a great way to remember your trophies as explained and of course they also had to have a trophy killed in order to produce a mould of which replicas can be cast from. Alot of new taxidermists prefer to paint replicas as they do not have the many years of experience to understand the anatomy of the specimen that they are going to mount since the replicas are anatomically correct. All they have to do is some prep work and paint them. It is much more difficult to produce a top notch skin mount.

 

As for the taxidermist with the greatest experience in reproductions I would not hesitate to contact James or Shawn from Advanced Taxidermy they are by far the leaders in the business with many years of experience and their many world class awards speak for themselves. Investigate your taxidermist that you are about to get the work done from and look into their quality of work there are many out there with many years of experience nad I might ad that they have been doing the same work for years and some of their work is not satisfactory and they have been doing it wrong for years. Keep in mind that fish taxidermy is artwork and not how much can you do it for and how fast.

 

I am now only doing big game mounts both shoulder mounts and life-size mounts and the only fish that I do is for my family, sorry I will not take any fish specimens. Remember price dictates the expertice of the taxidermist that you choose and ones that have been around the industry for many years and many more years to come.

 

Hope this was of help.

 

Best regards,

Sam

[lunkerbasshunter]

when i was a teenager i always said i would mount a smallmouth that was 4pounds or more. Caught some 4 pounders and let them all go. in todays times a 4 pound smallmouth is a nice fish but not really a tropy. I would say I would get a repilca mount of a 6pounder.

 

Walleye i would get a replica of anything over 12.

 

Not sure if i would ever get a real fish mount unless the fish couldnt be released.

 

Cheers!

[Chris]

The next legal muskie I catch will be going to a taxidermist.

[mpt]

Nothing less than 52".

[walleyejigger]

if it weren't so expensive, i'd definately get some mounts,

 

being a hobbyist cabinet maker/craftsman i'd love to make one of those coffee tables with a couple of pickeral mounted inside, but $$$$$$, so i've been thinking of making a sort of lamp with a couple of small perch inside 8" or so, making it look like an underwater seen, i have the vision in my mind i just gotta do it

[Crazyhook]

The next legal muskie I catch will be going to a taxidermist.

 

 

Still on that eh

[fishdawg]

I would like to have a mount or two done sometime down the road....

it wouldnt be for ego-boosting sake... and it wouldnt neccessarily have to be a record or a PB< but I think a fish or two (skin or replica) would like nice in the basement... still waiting for the "right" fish, not sure what it will be, but when i get it i'll know

as of now I am thinking a nice brown trout & a beatifully barred smallie, but we'll see