Replica mounts, legitimacy, and other thoughts on the subject: Need feedback

[tjwierz2]

My replica mount will have the picture of the actual fish as part of the mount. I will be getting a 30" walleye done that I got on mille lacs this year.

Personally, I think trophies should be released to spawn and give others a chance at them. If people want to mount the real deal. Thats fine too.

If someone wants to fudge on a replica...go ahead. They know they didnt get it anyway. I dont get fish mounted for others...I get them for my own satisfaction.

[Jim W]

ST,

RIGHT ON!!!

Now, when ya gonna invite me up so we can chase
not only a "trophy" walleye, but that oh so selfish 55 incher!?

Keep the rods bendin'!!!

Jim W

[Mr. Pike1]

Fishing, like life comes down to some basic truths. It is all about integrety and respect. I respect the sport of fishing and those who participate in it. I for the moste part am a catch and release guy and I respect those who participate in the sport who make a choice to keep there prize fish and mount it. I would opt for CPR (catch, photo, release)of the large fish and opt for the replica mount. Considering what prevents one from making a mount that is not representative of the true size of the fish. Well this comes down to the one thing we each as an individual own. Our personal integrety. If you can't be true to yourself and act with integrety in everything that you do then you are heading down a dangerous path my friend...To quote shakspear "Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to decieve."

[This message has been edited by Mr. Pike1 (edited 08-02-2003).]

[Steve Foss]

The reason I'd submit pics with the measurements is so that the taxi can paint it the way it looks. If it came from a Canadian shield lake, it'd have a black back and gold sides, from Devils Lake, N.D., it'd probably be pretty green, from Lockport, Man., it'd have a green/blue back and silver sides.

So unless we caught the fish from the same type of water, the guy and I who pick up our replicas from the taxidermist would easily be able to tell them apart.

Unless I've been mistaken about custom painting. Don't they paint them to match pics if you bring those in?

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"Worry less, fish more."
Steve Foss
[email protected]

[Northlander]

I have caught many big eyes and didnt keep 1 of them. Some days I wish I would have others I dont. I do have the pics that sit in the table with thousands of others. Who sees them? Nobody! Good thing about replicas is I can take a picture with the #s and get my fish on the wall forever without shrinkage, discoloration etc.
These days there are a lot more trophys caught! Bigger faster boats, fantastic electronics, better gear of all sorts, Gps, the internet, resorts in previously unreachable waters all contribute to this.
S.t. is correct that most of the trophys arent as " Valuable" for spawning as are smaller fish, but they are invaluable as far as memories of a lifetime.
I would much rather release a trophy and watch it swim away than kill it to put on my wall. Do I think its wrong to mount a skin? No! Just hoping not everyone who catches a trophy doesnt kill it because more and more are caught every year.
Another thing is a guy on his 1st trip might find a 26" eye as a trophy when I might say a 33" is. Can you imagin how many 26" could go on walls? Thats a lot of eggs!
My 2 cents is CPMR. Catch, photo, measure and release.

[early007]

I've been in the fishing business here in the brainerd area and have seen the decline of the fisheries in size and numbers. Many people have said that keeping just one big fish wont hurt the lake. But what happens when 100 fisherman have that attitude. 100 spawning fish times how many eggs per fish? The problem is especially visible with walleyes and smallmouth bass. I am a huge fan of something that will last forever and is still swimming for another fisherman to enjoy. Plus photos will always back up your story.

[Dynasty]

Both sides have good points.....

Skin mounts- Its the actually fish, it may have been to old/stressed to live after release.

Replicas- Someone else gets the joy of catching it, still swims to help reproduce.

Plus did anyone think that the reason they have a trophy mount on there wall is because someone caught, released, and had a replica of that same fish put on theres?

At this point the only fish I want on my wall is a nice 6+ LM bass, and that will in all likelyness be a replica with a few nice pictures next to it.

I would also like to know the price difference. I have heard replicas are about $10 per an inch, and mounts are about $6 an inch. Dont quote me on that though.

[This message has been edited by Dynasty (edited 08-03-2003).]

[Guest]

Be it a skin, graphite, or fiberglass mount or a photo release, ethics is a factor in the final decision. Selective harvest, species genetics, system wide angling pressure, personal need, all considerations that an ethical angler should ponder before picking a mount option.

Skin mounts are a good and viable option for many species of fish. Yet some species do not skin mount easily, or at all, so a replica is a must if a live image mount is desired. A catfish is one example. Try to get a good skin mount of a catfish once.

The ethics of a skin mount is that final decision an angler must make at the time of the catch, or better yet, long before he sets the hook. Nobody else is needed for that decision.

As far as a "Cheater Mount", what possible personal satisfaction could that bring an angler? If an angler is so caught up with keeping up with the "Linders" that a Bogus mount is required, well.......they have bigger concerns then fish.

Personally I have 2 skin mounts. The first was just that, my first big walleye and my thinking was in that mode at the time. The second came years later and many big C&R walleye latter. She was a bleeder and beyond a healthy release. She would be poor table fare and way over 12# so it went on the wall.

Today I have no desire now to skin mount any further fish of any species. This is my personal preference, not a statement on skin mounts as a practice. I would now opt to do a replica because they last longer and fit my personal beliefs. I am far happier to know they are out there swimming no worse for the experience of bumping into me.

I fallow the belief that our footprint on this earth should be light ones whenever possible.

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Ed "Backwater Eddy" Carlson

Backwater Guiding "ED on the RED"
701-281-2300
[email protected]

[Guest]

One thing to keep in mind- at many large taxidermy houses, what you get is a replica unless you specify skin mount. Museums are using replicas.

Sure, I could order a 32" fiberglass walleye and put it on the wall. I could also buy a gillnetted 32" walleye and get it skin mounted. Meaningless, either way.

However, if I go into a taxidermist with several clear color photographs and accurate measurements of the trophy fish I released, I'll get a mount that is the exact size and coloration of that fish. It's just as much a true representation as a photograph is- call it a sculpture.

I don't have a problem with someone who wants to harvest a "once in a lifetime" fish. For myself, however, I'll always go out the next week with the intention of catching a bigger one. I don't have a fish on the wall, because I'm not willing to draw a line anywhere and say, "This is the biggest fish I'll ever catch". Maybe it is, but we'll have to wait and see.

Replicas last longer than skin mounts, and a well-done replica is nearly indistinguishable from the real thing (I'm not talking about those mass-produced plastic-looking fish you see in restaurants and sporting goods stores). A poorly done replica is every bit as ugly as a poorly done skin mount.

As far as the ethics of the mount, that's for the fisherman to live with. A few of the guys I know would do that, but I know who they are and I wouldn't believe them without sworn witnesses and notarized photographs anyway.

[This message has been edited by scubohuntr (edited 08-06-2003).]

[Redlantern]

A good friend of mine and I were icefishing when he caught and released a 22 pound Northern. It was his biggest fish ever and he had been saying anything over 20 pounds is going on the wall. He decided to release it. We got some pictures. I was proud to be his friend when he did that. Don't know why. Like others say, it was probably past it's prime for breeding. But I was still proud. Someday I'm going to surprise him with a replica of it for his birthday.

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Erik