Is it possible to get a replica with only weight and pictures?

[22RangerZ520R]

Here's my .02...

 

There's a reason why a Lamborghini costs more than a Kia!!!!  

 

Like what has been said above, I did a ton of research before going with Dave Campbell and his name came up several times as being one of, if not the best in the country.  Most of the other big replica companies did a simple/basic air brush paint job on the fish, they looked "ok", but I'm not satisfied with just "ok".  I wanted the best and although I initially had sticker shock with Dave's "master grade" fish finishes, after recently getting my PB largemouth from him I can say it was worth every penny and the mount will last a lifetime.  Save up the money and get quality.  "Cut corners" elsewhere in life... eat Ramen noodles or something for a few months and save up the coin to get a quality mount.  You don't want to have the mount hanging on the wall and have "buyers remorse"......  I find myself going into my office multiple times a day just to take a glance at my mount...LOL.  Dave's working on my PB smallie as we speak, can't wait to see it in person.  

 

Good luck with your search for a taxidermist, give Dave Campbell a look and compare his work to all others out there and you'll see for yourself.....  My largemouth mount he just finished is on his website and Facebook, plus I posted it in this forum too.

 

www.davecampbellfish.com 

[slonezp]

2 hours ago, 18RangerZ520L said:

Here's my .02...

 

There's a reason why a Lamborghini costs more than a Kia!!!!  

 

Like what has been said above, I did a ton of research before going with Dave Campbell and his name came up several times as being one of, if not the best in the country.  Most of the other big replica companies did a simple/basic air brush paint job on the fish, they looked "ok", but I'm not satisfied with just "ok".  I wanted the best and although I initially had sticker shock with Dave's "master grade" fish finishes, after recently getting my PB largemouth from him I can say it was worth every penny and the mount will last a lifetime.  Save up the money and get quality.  "Cut corners" elsewhere in life... eat Ramen noodles or something for a few months and save up the coin to get a quality mount.  You don't want to have the mount hanging on the wall and have "buyers remorse"......  I find myself going into my office multiple times a day just to take a glance at my mount...LOL.  Dave's working on my PB smallie as we speak, can't wait to see it in person.  

 

Good luck with your search for a taxidermist, give Dave Campbell a look and compare his work to all others out there and you'll see for yourself.....  My largemouth mount he just finished is on his website and Facebook, plus I posted it in this forum too.

 

www.davecampbellfish.com 

Dave's work looks really nice. I have 4 skin mounts done by 3 different taxidermists and would recommend only one of them. Marty Shimkus from fish specialties. He's a real artist. Only does fish. He did a bluegill mount for me with (3) 10+ inch bluegills. He requested as many pics as he could so he could match the local and seasonal colors of the fish. I dropped off the fish and we went over every option for mounts etc. He showed me his works in progress, both replica and skin mounts, restoration work, and a replica he was doing for a museum.  He called me later and told me they weren't bluegills (what do I know) and that based on the build and coloring, he believed they were a bluegill/sunfish hybrid and did I want them to look like bluegills or a hybrid. (attention to detail).

As far as the other mounts, I had my PB LMB and a SMB done by another guy. The LMB is a nice mount but looks nothing like the pics I provided him. My bass had big eyes and a distended belly, the mount does not (no attention to detail) The way paint on the SMB flows from the side to the belly makes the fish appear smaller than it is because the belly paint was brought up too high on the sides. Also have a 2lb crappie. Again, a nice mount, but I'm not happy with the way he shaped the fins (no attention to detail).

 

OP good luck with your search for the perfect guy to replicate your hawg. 

[hawgenvy]

Seems like prices for a 25" bass mount vary from around $450 to $2500.

 

If I purchased a bass replica mount my wife would make me hide it where nobody would ever see it, or in the garage. Partly (40%) because she'd be ticked I spent the money, and partly (60%) because she thinks fish mounts are corny and kitschy. I have a great 8x10 photo of me with a 7-pound LMB, and even that I had to take to the office to display it.

 

I'm just sayin', check with the boss before you blow big $$ on a mount.

 

[Bassman37]

Fabulous bass...it must have been exciting to catch and land. Congrats!!!

[P.A.L.]

You could load that pic into a few different programs and use known measurements to get a pretty accurate measurement. Draw a line corner to corner on the brim of that hat and use those measurements to to measure the fish. Assuming you still have the hat to get a measurement for comparison.