Is It Wrong To Mount A Bass?

[OkobojiEagle]

Does your state specifically exempt a skin mount from your posession limit?

oe

[SirSnookalot]

Your legally caught fish is your choice on it's fate.

[Fish Chris]

If you keep a bass for the wall when it weighed 5 lbs, you will have single handedly hurt your own chances of catching a 6 lb'er next year.

Pretty much everyone who plays this game long enough, will eventually come to the same conclusion, which is that it is not only possible to re-catch trophy bass, after a release, but in reality, it's quite probable...... Unless, of course, you hang it on the wall.

No problem for me. I don't even fish the same waters you do. But why a person would want to hurt their own future odds of catching a bigger bass, I have no idea.

If I release a big bass, and you catch it later, that's great ! Hat's off to you. But I'm not going to kid you...... I didn't release that fish to help "your odds" of catching a big bass.... I released it to help my own !

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anyway, replicas are where it's at.

Here's a shot of the replicas for my 18.4 and my 16.5

BTW, if these were skin mounts, I'd probably be too embarrassed to post photos of them here.

Peace,

Fish

[Bob C]

Catch two. Get one mounted and fry the other one.

[tomustang]

If you keep a bass for the wall when it weighed 5 lbs, you will have single handedly hurt your own chances of catching a 6 lb'er next year.

Pretty much everyone who plays this game long enough, will eventually come to the same conclusion, which is that it is not only possible to re-catch trophy bass, after a release, but in reality, it's quite probable...... Unless, of course, you hang it on the wall.

Hey Chris, you forgot to mention 5 years ago someone who was keeping bass greatly increased the chance of that 5lber growing up to be what it is so you have the opportunity to catch it next year. After all bass are cannibals, and love eating their own

[Raul]

Here the strongest argument about this dilemma between mounting or not is this, it has nothing to do with you being right or wrong, caught legally it´s yours to do with it whatever you want, one of the things I like about fishing and practicing C&R is that the chances of you recatching that fish later is that you may catch it bigger than before, you have it mounted well, it ain´t gonna grow larger mounted on the wall.

[Tony Monticelli]

that's why some of the clubs ive hunted that have to many deer or trying to have more mature bucks have the buck mount rule.. you shoot a buck it getting mounted, because lets face it when someone has 8 does in there field and the second a spike horn walks out, bang !!!! really why? theres a deer problem here you need meat shoot 4 of those does not Bambi. and the same people wonder why they never get the big buck, and then they have the nerve to complain why do i have to mount this its not a big buck, really you should have though about that before you pulled the trigger.

[Tony Monticelli]

on the other hand ive run into a few that never shot any bucks never seen a buck in the woods for years of hunting and then they get a spike horn and there is no question in there mind, there mounting it and smile all the way to the taxidermist, im always like wow do i feel like a spoiled brat.

[BASS-Master01]

Just get the measurements or if you do not care about the bigger bass breeding then go for it.

[Edgy]

Never mounted a fish before due to the lakes i fish most often are only catch and release. They are private neighborhood lakes. But if i ever catch a big one at some of the reservoirs i fish then i might.

[Teh]

I'd be lying if I didnt say my gut tells me it's wrong/waste, and only to kill if its going to use (food, etc). But then again faking them out of a meal and jabbing a hook through their jaw doesnt exactly make me a saint either. Just my opinion, you know what they say about those!

[Bass-minded]

Today's releases are tomorrow's trophys. So graphite or fiberglass replicas are the way to go.

[tomustang]

Today's releases are tomorrow's trophys.

Or bird food

[Mattlures]

A "FAKE" mount is a better representation of your fish then a skin mount. A "FAKE" mount is more accurate and correct.

Look at it this way. Say you were to mout a human. Lets say Elvis. You would skin him, preserve the skin and then stretch accross a manikin. How close do you think the "real" mount would look like Elvis ? Probably wouldnt. Now lets say you make a casting of him and make an Elvis repplica. It the hair and make up was done right it would look just like him. Ever see those wax museum people? they look real. Now back to a fish. A replica is a casting of an actual fish and they have all the detail you could see with out a magnifying glass. A perplica is superior in EVERY possible way. with a skin mount, the taxidermist has to cure the skin properly. He has to mont the skin correctly(which almost never happens). I can pick out mounting flaws in just about every skin mount done except for world class taxidermy.with a replica you automatical start with a correct mount. After a small amount of prep and eye setting ( you have do just as much with a skin mount) it all comes down to how good the taxidermist can paint. The best a skin mount can ever look is equal to how a replica looks if the painting is equal. Given time a skin mount will never look as good as the replica. A skin mount is a rotting decompsing fish skin over a foam manikin.

I have done both skin mounts and replicas and its not even close. I have accidentaly killed a couple big bass and I didnt even skin mount those. I made molds and made replicas.Do I have anything against mounting a bass doing a skin mount? Not realy against the mount itself. I just know how superior a "fake" replica is. It is a more accurate representation of the fish you caugh if you take good pics, measurements, and choose a good taxidermist. The argument shouldnt be whats more real, it should be, whats the better product. The added benift is the fish can also be released.

[tomustang]

A "FAKE" mount is a better representation of your fish then a skin mount. A "FAKE" mount is more accurate and correct.

Look at it this way. Say you were to mout a human. Lets say Elvis. You would skin him, preserve the skin and then stretch accross a manikin. How close do you think the "real" mount would look like Elvis ? Probably wouldnt. Now lets say you make a casting of him and make an Elvis repplica. It the hair and make up was done right it would look just like him. Ever see those wax museum people? they look real. Now back to a fish. A replica is a casting of an actual fish and they have all the detail you could see with out a magnifying glass. A perplica is superior in EVERY possible way. with a skin mount, the taxidermist has to cure the skin properly. He has to mont the skin correctly(which almost never happens). I can pick out mounting flaws in just about every skin mount done except for world class taxidermy.with a replica you automatical start with a correct mount. After a small amount of prep and eye setting ( you have do just as much with a skin mount) it all comes down to how good the taxidermist can paint. The best a skin mount can ever look is equal to how a replica looks if the painting is equal. Given time a skin mount will never look as good as the replica. A skin mount is a rotting decompsing fish skin over a foam manikin.

I have done both skin mounts and replicas and its not even close. I have accidentaly killed a couple big bass and I didnt even skin mount those. I made molds and made replicas.Do I have anything against mounting a bass doing a skin mount? Not realy against the mount itself. I just know how superior a "fake" replica is. It is a more accurate representation of the fish you caugh if you take good pics, measurements, and choose a good taxidermist. The argument shouldnt be whats more real, it should be, whats the better product. The added benift is the fish can also be released.

As I'm curious, How long does a skin mount last vs a replica?

Also, since replicas seem to be a better choice from what you're saying, is there a chart or checklist on how to measure/record a bass, besides Length/Width/Girth

[Fish Chris]

Hey Chris, you forgot to mention 5 years ago someone who was keeping bass greatly increased the chance of that 5lber growing up to be what it is so you have the opportunity to catch it next year. After all bass are cannibals, and love eating their own

Tom, selective harvest "can be" a good thing > in a place that is overpopulated with small fish. To be honest though, most of my favorite trophy lakes are not overpopulated with small fish, which is why they are good trophy lakes to begin with. And the top end in these lakes will not be helped with any harvest of bass, of any size.

As for bass loving to eat there own..... eh.... They will, if they don't have many options, but I think given the choice, there are many other sources of forage that a bass greatly prefers over smaller bass; worms, minnows, crawdads, and trout, to name a few.

In any case, the fish we are talking about keeping for the wall, are trophy sized already, and IMPO, their is never a good reason to kill a fish like this.

Heck, if C/R a 15 lb'er, which was already near the end of its lifespan, and it shrunk to 14 lbs before you caught caught it a couple months later, I bet you'd still be pretty happy with a 14 'er, huh ?

Peace,

Fish

[WRB]

How long does a skin mount last? A good skin mount can last 50 years displayed in controlled environment where heat and moisture doesn't degrade it, however it will deteriorate and lose color and fade.

I have 3 skin mounts; 10.2 rainbow trout I caught at lake Tahoe in '55, 12.4 northern strain LMB at lake Casitas in '71 (died from stress). 37 lb musky from Lake of the Woods (died from stress). All 3 mounts look faded and need to be repainted. The problem with repainting a skin mount is the skin and scales are deteriorated and very expensive to repair. I have 2 replica mounts; 18.6 from Casitas in '81 and 19.3 from Castiac in '93, both are Florida strain LMB. The replica mounts look as good today as they did they day I picked them up; bright life like coloration and no deterioration. A replica mount can be repainted or refreshed and will last a very long time.

I can't see why anyone would want a skin mount today. All you need is a good photo to show the color, length and girth to help with shape and weight, no reason to kill the fish if you handle them properly. Stress can kill fish when you handle them poorly and keep them out of the water too long for photo's, measuring and weight; refresh the fish in cool water between each step, trophy size fish are rare and should be treated with care.

Tom

[Hyrule Bass]

replicas just dont do it for me. i actually prefer the looks of skins mounts. i dont think it is wrong at all to skin mount a bass. it comes down to a matter of preference really. i just feel like i can go anywhere and buy a replica of a fish...

[John G]

After seeing pics of the various replicas that have been posted, I have changed my mind. Unless it's a record of some sort, I wouldn't kill a bass just to have it mounted.

[Bob C]

The next 3lb bass I catch, I'll release. Then, I'll get a 7lb replica made.

[Midnight Splash2]

I never keep a bass unless it cant swim away after the release. My biggest so far came just shy of 7 and I released it without hesitation. However, when I do catch one 9 or better she will have seen her last day. Whenever that time comes, I will have put countless hours and spent thousands of dollars to feel I have earned the right to do so. That baby will go on my wall without hesitation!

[Bob C]

I don't know why someone would want a fake mount. If you decide to release it, you would be better off taking a picture of it and hang it on the wall. Then you can point to it and say "I caught that" instead of pointing to a plasic fish and saying "I caught a fish that looked similar to that piece of plastic".

[Traveler2586]

If they can make a life-like replica of a fish, you think they could make a life-like replica of some of the women I've known?????

That could start a new fad I could place mannequins in the corners of the rec-room

But seriously, I could never hang a fish in my house, my wife would have a fit - she doesn't even like the cover photo's on the fishing magazines.

It's really funny to watch a grown woman act so dumb over a fish.

[Bob C]

If they can make a life-like replica of a fish, you think they could make a life-like replica of some of the women I've known?????

That could start a new fad I could place mannequins in the corners of the rec-room

I can see where that might be a problem.

[Traveler2586]

I can see where that might be a problem.

LOL, LOL, I don't know why, their all my wifes old girlfriends

Aw,, they'd probably be too expensive (they were when I knew them, LOL) and take up too much room......