Please Post Some Pics Of Replica Vs Skin Mounted Bass?

[Hyrule Bass]

i can certainly tell the difference between a skin mount and replica. i'd go for the skin mount every time. Wont be the first bass to die and wont be the last, wont destroy an entire fishery, or none of that baloney...

[Ima Bass Ninja]

The bottom line is you must kill the trophy to make a skin mount, what a waste of a rare bass, when it isn't necessary.

Tom

Best quote of the thread

[fishmounter57]

Replica...

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

You want to keep the fish from getting damaged. wrap in a wet rag and then news paper and then trash bag and freeze it. Get it to your taxidermist as soon as possible. You do have some time but the longer you have it in your freezer the more chance there is for freezer burn.

Here is one more link to some of the best replicas. Their top of the line replicas dont even have seams. Very nice to work with although they are not cheap.

http://www.lakecount...ucts.php?cat=19

That might depend on location. I looked at some in my area and $500-575 for skin, $480 for rep at a couple places. The link listed premier $380 so those seem like good prices.

[North Ga Hillbilly]

Replica...

I'm glad you posted, I was about to link to one of yours!

NGaHB

[Bluebasser86]

My take on skin mounts vs. replicas.

I can get a replica of a fish you caught, one that someone else caught, or one that is never caught--just measurements.

No one but me can get a skin mount of a fish I caught. It is real, original, and one of a kind.

Couldn't someone just as easily buy someone else's mount and make up a story of how they fooled the monster? If someone has the money and want to get a replica made with measurements they just thought up then more power to them. To me it's all about the story behind the fish. I love my sport and I appreciate and respect the fish I'm chasing. A truly large fish has beat all the odds to grow to its size. For me to kill it just to put it on my wall so I can beat my chest and yell that I caught it when I could get a replica made and give myself or someone else a chance to catch it again seems a little selfish to me, just my .02.

[Hyrule Bass]

Replica...

see, no offense, while it looks nice, it also looks fake as hell and theres no way id want to hang that on my wall. i could go buy any old replica at walmart or somewhere for a fraction of the price if i wanted that.

Couldn't someone just as easily buy someone else's mount and make up a story of how they fooled the monster? If someone has the money and want to get a replica made with measurements they just thought up then more power to them. To me it's all about the story behind the fish. I love my sport and I appreciate and respect the fish I'm chasing. A truly large fish has beat all the odds to grow to its size. For me to kill it just to put it on my wall so I can beat my chest and yell that I caught it when I could get a replica made and give myself or someone else a chance to catch it again seems a little selfish to me, just my .02.

its not about chest thumping at all. it is more about looks, for me anyways. and i, myself, prefer the skin mount look to someones model kit. the fact you want someone to put a fish back so you can catch it later is also selfish. There are plenty of fish out there, and big ones too, no need to put up a fuss because someone hangs one on their wall

[Bluebasser86]

see, no offense, while it looks nice, it also looks fake as hell and theres no way id want to hang that on my wall. i could go buy any old replica at walmart or somewhere for a fraction of the price if i wanted that.

its not about chest thumping at all. it is more about looks, for me anyways. and i, myself, prefer the skin mount look to someones model kit. the fact you want someone to put a fish back so you can catch it later is also selfish. There are plenty of fish out there, and big ones too, no need to put up a fuss because someone hangs one on their wall

Not around here there isn't. A fish over 7 pounds is a rare fish here. I've been fishing my entire life, most of it in the area I live now and I'm a decent fisherman I think. In all the thousands of hours of fishing I've done, I've caught 4 fish over 7lbs in my home state. All of those fish were in lakes I fish often and catch good numbers of 4-6 pound fish and release. It's possible I'd have never caught a fish over 7 in Kansas if myself and others didn't turn those fish loose. There's a powerplant lake south of me about an hour that used to produce lots of big fish every winter until the "trophy fishermen" showed up. Every big fish that was caught went home to go on someone's wall. Now if you get a few fish over 6lbs a year from there you did really well.

I guess I don't understand how it would be selfish of me if I turn a fish lose and ask others to turn a big fish loose so everyone has a chance to catch her again but someone else catching it and killing it just so they can put it on their wall isn't.

[NoBassPro]

To me the mount isn't so much the fish itself, but the story behind. I kind of prefer skin mounts just as a nostalgia thing. I spent most of my summers when I was younger in various camps in northern MI mainly, and there were always old faded mounts of something. They didn't look perfect, or always even good, but those were good times. And even though some of those old timers I fished with had some crazy ways of fishing and some strong opinions on some of the stuff we use now, they did teach me alot about fishing.

[SirSnookalot]

I'm not critical of what anyone does with a legal fish, for me a photo is good enough and many of my really great fish don't even have pics, but I remember them all.

[K_Mac]

I'm not critical of what anyone does with a legal fish, for me a photo is good enough and many of my really great fish don't even have pics, but I remember them all.

Well said SirSnook. Same for me.

[tomustang]

Couldn't someone just as easily buy someone else's mount and make up a story of how they fooled the monster?

funny stuff, I think about that every time I'm at a flea market and see an old mount

[tomustang]

I'm not critical of what anyone does with a legal fish, for me a photo is good enough and many of my really great fish don't even have pics, but I remember them all.

I'm the same way, but for me it's usually the passion at the time that makes me forget about photographing.

[desertwitch]

A guy on my local forum caught a beautiful 16-lber back in January. It went in to our state's Share-A-Lunker program and the angler was given a replica mount by Tx Parks & Wildlife. Here are photos of the original fish as well as the mount. You can see the two don't look much alike. The girth on the mount is nowhere near the girth on the actual fish. The mount's head is too big and it's body too small. Coloring and details are also very different. But maybe TPW uses an inferior taxidermist...

[shimmy]

A guy on my local forum caught a beautiful 16-lber back in January. It went in to our state's Share-A-Lunker program and the angler was given a replica mount by Tx Parks & Wildlife. Here are photos of the original fish as well as the mount. You can see the two don't look much alike.

This is why i am still on the fence. It is just a shame. You get a mount so you can look at that fish of a lifetime and then you get this. I'm sorry, this looks terrible This is not what that man caught and has no resemblance except for length. Just buy a cardboard box and some crayons and make your own replica if this is your thing.Plain and simple and most replica mounts you see look like this with the exception of a few of the bass on the links i saw posted earlier. What i also notice is many people who are against skin mounts also have one already and are now advocating for the other. Hindsight is always 20/20, just remember that you probably cherished that mount for a long time. I think others who want skin mounts should have that same privilege. I think for me, it will depend on where i catch the fish and the particular measurements when i consider a mount. If i catch a giant that has the length and girth that looks like it may be a common size of fish in Texas, California, or Florida than i may consider an uglier replica and do a massive search for a great artist. But i catch an absolute giant that is really short, i just think the replicas will be less likely to have measurements similar to my fish so a skin mount may be a preferable option.

[retiredbosn]

Skin mounts are just as prone to a bad paint job as replicas, ever see a fish skin before mounting, it's really bleached you can barely see the patterns that were there before. The skin gets painted if the taxidermist is good it will look like the fish you caught. I have a buddy who has a few rainbows that he has mounted, one of them is painted like a salmon, solid red looks awful and it is a skin mount.

[retiredbosn]

But i catch an absolute giant that is really short, i just think the replicas will be less likely to have measurements similar to my fish so a skin mount may be a preferable option.

If you catch a really short fat fish or any fish of any size and get a skin mount it will be put on a replica "frame", there is noway to preserve the tissues, organs etc. All fish wether skin mount or replica start with a fiberglass or resin form. The difference is in the paintjob, either the taxidermist can do it or they can't that simple. Personally I don't see the need to remove the mountable size fish from the ecosystem. Why take the best genetics and put them on the wall? I don't have any mounts, I do have a couple of fish that I have recorded the measurements that will be preserved as a replica, but I will spend the money and get a good one. BTW during the preservation process the skin shrinks so even skin mounted fish don't have the exact measurements of the original

[VolFan]

I'm with SirSnook: it's not about the trophy; it's about playing the game.

That said, I almost never keep fish any more, but if I did want something for the wall (which I don't), it would be a skin mount...which I'm not doing. So...there's that.

[desertwitch]

I'll stick with photos. IMO, it beats killing a big trophy bass or having an unrealistic replica made. Of course I'll be taking those photos with a good camera at 4800dpi so I can get an actual life-sized print made up!

[WRB]

This Is an older thread and MattLures tried to explain basic taxidermy. The replica mount is a fiberglass mold of an actual bass that had measurements a close as possible to the bass you want a replica mount to represent.

A good taxidermist receives hundreds of frozen bass from anglers who want a mount, very few bass are so unique that the taxidermist needs to make a new mold, most of the frozen bass end up in a dumpster. A new mold or modified mold to have the exact same physical characteristics as your fish. The fiberglass replica therefore has the same shape as your original live bass. The taxidermist adds glass eyes, artifical gills, inside mouth parts, etc, to both skin mounts and fiberglass mounts.

The fiberglass molded replica has no color, usually white and must be painted, this is the difference between a good mount and a poor mount; how good is the artist who paints the mount.

The skin mount has several issues to resolve; removing all the soft tissues that will degrade in time, the skin and fins are removed and pickled to preserve. The fish head must be hollowed out and all tsoft tissues removed, including the gills, eyes, then the skull is preserved and some shrinkage will occure. A manican is selected that has similar measurements of the fish you sent and various padding is added to fill out the shape. The skull is attached to the skin is stretch around the manikin and sewn together, the mount is now similar to the fiberglass mold fish, except not nearly as close to the original fish due to all the steps required to make the body shape.

The fins are flattens out nd dried into shape and the mounts now needs to dry out before it can be painted.

The skin has little color, mostly gray. Just like the replica the skin mount needs glass eyes nd mouth parts, gills etc. The finished mount now relies on the skill of the artist to paint it.

The difference between. Skin mount and a replica is this; replica's are fiberglass and last forever, skin mounts deteriorate, how long they last depends on the skill of the taxidermist.

I have 1 replica bass mount that represents my giant bass; 19.3 lbs, (1994). 3 skin mounts; 10.2 lbs native rainbow trout (1959), 12.2 lbs northern strain LMB (1971) and a 37 lb musky (1976). All 3 skin mounts are in some degree of degradation. The replica bass looks like it did the day I picked it up...perfect!

The key to a good mount is the taxidermist you select and the skill of the artist who paints it.

Tom

[AK-Jax86]

after looking at all the pics I would have to say a replica mount is not the way to go, they look too fake. Fishing has been around for centuries and it is a way of survival... food. I understand people's views about killing a trophy bass but regardless of your views fishing is a way to eat first THEN a sport/hobby second(even though I fish for sport not food I don't like eating fish). But that one fact can not be argued.

So it is not selfish or wrong to kill a trophy fish that you caught. If it was a family in another country, or a family in the US that could not afford to buy food so they fish, it would not be wrong to kill that 10 pounder so they can eat. SO if that is acceptable then why not get the fish mounted? At least the mount will last you years when someone eats a fish they catch they digest it and thats it, gone forever.

[fishmounter57]

This Is an older thread and MattLures tried to explain basic taxidermy. The replica mount is a fiberglass mold of an actual bass that had measurements a close as possible to the bass you want a replica mount to represent.

A good taxidermist receives hundreds of frozen bass from anglers who want a mount, very few bass are so unique that the taxidermist needs to make a new mold, most of the frozen bass end up in a dumpster. A new mold or modified mold to have the exact same physical characteristics as your fish. The fiberglass replica therefore has the same shape as your original live bass. The taxidermist adds glass eyes, artifical gills, inside mouth parts, etc, to both skin mounts and fiberglass mounts.

The fiberglass molded replica has no color, usually white and must be painted, this is the difference between a good mount and a poor mount; how good is the artist who paints the mount.

The skin mount has several issues to resolve; removing all the soft tissues that will degrade in time, the skin and fins are removed and pickled to preserve. The fish head must be hollowed out and all tsoft tissues removed, including the gills, eyes, then the skull is preserved and some shrinkage will occure. A manican is selected that has similar measurements of the fish you sent and various padding is added to fill out the shape. The skull is attached to the skin is stretch around the manikin and sewn together, the mount is now similar to the fiberglass mold fish, except not nearly as close to the original fish due to all the steps required to make the body shape.

The fins are flattens out nd dried into shape and the mounts now needs to dry out before it can be painted.

The skin has little color, mostly gray. Just like the replica the skin mount needs glass eyes nd mouth parts, gills etc. The finished mount now relies on the skill of the artist to paint it.

The difference between. Skin mount and a replica is this; replica's are fiberglass and last forever, skin mounts deteriorate, how long they last depends on the skill of the taxidermist.

I have 1 replica bass mount that represents my giant bass; 19.3 lbs, (1994). 3 skin mounts; 10.2 lbs native rainbow trout (1959), 12.2 lbs northern strain LMB (1971) and a 37 lb musky (1976). All 3 skin mounts are in some degree of degradation. The replica bass looks like it did the day I picked it up...perfect!

The key to a good mount is the taxidermist you select and the skill of the artist who paints it.

Tom

Well said!

I have been doing "fish mounts for 35 years(both skin & replicas). MY fish will be custom cast and reproduced, period. They stay better looking forever(as long as done correctly to begin with)

I have a 21.5 lb. steelhead I caught and molded over 10 years ago. I have had many offers from folks wanting to buy it, and will not sell it! I do have the mold, BUT I kept the origional cast for myself. I have used the mold Dozens of times since I Made it. This has allowed dozens of people the opportunity to release thier fish. They did this of thier own free will. I AM NOT a catch and release guy by any means, BUT, I think replicas are a prudent way of perpetuating a trophy AND a live fish.

I have been a fishing guide for over 15 years, so I have some perspective that most anglers do not. I believe this..... We all have the right validated by the purchase of a state fishing licence to harvest any fish we chose....

This being said, I have released fish that I have a pre-existing mold for to fight another day........... I have had fish in the net that I agonized over releasing and let them go because the resource was more valuable to be since I did not need the fish for an accurate mount.

Just my 2 cents.

[Fish Chris]

Well, ya' know, I have an old sub-ten lb'er skin mount on my wall behind me, which was done by BPS way back in 89'. They did a good job on it..... but instead of thinking, "Wow ! That's the actual fish ! How cool !..... Instead I think > Live and learn. That was certainly the way it was in the old days.

Now, I look at replicas as pieces of (in some cases) fine art. Will the shape or the color match the fish I caught exactly ? Eh... probably not, but if it's a nice looking mount, that's close enough for me. Heck, I ALWAYS get some good photos of all of my trophy catches anyway... mount, or no mount.

In any case, I've had one mount done by Lake Fork Taxidermy, and they did a fine job, albeit, the fish shape was off for the 16.5 it was supposed to replicate. Since it looked a LOT more like my 15.8, that's what I call it

Then I had a really cool closed mouth replica made by Roberts Taxidermy from So Cal. He had a WAY bigger selection of blanks, for giant bass, because he lives in So Cal, and has been collecting them for like 20+ years ! Still, the closed mouth replica was a full 1 1/2 inches shorter than my 18.4 lb'er.... and it was supposedly molded from a 19 1/4 lb'er ?

Hmmmm.

I still really like this replica too though.

If I had money, I'd have replica mounts all over the place. Heck, I love artwork of nearly every kind... especially wildlife and nature artwork

Peace,

Fish

[SirSnookalot]

@ Shimmy...........your profile

Location

Great Falls, VA

PB largemouth 26 lbs 2 oz,.......

.Typo?

[Bluebasser86]

@ Shimmy...........your profile

Location

Great Falls, VA

PB largemouth 26 lbs 2 oz,.......

.Typo?

If I remember right he was poking fun of how some people way overestimate the weight of the fish they catch.