Take a picture! A photograph of your fish right after catch is an invaluable tool that helps us truly recreate its colors. Take close up pictures at a few different angles to show all the details in different angles of light. Click here to get some tips on taking pictures.
Please consider a reproduction over a skin mount. We are no longer taking skin-mount contracts. We are very conscious of the environmental impact of sport fishing, and have found that more often than not, the biggest trophy fish are females. Sadly, Rob has opened up many fish that are loaded with eggs. He feels stronglythat catch and release is the best way to ensure that there are plenty of healthy big fish for future sportsmen to go after. Today's reproduction forms are amazingly detailed, and your mount will be manipulated and painted to match your specifications, photos, and measurements.
FYI: Fish loose their color soon after death. On a skin mount, once the skin is placed on the hand-carved form, it is painted white. The colors are then added just as they are with a reproduction, so your skin is not really contributing to colors or patterns on your finished mount. That is all up to the artist.
In addition, skin mounts deteriorate over time no matter how well they are preserved. A reproduction will hold the test of time and be an heirloom for generations to come.
The two measurements you will need are the girth, or circumference around the mid-section right in front of the dorsal fin (the fin on the top of the fish on its back), and the length from nose to fork of tail.
All freshwater fish come on a driftwood back. Plaques / custom bases are extra. All fish and all scenery is done in house. Rob will personally help you design and create the perfect display for your trophy.
NO SHARPIES!!!! You will NEVER see a magic marker used here! Rob details each fish with his airbrush, creating the truest and most detailed work of artistry you could ask for. Many fish demand upwards of thirty different paint colors. The more pictures you bring for reference, the better.
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We are so pleased to be partnered with Topaz Lodge to taxidermy some of the big catches on the lake for display in the lodge.
