My brother in law and I hit the provo river last Friday afternoon. We parked at vivian park and fished up the river a ways. It was my first time fly fishing and I was lucky enough to catch five small browns. I also missed several. The fish were biting on very small black midges. It was a blast! I did just about go swimming once though. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before that happens.
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Thanks for posting your report and welcome to BFT utah. Hope you enjoy the site, how did you hear about us? "[black]Good field care leads to great mounts! " Do you mount fish? If so how much do you charge? WH2[/black]
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Thanks for the welcome. I heard about this site from a co worker. He checks the site for fishing reports. I do mount fish. I'm extremely backed up right now and therfore not taking in any new work. One of these days I'll catch up hopefully. Here's a pic of a tiger trout I did for a customer.
[url "http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/pete-n-repete/fish054.jpg"]http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/pete-n-repete/fish054.jpg[/url]
And a picture of a chukar mount
[url "http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/pete-n-repete/CHUKAR.jpg"]http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/pete-n-repete/CHUKAR.jpg[/url]
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Looks like some nice works there, thanks for sharing. WH2
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[left][shocked] thats some good work you got there. How much wast that trout if you don't mind me asking. You can PM if you want.[/left]
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Quote:
hi fishy, welcome to the site, I am also curious what your rate is for the fish, also do you do replicas or skin mounts?
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I've gotten several requests so I'll just answer some of these questions here rather than sending everyone a pm. I am really a very slow taxidermist at this point in time. I've been telling most people that I am not taking new work while I try to catch up. I do skin mounts, and reproductions. I've got several more pictures if interested. My turn around time is currently about a year. My prices range from $9 - $16 an inch depending on a couple of things. Warm water fish are a little cheaper, 2 sided mounts are a little more of course, as well as reproductions are more.
I'm sure some will think that is a drastic range in price, and it is. I'll explain a little. Consider taking a piece of paper and painting a walleye with the colors necessary and the level of details. Now consider painting a brook, or tiger trout with all the necessary details. Also the skin is very different between cold and warm water fish. I hand make every cold water fish form to fit the specific fish and that takes much more time as well.
So, I charge what I feel is fair for me, and for the customer. I don't rip you off just because I can.
If you are still interested send me a pm.
Here's a couple more pics
[url "http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/pete-n-repete/fish065.jpg"]http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/pete-n-repete/fish065.jpg[/url]
[url "http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/pete-n-repete/P1010180.jpg"]http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/pete-n-repete/P1010180.jpg[/url]
[url "http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/pete-n-repete/fish018.jpg"]http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/pete-n-repete/fish018.jpg[/url]
[url "http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/pete-n-repete/fish012.jpg"]http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/pete-n-repete/fish012.jpg[/url]
[url "http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/pete-n-repete/turkey001.jpg"]http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o303/pete-n-repete/turkey001.jpg[/url]
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Have you ever done a catfish mount? I have always wanted to get a kitty mounted!!
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Nice catfish!
I have done some catfish, but always as reproductions. I was taught that catfish skin just doesn't work for skin mounts and therefore I've never tried one.
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Let me know when you will be open to do some repo cat mounts for me. I don't care how long it takes if the quality is as good as those pics you've posted
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[size 1]"Good field care leads to great mounts!"[/size]
[size 1]Sorry if you getting sick of all the question, I got one to add. If I were to catch a fish I wanted to mount, what field care can be used to insure a great mount? Like in the heat, on the ice....... Thanks. [/size]
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No problem, I don't mind the questions. I'm happy to offer any help I can.
Field care for fish:
Pictures - pictures - pictures! If you are getting a replica then 100% of the paint has to be recreated and good pictures before a fish is dead or gone are worth a whole lot when it comes time to make a mount look like your actual fish. With a skin mount the skin will still loose most of its color and generally all of the little highlights that make a fish look real. Take pictures in good light.
If you are keeping the fish for a skin mount I recommend that you take out the baggy of borax that you've been carrying in your tackle box for just such an occasion. Rub that powdered borax all over the whole fish. Make sure to get in between the fish and the fins before you lay them flat against the fish. We've all see the dis-coloration that happens when a fish fin lays against the skin for a while. Naturally, because we don't want it, it's the one color that stays even after the fish is dead. So cover the fish with a good layer of borax and then cold and dry is the best way to keep it. Some guys tell you to wrap in news paper. Personally I don't like that option because the newspaper pulls moisture from the fish skin and fins. The fins dry out enough on their own without adding to that problem. I prefer to just put the fish in a garbage bag, remove all the air that I can and tie it shut. The place it on ice to keep it cold, or freeze it.
A fish can be kept in the freezer for a while if needed with some precautions. Follow the above, but add an additional garbage bag after the first is tied shut. When I say tied I don't mean with the wire tie, I mean tie a not in the bag. Two bags with as little air inside as possible will keep the fish pretty safe for a year. Now having said that, the fresher any animal is the better the mount generally turns out.
Oh, I forgot to mention in case you are wondering. The borax helps the skin keep its color better, and makes the skin and scales tougher. Especially on cold water fish where they loose those scales really easy.
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