Hunting Washington Forum

Community => Taxidermy & Scoring => Topic started by: Pete112288 on June 27, 2018, 09:58:58 AM

Title: Fish Mounts Realistic or Not
Post by: Pete112288 on June 27, 2018, 09:58:58 AM: So I have been thinking about this for a while and saw a buddies new rainbow trout mount the other day that reminded me so I wanted to throw it out there.
I am seeing a lot more fish mounts now-a-days that to me look completely fake, they look glass or plastic and don't have a realistic paint to them. Don't get me wrong, most are beautifully painted and are great works of art. I just personally like things to really look as realistic as possible.
I am not saying any of this to bash anyone's work, or opinion on the topic. I am just curious what makes the difference here. I will post some examples of ones I don't care for, that look super fake to me first, then post some examples of what I call realistic (or as realistic as reasonable).
The first 5 pictures are the ones that look very fake to me. The second 5 are ones that I like and look more realistic to my eye.
Title: Re: Fish Mounts Realistic or Not
Post by: Pete112288 on June 27, 2018, 10:06:37 AM: So these I would call more realistic
Title: Re: Fish Mounts Realistic or Not
Post by: Pete112288 on June 27, 2018, 10:09:20 AM: more
Title: Re: Fish Mounts Realistic or Not
Post by: fowl smacker on June 27, 2018, 10:14:10 AM: With fish, it's all in the paint job!
Title: Re: Fish Mounts Realistic or Not
Post by: huntnphool on June 27, 2018, 10:31:56 AM: Blackwater does some pretty good work.

http://blackwaterfishreplicas.com/best-steelhead-fish-mounts-steelhead-fish-replicas-luke-filmer-blackwater/
Title: Re: Fish Mounts Realistic or Not
Post by: 724wd on June 27, 2018, 10:58:07 AM: your realistic mounts might be skin mounts? I'd say that rainbow was, for sure. misshapen fins and the face looks pretty natural, not perfect like a repro.
Title: Re: Fish Mounts Realistic or Not
Post by: MooseZ25 on June 27, 2018, 12:20:05 PM: Its all in the paint job and the taxidermist that is doing it. Most skin mounts don't even use the head or fins. When I get one done it will be a plastic mount by a taxidermists that specializes in fish.
Title: Re: Fish Mounts Realistic or Not
Post by: Magnum_Willys on June 27, 2018, 12:52:19 PM: Like em all ! Just depends how close to original. Ive pulled big brookies outa snow banked streams that looked fake they were so vibrant.
Title: Re: Fish Mounts Realistic or Not
Post by: Mfowl on June 27, 2018, 01:53:57 PM: That brown trout in the faie pics looks pretty good to me. The others, not so much. The realistic ones all look great!
Title: Re: Fish Mounts Realistic or Not
Post by: Duckhunter14 on June 27, 2018, 02:14:56 PM: Id agree with you. It seems like most of the fish mounts I find unappealing to the eye have too much shine to them. Like the clear coat was overdone to make the fish look wet, but really just made them look fake.
Title: Re: Fish Mounts Realistic or Not
Post by: idaho guy on June 27, 2018, 02:40:21 PM: Quote from: Mfowl on June 27, 2018, 01:53:57 PM
That brown trout in the faie pics looks pretty good to me. The others, not so much. The realistic ones all look great!

I agree I think the brown trout in the fake pics looks good! The rest of the fake pics definitely look fake and I think are terrible mounts
Title: Re: Fish Mounts Realistic or Not
Post by: Tjv28 on June 28, 2018, 01:47:21 PM: What’s your question? You pay for what you get
Title: Re: Fish Mounts Realistic or Not
Post by: Pete112288 on June 30, 2018, 12:11:39 PM: Quote from: Tjv28 on June 28, 2018, 01:47:21 PM
What’s your question? You pay for what you get

I was just curious if anyone out there that knows more than me (so pretty much everyone according to the wife :chuckle: ) could tell me if there was something specific that made the difference.
I am not sure about gauging it off of what you pay though. The big salmon in the "bad" pictures is from a very reputable place that has been around a while and is definately not cheap by any means.
And I have a bass that I mounted right out of high school. So I had very little money haha. It was the cheappest place I could find anywhere near by, and I think it looks pretty darn realistic. With the exception of the mouth wide open and gills flared all the way out pose.
So I guess its all about checking out a taxi's previous work before using them.
Title: Re: Fish Mounts Realistic or Not
Post by: Tjv28 on July 01, 2018, 09:56:37 PM: Yeah man, I totally hear ya. Check these out.