That is awesome, next big one I get I am going to get all the proper measurements and good pics and have me a replica made also.

Good job killing that fish. I'm sure she would have preferred a replica as well.

They did my lake record in a replica, You can not tell it from a good skin mount and she looks exactly like the pictures of her. Fishscale is the best and I recomend them to all my clients. Great fish and they did a heck of a job.

One in every crowd. Didn't your Momma ever tell you if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all?

Thanks Fouz, you beat me too it......

I have to agree with brett8388. I had lake fork taxidermy do a replica of one I caught last year, and after seeing how awesome a good replica looks there is no reason to kill a nice fish for the mount. Just MHO

I still need to drop my measurements and pics off there of my 10-8 from this spring.

Go kick rocks. Both of you.


Super fish and beautiful mount OP. I'm glad it turned out how you liked it.

Not to take away from the fact that it is a pretty mount and he caught a NIcE fish, but what is the point of a skin mount? What is gained by killing the fish so the skin can be mounted rather than a replica made. So no one else can ever catch the fish you had the enjoyment of catching? Just askin

What if the fish was gut hooked and died? What if it wasn't gut hooked and died? Did the guy break any laws?

I'm as much of a conservationist as the next guy. But who the heck are we to tell a guy what to do with HIS fish? Or to try and shame a guy who made the choice that he wanted a skin mount?

For the life of me I don't understand why, when someone posts a catch they are proud of, some bass tree hugger comes along and tries to rain on their parade!

I'm not trying to shame anyone fouzman, and I'm no bass tree hugged either. I was simply asking what the point of a skin mount over a replica is. If the fish was already dead then so be it, but most of us as bass fishermen are in it purely for sport. There are plenty of people who take bass for whatever reason, but the majority of us wish to leave the big ones for the genetics and the chance at catching another day. You don't have to get your underoos in a wad about a question. If you want to kill every big bass you catch then that's your right, but don't expect conservative fishermen to not disagree.

I should have known this was going to come up...I'm not sure why I am wasting my time explaining but being that I hate to see a big fish pulled from the lake I will indulge your question.


I caught the fish way up the river on Hubbard. I thought for sure when I pulled her out it was my Double Digit. I tried to weigh her and dam if the batteries in my digital scale were not dead and wouldn't stay on. Could I have just guessed at it or just lied and made up the weight and tossed her back in...sure! But that is not who I am. I am not going to come on here and brag about a Double Digit bass or even feel good inside that I passed that milestone without proof. So I put the fish in the live well to take her to the truck and put her on my other scale (WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE BOAT BUT WASNT) By the time I got out of the river and to a scale she died in my live well. I called my wife distraught especially when I found out she was only 9lbs. My wife told me to bring her home and put her on the wall anyways. I felt like at that point the BEST thing to do out of respect for such a nice fish was not to let her go to waste. So there she hangs on my wall LIKE IT OR NOT!!

Understood, a little catch and release may help ya out next time. She is a nice fish.

I applaud you sir. Don't take anything from some of these guys on the forum.

tournament and gut hook die off, then not consuming the meat is 100x worse than a few guys now and then skin mounting a fish of a lifetime. I would feel better about skin mounts if you could also consume the meat.