mauser06

last spring i was fishing a Class A wild brown stream...first time ever fishing it..caught and released one about 7 inches..and then out of nowhere it got NASTY...spring thunder storm...on the way out i found a whole i missed on my way down...threw in the swiss swing spinner and BAM...NICE one!...it was in a nasty log jam..got it out and it was bleeding BAD and barely moving...and before i could react QUIT moving...OH no i thought..i just killed a WILD trout...i never wanted to do such a thing..but he hit my spinner so hard he died..it was deep and bled heavy..so i thought id do the best thing i could...and got the beautiful fish mounted...he was only 13 inches...but thats a half decint WILD fish..and dont look like no stocker...in my search for a taxidermist a local bait shp gave me a business card...right off the bat i recognized the email..its a guy i knew from another forum..we setup a date and time and i showed up to look at his work and talk to him..his work looked awesome and detail is his selling point...atleast to me it was...i just picked it up today...when i sat down in good light today when i got home i was amazed by the mount...the detail is all there....every little shade of the scales...bursts and halos around the "dots"...its all there...as well as the lure that killed him..heres some pics....im excited about it...and it looks AWESOME in my room...im proud of my first mounted animal...though i wish the fish didnt die..the stream is still excellent..i been back since..

heres some pics..the lighting is TERRIBLE in my house so out of 30 pics these were the better ones..but still arent as good as seeing it in good light in person..

wall shot...not where it will stay..but i need to drill the concrete to put it where i want it..just wanted to see how it looked on my wall





hope you enjoy the pics...wish i could get better ones...but they just wont turn out good in my house..i cant get good pics of ANYTHING here...let alone a fish mount..the holos and burst arent really visible in the pics either......it takes a good eye and good light to see it...im glad i have such a good taxidermist close by...and hes a great guy too...went fishing at a lake one day and him and his wife were there...hes just a good guy...and i like his work...even if/when i move i think my work will still goto him....the pics dont do it justice..its hard to get a good pic of a fish mount i think....and the light stinks in my house

rgswildlife

Congrats on a very nice fish.

Rich

livbucks

Pics look pretty darn good to me. I had a good time just reading your excited words. I'm pretty sure you are happy. I wishI could go back twenty years or so, just to get that drive and excitement back that comes so automatic to a young guy. That is a fine trophy. Congrats.

mauser06

thanx guys.....hes not my biggest trout....my biggest trout could probably eat him lol....but its just a beautiful fish....alot of guys here in PA never even seen a 100% wild brown trout...and yes....i do get excited easily lol...thats just how i am...when something gets me excited im excited...ive never had anything mounted before...which is where part of the excitement comes from.....ive always been jealous of guys on here that show pics of rooms FULL of mounts....and here i am with a couple deer racks..and grouse and turkey fans...now i finally got somethin on the wall and i think it looks awesome up there...and its definently wont be my last mount......

OHdeerguts

Very nice lookin fish.

Alex The Hawk

Looks good to me, sometimes those little ones are hard to work with, but they turned out Pretty.

mauser06

he said the same thing Alex..painting is harder...details are smaller..make a mistake its going to be more visible etc...the more and more i see his work the more i like it...and the more i hang around his shop the more i like and respect him and his work...that fish is hand carved....body AND head...theres really no dimensions out there to fit a wild trout like that...either way he would been carving down a pre formed body...so he makes it all himself...everytime i go out there i give myself n extra hour or 2...just because i sit out there and talk to him for a WHILE....its sad that hes still only part time.....around here taxidermists are a dime a dozen...everyone got a shop in their garage or basement..i wish him the best....hes a great guy and i love his work..hes building clientel right now and trying to quit his day job...i wish him the best of luck....and cant wait for something else to be done!!...Native Brook trout i think it will be....

the more i look at the mount the more i like it....that pose fits the scene perfectly...you can barely make it out but the spinner that caught and killed the trout is on the driftwood....and the trout looks to be getting ready to hit it...meanwhile i told him to just give me the lure back when he got it out of the trout and i was going to hang it off the mount!!