Is it possible to get a replica with only weight and pictures? 2025
Wulf N7 reply :
I caught a 9.5lb bass two years ago and want to get a replica done, the problem is I never got a length and girth.
12poundbass reply :
Yes you can. The artist you choose can get it fairly close. Typically under normal circumstance fish grow fairly close to the same rate. The molds I've seen don't vary a ton as far as weight/length/girth go. Considering you don't know the length and girth and have a picture I think you'd be pleased as long the the details are spot on.
Dwight Hottle reply :
Sure it is. Post up a picture & we can give you an estimated length or pick your own length based on your best guess. Then you can plug the length into a formula with different girths coming up with actual fishes weight. Your fish was probably 22" to 26" long and had a girth of 17 to 21" in order to weigh 9.5 lbs. The longer the fish the less the girth & the shorter the fish the greater the girth to reach 9.5lbs. Here are a couple of charts & formulas.
http://legacy.myfwc.com/fish/
https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/recreational/catchrelease/bass_length_weight.phtml
If your talking about the fish in your avatar I would guess its 24" by 19" plus fractions.
geo g reply :
Most definitely!
Go to the charts for your region, it will have a length and girth.
Wulf N7 reply :
On 2/25/2018 at 8:03 AM, Dwight Hottle said:Sure it is. Post up a picture & we can give you an estimated length or pick your own length based on your best guess. Then you can plug the length into a formula with different girths coming up with actual fishes weight. Your fish was probably 22" to 26" long and had a girth of 17 to 21" in order to weigh 9.5 lbs. The longer the fish the less the girth & the shorter the fish the greater the girth to reach 9.5lbs. Here are a couple of charts & formulas.
http://legacy.myfwc.com/fish/
https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/recreational/catchrelease/bass_length_weight.phtml
If your talking about the fish in your avatar I would guess its 24" by 19" plus fractions.
burrows reply :
On 2/27/2018 at 6:14 PM, Wulf_97 said:
Holy cow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
12poundbass reply :
On 2/27/2018 at 9:15 PM, Burro said:Holy cow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's not a cow it's a largemouth bass. This is a fishing forum not a farming forum. ????
Dwight Hottle reply :
On 2/27/2018 at 6:14 PM, Wulf_97 said:
Beauty. thanks for the extra pic. I'm still guessing 24" x19.2"
Shak Muscles reply :
Nice fish dude!
slonezp reply :
It's fake. Everyone knows you can't catch trophy's from shore.
68camaro reply :
Dang...beautiful fish.
TOXIC reply :
A good taxidermist will be able to recreate that fish as a work of art. A "replica painter" will usually disappoint with the looks of the replica. In taxidermy, you get what you pay for and the good ones are very expensive but well worth it in my book. Nice feesh!!
Crestliner2008 reply :
Beautiful fish! I'd guess anyone specializing in replica mounts can do a very decent job from those pictures.
soflabasser reply :
On 2/27/2018 at 6:14 PM, Wulf_97 said:
Nice bass.Yes it is possible to get a good replica of your personal best bass with the pictures you provided and weight. Was this bass caught in public or private water?
12poundbass reply :
On 2/28/2018 at 7:41 PM, TOXIC said:A "replica painter" will usually disappoint with the looks of the replica
What do you mean by this?
Scott F reply :
Both a replica or a skin mount requires and artist to do a superb job painting a fish. I'm sure he was using the term "replica painter" to refer to a person who is not an artist but someone who does a poor job painting his replicas. Just because someone calls himself a taxidermist does not mean he can do a great job painting a replica. Taxidermists might do deer, birds and any other wildlife without being able to paint a realistic fish mount.
Wulf N7 reply :
On 3/1/2018 at 5:18 AM, soflabasser said:Nice bass.Yes it is possible to get a good replica of your personal best bass with the pictures you provided and weight. Was this bass caught in public or private water?
Private pond in Mississippi.
TOXIC reply :
On 3/1/2018 at 6:05 AM, 12poundbass said:What do you mean by this?
@Scott F nailed my thinking. I've seen some replicas that look almost cartoonish because the "artist" just used an airbrush and added very little detail. My point being, if I was going to have a replica done (the only option IMHO, I wouldn't do a skin mount) I would want it to be as realistic as possible. Those that paint top quality replicas are usually very expensive and that's the exact reason I don't have any on my wall.......yet. 
I set my standards very high for a mount because I know how expensive it is going to be.
68camaro reply :
On 3/1/2018 at 7:43 PM, TOXIC said:@Scott F nailed my thinking. I've seen some replicas that look almost cartoonish because the "artist" just used an airbrush and added very little detail. My point being, if I was going to have a replica done (the only option IMHO, I wouldn't do a skin mount) I would want it to be as realistic as possible. Those that paint top quality replicas are usually very expensive and that's the exact reason I don't have any on my wall.......yet.
What is typical cost for high quality job? Does it go by pounds or inches?
TOXIC reply :
It's all over the scale, totally depends on the taxidermist. Most have websites with examples of their work and prices. Now, if you are willing to take a little less quality for less $$ then that may be an option. It's all personal preference. 
12poundbass reply :
On 3/1/2018 at 7:43 PM, TOXIC said:@Scott F nailed my thinking. I've seen some replicas that look almost cartoonish because the "artist" just used an airbrush and added very little detail. My point being, if I was going to have a replica done (the only option IMHO, I wouldn't do a skin mount) I would want it to be as realistic as possible. Those that paint top quality replicas are usually very expensive and that's the exact reason I don't have any on my wall.......yet.
I misinterpreted what you were saying which is exactly why I asked for clarification first. I agree to an extent. I feel you could find a few good artists here and there that aren't going to require you to refinance your house in order to get the work done.
I've stated before I want to try my hand in this skill as a hobby, and I'd like to be one of those guys that produce very detailed quality fish at a reasonable rates that most if not all can afford. Surely I'm not the only one thinking like this (I hope). This is obviously still in the planning stages so maybe I'm off in left field. If I am I guess I'll just have a bunch of fish hanging on the wall annoying the wife.
TOXIC reply :
Good luck!! I would really like to see a good product for a reasonable price but in my experience, the better replicas are much more expensive. I look at the gills, mouth and scales first, then eyes/fins. As was mentioned, some paint the scales 4 times for each scale. That is time and detail that you pay for. For me it is a work of art by an artist and that never comes cheap.
68camaro reply :
I did a very quick search and for what looks like better shops, price range from $18 - $25 per inch - to start!
If I ever catch that trophy I doubt I would ever spring at these prices.....
12poundbass reply :
On 3/1/2018 at 8:45 PM, 68camaro said:I did a very quick search and for what looks like better shops, price range from $18 - $25 per inch - to start!
If I ever catch that trophy I doubt I would ever spring at these prices.....
Replicas are more expensive, but they'll usually last forever. Skin mounts not so much. Another option to remember your trophy is doing something @A-Jay has done. He has pictures blown up into larger pictures that are very well done and look great (my horrible description doesn't do them justice).
On 3/1/2018 at 8:37 PM, TOXIC said:Good luck!! I would really like to see a good product for a reasonable price but in my experience, the better replicas are much more expensive. I look at the gills, mouth and scales first, then eyes/fins. As was mentioned, some paint the scales 4 times for each scale. That is time and detail that you pay for. For me it is a work of art by an artist and that never comes cheap.
If I do it, I hope it works out too. I'm only in the planning and research stages so we'll see. If I do it and it's to your quality I'll cut you a heck of a deal. ????
geo g reply :
Son, that's a great bass. It's nice she is released and still swimming around, and waiting for you to catch her again. Enjoy the memories!
18RangerZ520L reply :
Here's my .02...
There's a reason why a Lamborghini costs more than a Kia!!!!
Like what has been said above, I did a ton of research before going with Dave Campbell and his name came up several times as being one of, if not the best in the country. Most of the other big replica companies did a simple/basic air brush paint job on the fish, they looked "ok", but I'm not satisfied with just "ok". I wanted the best and although I initially had sticker shock with Dave's "master grade" fish finishes, after recently getting my PB largemouth from him I can say it was worth every penny and the mount will last a lifetime. Save up the money and get quality. "Cut corners" elsewhere in life... eat Ramen noodles or something for a few months and save up the coin to get a quality mount. You don't want to have the mount hanging on the wall and have "buyers remorse"...... I find myself going into my office multiple times a day just to take a glance at my mount...LOL. Dave's working on my PB smallie as we speak, can't wait to see it in person.
Good luck with your search for a taxidermist, give Dave Campbell a look and compare his work to all others out there and you'll see for yourself..... My largemouth mount he just finished is on his website and Facebook, plus I posted it in this forum too.
www.davecampbellfish.com
slonezp reply :
On 3/4/2018 at 9:39 PM, 18RangerZ520L said:Here's my .02...
There's a reason why a Lamborghini costs more than a Kia!!!!
Like what has been said above, I did a ton of research before going with Dave Campbell and his name came up several times as being one of, if not the best in the country. Most of the other big replica companies did a simple/basic air brush paint job on the fish, they looked "ok", but I'm not satisfied with just "ok". I wanted the best and although I initially had sticker shock with Dave's "master grade" fish finishes, after recently getting my PB largemouth from him I can say it was worth every penny and the mount will last a lifetime. Save up the money and get quality. "Cut corners" elsewhere in life... eat Ramen noodles or something for a few months and save up the coin to get a quality mount. You don't want to have the mount hanging on the wall and have "buyers remorse"...... I find myself going into my office multiple times a day just to take a glance at my mount...LOL. Dave's working on my PB smallie as we speak, can't wait to see it in person.
Good luck with your search for a taxidermist, give Dave Campbell a look and compare his work to all others out there and you'll see for yourself..... My largemouth mount he just finished is on his website and Facebook, plus I posted it in this forum too.
www.davecampbellfish.com
Dave's work looks really nice. I have 4 skin mounts done by 3 different taxidermists and would recommend only one of them. Marty Shimkus from fish specialties. He's a real artist. Only does fish. He did a bluegill mount for me with (3) 10+ inch bluegills. He requested as many pics as he could so he could match the local and seasonal colors of the fish. I dropped off the fish and we went over every option for mounts etc. He showed me his works in progress, both replica and skin mounts, restoration work, and a replica he was doing for a museum. He called me later and told me they weren't bluegills (what do I know) and that based on the build and coloring, he believed they were a bluegill/sunfish hybrid and did I want them to look like bluegills or a hybrid. (attention to detail).
As far as the other mounts, I had my PB LMB and a SMB done by another guy. The LMB is a nice mount but looks nothing like the pics I provided him. My bass had big eyes and a distended belly, the mount does not (no attention to detail) The way paint on the SMB flows from the side to the belly makes the fish appear smaller than it is because the belly paint was brought up too high on the sides. Also have a 2lb crappie. Again, a nice mount, but I'm not happy with the way he shaped the fins (no attention to detail).
OP good luck with your search for the perfect guy to replicate your hawg.
hawgenvy reply :
Seems like prices for a 25" bass mount vary from around $450 to $2500.
If I purchased a bass replica mount my wife would make me hide it where nobody would ever see it, or in the garage. Partly (40%) because she'd be ticked I spent the money, and partly (60%) because she thinks fish mounts are corny and kitschy. I have a great 8x10 photo of me with a 7-pound LMB, and even that I had to take to the office to display it.
I'm just sayin', check with the boss before you blow big $$ on a mount.
Bassman37 reply :
Fabulous bass...it must have been exciting to catch and land. Congrats!!!
P.A.L. reply :
You could load that pic into a few different programs and use known measurements to get a pretty accurate measurement. Draw a line corner to corner on the brim of that hat and use those measurements to to measure the fish. Assuming you still have the hat to get a measurement for comparison.
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