Picking the Right Habitat for Your Fish Replica
When you catch the fish of a lifetime and decide to get a replica made, the process involves several decisions that you should not take lightly. First and foremost, you want to choose the right artist – someone who is reliable, has the right mold, and does quality work at a price you’re willing to pay. After that, however, it comes down to getting the particular piece of art that fits your needs best.
We currently have eight replicas on our walls or shelves – two peacock bass, a largemouth, a smallmouth, a cutthroat trout, a tigerfish, a payara and a musky.
The payara is the only one that has no background or habitat at all – we felt that any such additions would detract from the impact of the fish itself. The two peacocks, the largemouth and the tigerfish are on driftwood, which provides a means to add in the lure they were caught on. The musky Hanna surprised me with from Lax Reproductions is on an antiqued piece of wood with a large plaque detailing the catch. The cutthroat is on a small piece of rock habitat with wooden accents (which provide the ability to add the dry fly I caught it on). Finally, the smallmouth, our most recent addition, is a 360 degree pedestal mount on a rock base. Except for the earliest couple of purchases, each of these choices was deliberate.
If you find the right replica artist, you can get almost anything you want. Sometimes it pays to keep it simple while other times creativity will help you enhance the memory of the catch or showcase it better. For example, one of my friends caught his personal best Virginia bass recently after living in the state for 30 years, so to distinguish it from the larger bass he’d caught in Alabama and had replicated, he got a backboard made of the state. It’s a nice distinguishing touch. We recently highlighted a variety of ice fishing scenes, several of them from Advanced Taxidermy. They also have built a wide range of furniture incorporating replicas, from coffee tables to poker tables to desks to bars to wine racks and beyond. In some other cases, you might have to employ both a taxidermist and a carpenter, but they are equipped to do both.
As you try to decide what you want done with your replica, consider the following factors:
Cost – Just because someone can fulfill your replica dreams doesn’t mean it’s going to be inexpensive. The best taxidermists are often booked a couple of years out, and they understandably can and should command premium prices for their artistry. With each complication or additional piece that you add, it’s something that they’ll need to source or construct. Even simple changes demand more work – for example, on a wall mount, you can get away with one finished side and one eye, but on a 360 mount (like my smallmouth pedestal mount) they need to complete the entire fish. More time, more resources = more money.
Space – While your imagination may run wild, most of us don’t have unlimited space to display our mounts. Think about where you’ll display it and who will be around. Not only do you not want it to overwhelm the given shelf, wall or room, but you want to make sure it’s safe and protected. For example, I fear a coffee table mount because we have a small and nosy dog who might take issue with it. If you have kids in the house or frequent (inebriated?) guests, keep the piece out of harm’s way.
Mold Availability – The scene that you crave can likely be built if there’s the proper fish to serve as its centerpiece. For certain species like bass, trout and even billfish, there are lots of molds available in a wide range of sizes and positions, but for certain exotics you might be more limited in your choices --so that leaping mahseer or bulldogging spearfish might be a pipe dream, or might require the expense of building an altogether new form.
Realism – Think about where the fish lives, and specifically where you caught it. My Montana cutthroat might look great under lily pads, and our Amazon peacocks under ice might garner a chuckle, but they’d be pretty stupid purchases. Also think about the coloration of the fish – in certain cases, even if the habitat is realistic, the fish may be camouflaged. If that’s the effect you want, so be it, but I want my replicas to pop and command attention.
Consistency – We have our eight replicas spread out over three rooms, but that may change when we retire and move. If you have a trophy room, or otherwise have multiple trophies in a single space, they should complement rather than contrast with one another. Maybe you have a saltwater room, a cold water freshwater species room and a room for exotics, or maybe you mix and match. Perhaps you put all of the rock habitat in a single place. However, you achieve it, the ultimate goal is to ensure that one replica doesn’t detract from the impact of another.
Baitfish – We’ve often had the lure that produced the fish embedded in the jaw of the replica – that’s been the case on five of the eight replicas. From what I understand, it’s easier to do with a hard bait that with a soft baits, which is one reason that we didn’t have the Rage Swimmer place in my smallmouth’s mouth (I still have it in a cabinet). Another option is to include replicas of forage, whether that be baitfish, crawfish or something else. With a marlin, you can even make a scene with fleeing mahi or tuna. Just remember that each additional element adds cost and complexity.
Be Clear – When ordering your replica or replica scene, be beyond explicit in your description of what you want. My definition of “pea gravel” or “chunk rock” may vary substantially from yours. Similarly, “open mouth” means different things to different people. If necessary, send sketches of what you mean, or photos of similar scenes. You want to be thrilled when you open the crate, not disappointed, and getting someone to rebuild or restart your pet project is a difficult conversation to have.
Fish Replica Habitat Examples – If you’re looking for ideas, the best thing I’ve found is to scroll through the online galleries of the taxidermists that you’re considering and to see what they’ve done. Even if you don’t find exactly what you’re looking for it’ll give you a sense of the scope of what they’ve already undertaken. Most of them will tell you if they think a project is not feasible, but at the same time you don’t want to be an expensive guinea pig.
Alternatively, check out some of the major catalogs for taxidermy habitat. Even if you don’t end up using their products, it’ll give you something to show the replica artist that you end up hiring. Some of the ones I’ve used for inspiration include the following:
