Kurosawa Akira

Read on to learn more about taxidermy options, costs, fish preparations, and other important information to keep your fish looking as beautiful as the day you caught it. Get extra information on how much does it cost to mount a fish.

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Choosing The Best Ice Fishing Shelter

It was difficult to select the best ice fishing location when it was time to purchase. There's a huge array of options and features that it's difficult to choose what's important to your particular situation. In today's post I will guide you through my decision-making process, and then explain why I decided to choose the fishersline Ice shelter.

Hub Or Flip Over Shelter

The first important decision to choose is whether you'd like an open style or a flip-over style shelter. There are advantages to both but for me it came down to overall dimensions and costs. Flip over shelters offer unmatched flexibility and convenience but they can be bulky to store at home and prices are significantly more expensive for the space. Flip-over shelters are ideal for towing around the lake using a snowmobile or ATV and able to accommodate two or three persons. In the future, they will become difficult to transport on foot, and they aren't convenient for larger than two persons. Hub shelters come in a variety of sizes that are suitable for anglers of all levels. Hub shelters are smaller in size, easier to carry, and provided they're not too large, just as easy to set up as a flip over shelter.

There are so many sizes

Choosing an appropriate size is based on your personal situation. For my needs , an 8-foot by 8-foot shelter is ideal. The shelter is large enough to hold up to four anglers and allows for an assortment of tackle as well as a heater. A smaller sleeping cot would not fit along the wall. While it's able to hold two cots and a cot, the 8'x8' hub is perfect for one person with their own gear. It's also not so large that I never want to move it. Installing the hub and getting it down is easy since there are only 4 walls and a roof that can collapse.

Isolated or not?

After living in a non-insulated shelter for a long time, this one is a no-brainer. Insulated to the max. Even though there is a weight penalty when you own an insulated shelter it is not a problem spending the extra money when it gets cold enough to require one. Insulation helps keep your shelter warm. My Otter Pro Lodge Hub's triple-layer fabric is nice and warm. My big buddy is usually set to low. If I'm well dressed, I don't need to turn it more than this. My propane consumption is also lessened by keeping the temperature at a minimum. The Big Buddy portable heater will run on two 1 lb propane bottles for approximately 10 hours, enough to last for the entire day. Insulation also stops condensation buildup on walls and ceilings. If you've ever sat in a heated ice shelter you're aware of the delight of watching condensation fall over you for the entire day.

Why Otter?

There are some features of the Otter tents I believe, place their products above others. Number one, it was packed with everything you'd want to carry in the bag. Shelters might not have enough ice anchors, or guy lines, to anchor the tent. The bag in which the tent is stored in is large enough to allow you to put it back in the bag after it has been coated in ice and snow. The triple layer insulation ensures that there aren't any pinhole leaks within the fabric. I'm able to count the amount of pin hole light leaks on my fingers. There is plenty of storage using overhead storage nets, rod holders, and pockets. I thought the overhead nets for storage seemed uninteresting at first, but now I actually use them for every trip. Quality material is used to do all things.

It's easy to see that I'm a pretty satisfied with the choice I made for my shelter. Only thing I would modify is the door. The door on the Otter is the standard triangular door that can make access and egress a bit tricky. If I was fishing with small children I would take a serious look at the Eskimo Outbreak shelter for it's large door.

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Are Fish Mounts Made from Real Fish

If you have ever spent time in a big sporting goods store, like Bass Pro Shops, then you surely have noticed all the incredible fish mounted on the walls. Most anglers gaze up with envy at everything from huge marlin to jumbo bass, but have you ever wondered if those shiny mounts are real fish?

So, are fish mounts made from real fish? Taxidermy mounts made from real fish usually only contain the skin, teeth, head and fins. The body portion consists of a light weight foam mold on which the skin and other fish parts are mounted. Most fish mounts are actually painted fiberglass replicas.

There are some important things to know when the opportunity to catch a trophy fish comes knocking. 

How is a fish mounted

One of these days, you could very well catch the fish of a lifetime. Pictures are great, but sometimes they just don’t do the size of a fish justice. If you want to really show off your fishing prowess to your buddies, consider making your trophy a permanent mount on the wall.  To find out extra information on Fish Mounts, you've to visit fishersline.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-mount-a-fish website.

Skin mounts

Using actual fish parts for mounting is slowly becoming a thing of the past. As anglers become more aware of the importance of fishery conservation, catch and release practices make real fish mounts impractical. Even so, taxidermists still get clients insisting on live mounts.

Live fish are mounted using the skin, fins, parts of the head and sometimes the teeth. Fish are far more delicate than most animals when it comes to mounting. Proper preparation is essential to ensure a high quality result. The taxidermist will skin the fish and use a preservative on the fish parts to be saved. Once the skin and other portions of the fish are dry, they are added to a foam mold that makes up the main body of the fish.

The next steps are where the taxidermist’s artistic ability really shines. Life like poses and painting a fish to mimic true-to-life colors is no small feat. Usually only one side of the fish is painted for wall mounts. Pedestal mounts will have both sides painted. Once painted, a clear coat layer is applied to protect it for years to come.

Replica mounts

  If releasing the fish back to the water is your aim, then consider a fiberglass replica instead. It may not be the real thing, but it just might look better anyway. Here are a few things to consider when deciding between taking a fish to the taxidermist or releasing it to fight another day.

The modern day fiber glass reproductions are truly life-like. They are molded from real fish so all the details are present. If the paint job is done by a skilled taxidermist, you will never be able to tell the difference between a skin mount and a replica.

Many taxidermists have access to a large number of custom sizes from fish mold suppliers. This makes matching the exact size of your fish easier than ever.

It may not be the real fish you caught but it sure is a great way to commemorate the catch. It is also a much faster time to completion. A picture of the fish at the time you caught it is key to getting an accurate recreation of the fish. A good taxidermist will work with you and your picture to recreate the memory of your fish.

Regardless of the type of mount you get, it is important to do your homework when selecting a taxidermy shop. All taxidermy requires skill and artistic abilities. Don’t trust your dollar or trophy to someone without hearing feedback from actual customers.

Final thoughts

Fish mount are a great way to share your adventure of a lifetime with friends and family.  A fish on the wall means proof of a catch and bragging rights to go with it.  Getting a skin mount from a real fish or a replica mount is a personal choice.  The replica mounts available now days offer the ability to exactly match your fish’s size and look.  They also last longer and in most cases look better too.