Muskie replica

[archeral566]

Was out earlier this week and managed a fifty four inch fish, and am wanting to get a replica made. I have not had anything mounted before and am wondering if anyone has any input on place where i can get a quality mount at a good price. I live in the Minnesota metro.

[JackPineGuy]

im sorry i cant help ya there but i say go for it for sure. thats a big fish. id prolly do the same. ive been fishing muskies along time and have managed two 50inchers but none over that. just took pics but if i got 54 id prolly get a replica

[Esox_Magnum]

Lax reproductions or Fiantte (sp) are the 2 tops... A good replica wont be cheap and a cheap one wont be good....

[walleye18]

Call Mike at FiberTech in Nisswa, MN...you wont be disappointed. He's awesome!

218.963.8002 or his cell at 218.839.8002.

Had 4 fish done from him and they are great!

[bemidjibasser]

Big Tales Taxidermy in Tomohawk, WI did mine. Good price and good work.

Jeff Frick is the guy's name.

[Walleye Guy]

My advice you be this.

Look at them all at the NW Sportshow before buying one. Some offer show discounts too. They all have their unique look due to the painting and finishing. One of the ones mentioned above has a very "wet" look due to the copious amounts of finish. In my opinion it doesn't look very realistic. Some guys dig that highly "shellacked" look. If you are getting a wooden board behind the repro, ask what is written on the board. One of the ones mentioned above insists on advertising on your board unless you tell them not to.

Check out Artistic Anglers as well. I think their mounts are the best looking and most realistic but that is just my opinion.

These are the big four reproduction taxidermists in the midwest. All have extensive collections of fish molds.

Artistic Anglers

Fibertech

Fittante

Lax

Stay away from traditional taxidermists who do not have the large inventories of fish molds. chances are they are ordering a blank from one of the above and then just doing the finishing.

[JPenny]

Both Lax and Fittante make nice reproductions and are probably the most well known. Personally, I have to agree with Walleye Guy. Artistic Anglers out of Duluth make the most realistic looking repro I've seen yet.

[BrianLucky13]

Artistic Anglers gets my vote

[archeral566]

looks like the best choices in minnesota are fiber tech and artistic anglers. On their websites they look pretty glossy, anyone have any pictures of a mount done by them? At this point I am leaning towards fittante, after seeing the detail put into his fish and them looking natural and not glossy in all the pictures he has sent to me.

[drg700]

We got a 54 done by Fibertech last fall and it looks great. Mike is a great guy and does good work. He has fixed a few from Lax that the teeth looked so fake. Lax uses plastic forks for teeth. I can send you pics of ours if you want. Also Mike only took 4 weeks rather than 8 to 12 months from the other guys.

[Walleye Guy]

Hopefully this works. This is a 46" pike done by Artistic Anglers this past winter.

[The dock is IN]

If you've seen the rotating muskie in the Twin Cities Muskies Inc booth, that nice replica was made by Lax. I think you would have to attend both the Minnesota Muskie Expo (Lax and Fittante) and the Sportshow (Artistic Anglers) to see examples. Not sure where you can see Fibertech. Good replicas are expensive, and you have to live with them a long time, so you should look at their work first.

Greg Ide

(I built the crate for that replica. Great crate.)

[TomWehler]

Show now, do home work in person....enjoy later.

We have one mount from 1980.....48" muskie fish cut its own throat swallowing lure...bled out. Since then we have been lucky to live release all caught pike an muskie fish. Well we think..ya just never know what goes on down below as these lakes are deeper than you or I know.

One cool option we have done since with very special fish or just cool events muskie fishy is keep the best photo of fisher & fish.

Have a 24" x 36" photo made, frame it an hang it in fun place to make us smile when walking by or just in need of a lake or fish fix.

Cheap an in one glance it brings you back to the time & place of THE HUNT or THE CATCH. Works for us an as years go by an YOU CHANGE in looks, body girth, teeth an face features, hair color......bla bla bla you will change...... the photo keeps you an that fish looking young an fresh. Plus helping not to foget the location this great event went down an memory fades into dust.

NO GRAY!

Less Wrinkles.

Beauty of the fish.

An just looks cool....and I KNOW COOL DaddyO!

Anyway..just a thought to share from my the dart board here winter digz Musky Acres.

Keep on rocken!

Tommy

[drg700]

Here is a 54 from Fibertech.

[bemidjibasser]

here are a few photos of mine by Big Tales Taxidermy

[Musky Buck]

Nisswa guy did my father in laws 2 years ago and it really looks nice.