Best muskie replica maker?

[musky_tail05]

So I finally caught my first muskie this September. 53"x23.5" Yes, I know I got spoiled!! Here she is: http://www.fishingcasslake.com/photoalbum/Copy%20of%20Robs%20002.jpg

So, I'd like to get a replica, and I'm wondering what you guys thing of all the different companies. I'm leaning towards Artistic Anglers or Fibertech. Lax is deffinately out for me. Fittante looks pretty good, but I'm not too crazy about ordering out of state. Thanks for your help.

[Random guy]

Best thing to do is look at replicas done by the artist and decide whos work you like best. All of the places you mentioned do a great job. A great place to see this work is the muskie shows.

[bigbritt]

i have seen a lot of the replicas made by fittante and they are really good...he does a great job. wait for some of the muskie shows that come around in winter...they have booths set up and you can personally look at their work and talk with the people that do it. i know for sure that fittante and lax are there and i am sure others are there as well. i am getting a replica done this year and plan to research a ton at these shows, awesome first fish by the way!!

[porterhouse]

Matt at Artistic Anglers does great work!!!!! He did a 51"x24" for me. Very nice.

Brian

[bigbritt]

that is a really nice replica, i will have to look into artistic anglers for my fish this year. what is the price per inch?

[musky_tail05]

Thanks for the responses guys.

porterhouse- How long did it take for Artistic Anglers to make your replica? I've heard it might be as long as 8 months. Beautiful replica by the way!!

bigbritt- If I remember right, Artistic Anglers is $12.50 per inch.

[porterhouse]

Muskytail- it took about 13 months. Well worth the wait. Matt drops them off at Thrones Brothers when he is done with the mount.

I think I paid $11.50 a inch. He charges $50 for the driftwood and $10 for the drop at Thornes. I got that mount done in 2001. So the prices might be a little different today.

Happy Turkey Day!!!!!!!

Brian

[Giant_Jackpot]

Artistic Anglers does a fine job but I chose FiberTech because the wait was less than 2 months. I figured that once I pulled the trigger I did not want to wait up to a year for the finished product. FiberTech’s quality will stand up against any of the others. As Jon stated though, checking them all out before buying is a good idea.

BTW, you may as well quit muskie fishing if your first one was 53”!

[MoreSlimePlease]

Fittante Replications are great. He is one of the best painters around and hit replicas look fantastic

[Walleye Guy]

I highly recommend Artistic Anglers. Matt did a 50 x 26.5 for me about 15 years ago and it still looks amazing. (If I wasn't so technology challenged I'd post a picture) Never sacrifice a shorter lead time for quality when it come to taxidermy. Good taxidermists have a longer lead time for a reason: They have more customers and more repeat customers.

Don't get me wrong, the other reproductions look very good. I just think Artistic Anglers has the best finished product.

[bigfish21]

I gotta say I thought I would alway used artistic anglers after I got my lake trout back(It was awesome). I have been looking into getting a northern or muskie done soon and have been looking at the artistic angler mounts which look great. However, after going to the musky show in blaine last winter/spring it think I would go with fittante. Something about the details in the mouth. I agree with the others... check out the shows but I wouldn't do anything without seeing a fittante in person. they are all about the same price

[muskiefan4ever]

hi i have many lax reproductions in my house and he does a great job top of the line. its about 6 month wait not to long. one person said less then two months hemust not have much work id say. that fish was a nice one to bad it did not look like that alive. joe does good work. i would say lax is top of the line and joe a strong second all hte rest take up the rear.lax has some great see through gills and trasparent fins. rick is doing a great job every year in making his repors the best that threer can be. i have to say dont waste your money on anything else but a lax fish its the best bang for your buck.you know i m not knocking the rest they alll do an ok job but i think you would want the best so you dont have to say later i wish i would of done that instead.. rick makes his molds closer then any one and i will bet the farm that it will look like the picture you give him. so if you get any thing else beside a lax reproduction you will be throwing your money away so you should just give it to me so i can another lax master pieace for my wall. at least it wont be an eye sore from one of them other part timers.

[muskiefan4ever]

if you would like to see my lax fish i will be glad to send you a pic of it cause i cant figure out how in the heck to put it one here other wise i would put it on so you all can see what greatness looks like.

[Random guy]

Send me the pic and I'll put it up for ya.

[email protected]

[RK]

Hiya -

If I were to ever get one done, it would go to one of two places: Joe Fittante in Antigo, WI, or Advanced Taxidermy in Toronto. Fittante's paint jobs are spectacular. Advanced Tax. does scene mounts (like coffee tables, etc) that are beyond belief. It'd be worth the cost if you ever wanted to do something like that. A friend of mine got an 11 lb walleye done as a coffee table, and it's unreal. For convenience's sake Fittante is the most practical, and he does a very very nice jib with MN fish. As nice as many of their mounts are, I've always though Lax versions of MN fish are too brown.... But that's just me.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[musky_tail05]

After comparing the pictures, I've made a clear decision now. Artistic Anglers will be getting my buisness. If my replica turns out as nice as the one in the picture, it's worth the wait. I've never even considered Lax, for obvious reasons. There's no way I'm spending my money on a Lax.

[Walleye Guy]

I saw my first Lax reproductions last weekend when I was in Marshfield, WI. I saw two walleyes and two northern pike. First I would say the shapes of the fish were very accurate and impressive. However the walleye paint job was one of the weirdest I have witnessed. It looked more like a smallmouth bass than a walleye. It was incredibly BROWN with weird markings. In addition it didn't looked anything like the picture of the actual fish. The other thing I didn't like was the very heavy use of gloss/lacquer/poly etc. The fish was way too shiny. Only the walleyes were overly shiny.

The pike were definitely painted more accurately and were very nice. They didn't have the overdose of gloss on them either. I wouldn't say they were better than Artistic Anglers though. But I would not have been disappointed with the result if I was the buyer of the pike reproduction.

[AWH]

Quote:

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Never sacrifice a shorter lead time for quality when it come to taxidermy. Good taxidermists have a longer lead time for a reason: They have more customers and more repeat customers.

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I don't have a mount from any of those mentioned on this thread. So I'm not basing this on personal experience. But here's my take. Just because there's a shorter lead time doesn't mean the work isn't on the same level. Lots of things to consider as far as that's concerned.

More advertising means more customers. Artistic Anglers, Lax, Fittante...they all do a ton of advertising. This in itself is going to bring in a lot of customers. More customers doesn't automatically equal better work. Fibertech? They do very little advertising. They let their work speak for itself.

Another thing to consider is what does each one do? Many of them do repros, skin mounts, animals, etc. Fibertech does graphite reproductions ONLY. No skin mounts, no animals. This is their specialty. Having seen their mounts I believe that their quality is as good as any. And his dedication to getting the job done is second to none. He puts in some very long hours. I also know that if you're not happy with how it turns out that he'll do it again until you're happy at no extra charge.

So my point is, don't be so quick to jump to conclusions about a shorter turn around time. All of the ones mentioned do a great job. If I was to get one, I'm not sure who I would go with, I would have to do more homework. But I'd be leaning to Fibertech with Artistic Anglers a close second.

Aaron

[ptkane]

Porterhouse,

Just interesting to me --- I caught my first muskie ever last summer, a 51 by 24 like yours, with the same lure you have in the mouth of your mount...

Paul