TAXIDERMISTS TO MOUNT CRAPPIE

[Guest]

Caught a 16" crappie this weekend. Officially weighed just over 2 lbs.
I need some good taxidermists references.
Any suggestions?

[goin fishin]

Whach&Stack,
Congratulations on the awesome catch! Sorry I can't help you w/the taxidermists, but would love to see a picture of that beast on here.
Chow for now,
GF

[black max]

I see you llive in elk river so I don't know how far you want to travel, but I just had a walleye done last summer by a guy in Harris, mn which is right of 35 about 50mi north of st. paul. Waltons Wildlife Studios is the name and he does MINT work, one of the best in the state. I would check him out before you go anywhere else. Don't know if I can post this but I think he said a dump was around $125 and he does the whole fish not just one side.

Walton's wildlife studios
Harris, mn 651-674-2949

[SgtCaesarfishinguy]

WHACK,

I am going to go with North Country as well. Rick does great work, he has done a nothern, a mallard and an 8 point buck for me, he does great work and he is reasonable and an all out nice guy. Being that you live in elk river, he is in Coon Rapids. You can stop into Sportmans Warehouse off hwy 10, they have alot of his work on display in the store, if you would like to see what he does. By the way nice catch on the slab, that will look real nice on the wall, heading to Red in a couple weeks to try to get one for myself!!

[SgtCaesarfishinguy]

WHACK,
I think he has a HSOforum, try nctaxidermy.com
that way you can see a little of what he's got.

[ATM]

I had a crappie done by north country and am very happy with the results. adam

[Insp Gadget]

Ed's taxidermy in Coon Rapids. He's so busy that last I saw you needed to be a repeat customer or refferal from one. If you need a refferal let me know. I'm in elk river also.

Gadget
[email protected]

[Fisher Dave]

As posted by another forum user.. Waltons Wildlife Studio is the way to go. His (Dan Walton) work is 2nd to nobody when it comes to crappies.. and the price is very reasonable considering he will include a backdrop with the mount... which is finished on both sides as stated.

I cant begin to tell you how much of a pain crappies are to mount.. they are very delicate fish that take special procedures to do properly.

Have Waltons do your crappie, you will not be dissapointed. I'm sure he has some on display you can see.

I used to work with Dan Walton.. he taught me all I know about taxidermy.. and I seen him put in the extra effort every day to be sure each mount was right.

[CEDAR]

I have used North Country for my 45" pike and also he did a shoulder Bear mount for me. He does very good work and like everyone said he is a nice guy. I shopped around alot for my fish and I thought he did the best job. He had a picture of a Crappie that he did that was from down south somewhere and I swear it was over 4 lbs.

[Matt Johnson]

I would get a replica done. The price will be relatively close for a 16 inch fish and you won't have to worry about your fish deteriorating over time, it will last forever. FiberTech in Brainerd does a great job. Drop me an e-mail if you want more info.

Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson

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[Coach Dog]

I'll also put a plug in for North Country taxidermy. Rick did a wonderful job on my 21" smallie. After the charge for driftwood, I think it ended up being about $190. He beat almost everyone in the metro on price and completion date (I think it took about 6 or 7 months). Everyone else was purt'near a year or more and for even a higher price. Check out his showroom and Sportsman's Warehouse in Coon Rapids. My buddy got a smallie done by Rick too and it's a beauty.

Coach Dog

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GIT-R-Done!

[TJFISHER]

Try Jack's Taxidermy in Coon Rapids. He does excellant work.

[Johnny B]

Some of the nicest crappies that I have ever seen mounted were done by Jack Hansen.

[Swamp Scooter]

There is a guy in Hastings who is a Master taxidermist and the rates are the same as others. John Kosec.

[email protected] if you want more information

[End of the Line]

It would help to maybe know what general area you live in. There are several good taxidermist.

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End of the Line Charters
Lake Superior
1-888-U-HOOK-EM
www.minnesotacharterfishing.com

[MG - Fishin']

I would highly recommend North Country Taxidermy in Coon Rapids. I brough my 28.5" walleye up to him on 12/31/03. He has a nice little studio in his garage (or what used to be his garage before the remodel). He told me to come in and take a look around at all of his work before I decided to leave it with him. Not like some of the places I called where they told me to just leave the fish with his wife if he wasn't home and then we can talk on the phone later about what you want. You don't buy artwork over the phone and just describe what you want do you? I like to see first hand what kind of work they do and feel them out a bit first. This is the biggest walleye for me so far in 22 years and I need to trust that this guy will do great work. And that he does, plus his prices are very reasonable. I think I paid $7.95/inch for the walleye, plus the driftwood of course. I've referred one other guy to go to him with his monster crappie just by describing what I saw when I was there and how I felt about him. Great guy and great work! He will definitely get my business again if I pull any monsters out of the water.