how big does it have to be for you to mount an eye?

[jwmiller33]

im just curious.... everyone out there---how big does an eye have to be that you caught for you to spend the money and get em mounted???

[Esox_Magnum]

My personal limit is 10# or 30"+

[DonBo]

10 lbs or 30" for me too. Released one a few years ago 9 lbs, 12 oz., 29 1/2". Probably never catch one that big again, but I don't feel bad about letting her go.

[jwmiller33]

donbo----i really respect that!!! i dunno if i would have been able to release a 29.5 incher... i think that baby would be up on my wall right now but props to you for C&R... thats the real fisherman right there

[mww24]

I'm going by the 30 or 10 rule to. Only problem is I haven't even came close. My best is 27 in the spring after the spawn. So it wasn't very fat either. I've caught multiple in the mid 20's. I'm hopin for this year if i can make it up to the rainy river in april with my buddies.

[bak2MN]

I have a 27 7.5lbs on the wall I caught when I was 13. And I also had a 25 1/2" 6 1/2 lb on the wall that my 7 year old caught last year through the ice. Now I willwait for 30 or 10 or unless my other son catches a big one.

[walleye365]

im waiting for that 30" or 10lb threw the ice. iv got 4 in open water biggest 31.5 all put back for someone else to catch. 9 lb threw the ice on millacs last year thought i had her shes still swimin to

[bak2MN]

Yeah through the ice seems more special than open water, not that open water is something is bad just something bout through the ice.

[Team Otter]

im just curious.... everyone out there---how big does an eye have to be that you caught for you to spend the money and get em mounted???

30"+

[JohnMickish]

I think for me to get a replica it's got to be something really special. I mean really special. I would say 32" plus and on the high side of 12#. I'm already in the 30"/10# club so I would have to make a considerable improvement on my previous best.

[SSCHOPSHOP]

10 lbs or more. 30 inch sounds like a DNR saying to me. I have one on the wall, 29 1/2, 10 lbs. 7 oz. through the ice.

[jwmiller33]

im surprised so many people are set on 30.... to be honest, my biggest walleye i have eye caught is 25....

if i caught a 28, i would be very tempted to put her on the wall.. it would be a game time decision...

isnt the minnesota state record 35 inches? 30 is pretty close to 35....

just curious, what is the biggest eye you have all caught?

[zepman]

30+ here as well. Have caught 3 at 29 the last two years including one 11 lb piggie this fall. All are still swimminig. When I was younger I put one 28.5" and one 29" on the wall(both did weigh over 10) but I have since found greater satisfaction out of seeing them swim away. Any future mounts would definately be replicas.

[morefishplease]

It would have to be 30+ here. A walleye mount runs around $10 an inch so a nice picture would work for me I guess. That is $300 toward another great fishing trip somewhere.

[Ed Carlson]

The fishing today is far better on average than in the past for a trophy opportunity, nearly anywhere in walleye land.

So don't short yourself, if "big on the wall" is your goal, set that goal high..30"..31"..32".. "plus" is very doable today.

Replica mounts, I feel this is the best option for many reasons. Cost effective due to longevity of the mount, new "Soft Skin" mounts are nearly imposable to destinguish from a skin mount.

A plan can be this..start a tip jar...pocket change..you know the drill. Now set a goal for that trophy mount in inch's and girth, and if time is a factor...time may be a goal too.

Any offset in cost will be made up in longevity of the mount and the double thrill of the release. Time is on your side with a replica mount, measure up some fish, CPR the fish, give yourself time to consider your options.

Too many snap judgments on a kept to mount fish result in a badly freezer burt fish that furnishes the taxidermist a poor starting point to work with, or it gets tossed in the can because it is shot or you waited too long to mount it.

Much like a trophy big game hunt, set a goal, work to that goal..it will happen given time and a plan. Explore replica options, look them over and see what suits you best. Today I see zero advantage to a skin mount given the quality of the options available.

[buono42]

well i think that this is a very good question. But I also think we need to take into consideration all the new regs that are iin place that are making 30+" walleyes much more attainable. So I think that removing a healthy walleye from our lakes under 30" to put on the wall is to small. With the graphite options now i think thats the way togo. REMEBER big fish get there because of three things genetics/ food/ responsible fisherman. Good luck guys and have agreat 2009

[HaRdWaTeR jUnKy]

30"+ here too, good idea Ed with the tip jar thinking about starting one in an old culligan water tank...my friend had one in college and he had that thing not even 1/4 full and counted it and had over $700. Sure it will take some time but it takes time to catch a trophy too!

[Meatwad]

I think taking a picture and getting a picture mounting is the way to go here. No need to keep a fish that is producing many offspring out of the system to simply place on the wall. Take a picture and get a replica made. You will feel much better that the big fish you let go is still contributing to the walleye polulation of the body of water you caught it on.

[WalleyesWest]

32in plus or 13lb and it's got to come through the ICE! I had never caught a fish over 30in till last summer since then I have caught 6 and one was to win a Tourny and never mounted it. I just CPR. I have seen way to many big fish killed over my short life span to keep them. I used to and still do a little guiding on Lake of the Woods Mostly when I was in High school and collage for a summer job (SWEET). I rember some days out Down Rigging and comming back with 6 fish over 25 inches kinda makes me sick now. Point is that before the slot limit up here 4or 5 years ago we took those big fish and it eventually hert or fishing so now they all go back. We are now seeing alot more BIG fish now Like 28+ inchers. So I am all for CPR on the bigger eyes. Get a replica if you want a mount.

[TrophyEyes]

I think it matters completely on how much you fish, how old you are and the moment or lake that you are fishing on. This is not to sound like bragging, so please don't take it that way. My first fish ever when I was 5 years old was a 31" 10lbs 3oz walleye. I was with my dad and grandfather. My dad had that fish mounted for me. That was not only a fish of a lifetime, my first fish, but also a very special moment for 3 generations of fishermen. The very next year I landed a 29 1/2" 10lbs 11oz pig. Unfortunately at 6 years old, I did not know any better and knocked the fish over the head and said "there is another one for the wall." I now have 7 walleyes over 10# and one over 14lbs (33 1/2"). I will never mount another fish, unless it is a state record fish. That is my personal goal/bar that I have set for myself. I would only get a graphite replica. Now if my son hooks into a fish over 30" it will be on the wall if he wants to mount it.

[norwall]

Its a matter of personal preferance,But imo it would have to be the State Record for me to spend the $ n even then that would prob be done for nex 2 nothing. To some people $ isn't an object so they would mount a minnow if some 1 told em it was the thing every1 was doin. Mounts look nice in a bar or @ cabelas n etc. The only mounting I'll be doing is right into the hot oil for a fish fry,Thats what a camera is for anyhow then ya can reflect from time 2 time instead of looking at a mount daily. On a side note, ever wonder how a story keeps growing when ya walk into some1 elses house n they gotta replay the story to other people but its not how it originally went .personal experience I just thought of. Anywho just my .02

[Drewski]

For me it is around 10lbs or 30+ inches.

[hitthebricks]

I'm with morefishplease on this issue, capture the mood, weather, conditions etc. with picture. Just don't forget the camera. I missed it last year on a 45-50 catfish with a head the size of a basketball, but I still have the memory and a witness.:-)))

HTB

[TurnUpTheFishing]

isnt the minnesota state record 35 inches? 30 is pretty close to 35....

When your talking walleyes 30 and 35 inches are miles apart! even a 32" walleye is much rarer than a 30"...

I dont even know if I care enough to kill the fish only to pay and have it mounted. A replica if anything and even then Im with the majority, 30" or 10lbs +.

[goose89]

Definately, replica at 30"s. Got a 29 and 29 1/2 last year.

Blown up photos of the releases get way more kudos, ooooos and aaaahhhs then any mount. CPR!!