# Chum Salmon mount back



## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

We like chum salmon. They are brutes. Freight trains. Bulldogs. They are hard on gear, hard on arms, backs, and hands. It's a weird thing to finally land one of these monsters, then have the thought run through your head "please don't hook another on this cast". Your arms burn. Your back aches. Rods snap in half, reels explode, and sometimes you get spooled only to watch your expensive line and backing disappear downriver. And, yet, we keep going back for more.

I had decided prior to our trip in 2010 that I wanted to get a chum mounted. That was a tough year -- the chum run was not great. But I was fortunate enough to find a really nice chum that I thought would be worthy of hanging on the wall:










My brother had a splake that he was getting done by someone up north (that Wasatch Front area...I won't speak it's name...). I don't recall the taxidermists name - but he said he'd give a chum a shot, and agreed to also do this fish for me. Richard said he had some health issues, and it might take him a while. That was ok -- to begin with. But my patience grew tired. There was a point that I didn't think he'd ever get it done. It was during this time that I had a person that lived in our church ward approach me and ask if he could do a fish for me. I told him I'd let him try a chum salmon for me. He agreed. Keep in mind, this was in about 2014.

It wasn't long after taxidermist #2 agreed to do a chum for me that taxidermist #1 crawled out from under his log and let me know my fish was done. Sweet! And, uh-oh. Oh well. Maybe I'll get 2!

The first fish was good. Not great, but good. I was thrilled to have it. In 2017 I decided it needed a little "sprucing up". You can read about that here: https://utahwildlife.net/forum/6-general-fishing-questions/188633-fish-taxidermy-question-help.html
That fish continues to hang in my home today:









One thing that I was always a little disappointed in with the mount was that the colors were too dull. They should be more brilliant. More olive green, and purple, and red, and black. I still love that mount, especially after adding the drift wood to it.

Fast forward to yesterday (1 day after my birthday!). I'm in St. George at a softball game and I get a text message from a number I do not know. The text says "Stopped by your house, but nobody was home. I left some stuff in the back seat of your truck.". Hmmm....Ok. I hope it's something good.

I got home late, and remembered that there was something in my truck. I opened the door, and my jaw dropped! This was unexpected! Wow! I had completely given up on taxidermist #2. I haven't heard from him in a couple years. I figured he must have screwed it up at some point beyond repair (broken?) and never had the guts to tell me. I guess I was wrong. What a great surprise!










Sorry for the not-so-great picture. I was tired. I wasn't prepared to hang it. So a picture on the kitchen counter will have to do for now.

the colors are great! The fish looks very good. I am thrilled. The only decision now is to figure out where to hang it!

(thanks Shane O! Job well done!)


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## mycoltbug (Jan 21, 2013)

Very well done on the second mount. Does he do it professionally?


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Thats really neat.

I've always thought nice bright Chum's are the best eating salmon. They have a distinct "sweetness" to the meat. Gotta get'em out in the salt water though, before they start to turn colors.

Congrats on two mounts!
-DallanC


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

DallanC said:


> I've always thought nice bright Chum's are the best eating salmon. They have a distinct "sweetness" to the meat. Gotta get'em out in the salt water though, before they start to turn colors.
> 
> Congrats on two mounts!
> -DallanC


We eat quite a bit while up there fishing. They are still salmon, and are fantastic to eat, even after entering fresh water and starting to turn. Often we will cook both a chum and a coho side-by-side, and I'd dare say you can't hardly tell the difference. The thing with chums is that once they start spawning, they turn _fast_ -- literally zombies. Flesh falling off, mold growing zombie fish. Get them early, and they are great!

the bad reputation is exactly why you don't see "chum" or "dog" salmon sold at grocery stores very often. Usually they use another alternate name for the same fish: silverbright. You've probably all had silverbright without knowing they were just dogs....


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## katorade (Sep 23, 2007)

Sweet!! I want one!


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## pollo70 (Aug 15, 2016)

Nice looking mount I like the purple... it looks like some custom graphics way cool!


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

I wish I had your budget...


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

hmmm.....laminate floors, and formica counter tops? (priorities!)


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

I gotta say PBH, that second one has awesome colors on it. As most of you guys know, I have worked at the second largest salmon hatchery in the world for quite a few years now. I've seen millions of Chums. Not only did your taxidermist do a great job with the colors but that Dog is a brut! Good luck beating that one! Congrats PBH.


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

longbow said:


> I've seen millions of Chums. ... that Dog is a brut! Good luck beating that one! Congrats PBH.


The area we fish - two river systems - is known for large chum salmon. Acutally, world record size chum salmon.

When I think about hanging a fish on my wall, I want something unique. A brook trout over 22". A 10lb+ splake. A 30" rainbow / brown trout. A chum salmon over 37".

My chum salmon is very nice. It is certainly something unique for where we live (Utah). But we have landed other chum that would challenge the one I chose as the model for my replica. Check a couple of these out:





































Like I said, we like chum.


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## hunting777 (May 3, 2009)

BEAUTIFUL FISH!!! Wow


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

Very nice! Chum we have always caught are mush, started to just release them all. Most of those are crazy huge! Where are you fishing, assumming it is no secret?


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## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

Sounds like they make a great fishing trip. 
Very cool looking mounts.


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## Gila-Atraria (Nov 9, 2013)

Great looking mount! And those chums are monsters! 
A chum was the very first salmon I landed when I moved up here to Alaska. One of my favorites to catch! 
















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