# STATE RECORD TIGER MUSKEY!!



## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

Just finished up the new state record tiger muskey.

This is the LAST skin mount on a fish I will ever do. -*|*-

The head is an original cast as well as the fins and all the crappie are freeze dried. Can you guess witch one is fixin to get whacked? :twisted:

Enjoy.


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## deadicated1 (Mar 17, 2008)

great mount(s) tex!!! that is freakin sweet. i love the setting and the detail. i wish i could ever catch a fish worth mounting  nice work


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

very nice tex.


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## Leaky (Sep 11, 2007)

Man, that is some beautiful work. :shock: Where can I see it first hand.?
Leaky


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## Nibble Nuts (Sep 12, 2007)

That's one of the coolest mounts I have seen. Good work.


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## k2muskie (Oct 6, 2007)

VERY, VERY, VERY NICE!!! We soley C&R but if one happens to die during release...would you be interested in maybe another mount project if it was larger??? :wink: :wink:


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

Leaky said:


> Man, that is some beautiful work. :shock: Where can I see it first hand.?
> Leaky


Well Leaky, if you come over to the shop before he comes and picks it up you can flap an eye over it any time. It's still sitting in my showroom for the time being.


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

fatbass said:


> That's living room quality! Was it more than $100 for that? :mrgreen:


 :mrgreen: I'll say.... 8)


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## DocEsox (May 12, 2008)

"This is the LAST skin mount on a fish I will ever do."

Beautiful mount Bob and I have mounts done by some of the best. But this statement of yours about it being your last skin mount......I was wondering why? Your skin work is fabulous...BTW do you have a studio website? Hard for me to drop by and look from up here in Alaska.

Thanks,

Brian


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

DocEsox said:


> "This is the LAST skin mount on a fish I will ever do."
> 
> Beautiful mount Bob and I have mounts done by some of the best. But this statement of yours about it being your last skin mount......I was wondering why? Your skin work is fabulous...BTW do you have a studio website? Hard for me to drop by and look from up here in Alaska.
> 
> ...


Well....... May be not my _very last........_ :wink:

I just don't make any money on them. The hours I put into that piece are obscene... Plus, my shop is primarily a bird shop. I only do a hand full of fish a year, and I get paid well to do them, but to mount one tiger muskie in the same time I could mount eight turkeys.... Well, you do the math.  With the selection of great replica fish that are available now, it's just silly for me to take all the time on a skin mount when I could produce a replica that looks just as nice in 1/3 the time.

You tell me, is it replica or skin...









I love doing fish though, they really bring out the artsy side of my personality. And a big state record like that is just a fun thing to break up the birds.


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## bwhntr (Sep 12, 2007)

Replica.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Fake! (oops, I mean REPLICA :mrgreen: )

Too glossy, too smooth, too perfect, but I don't know anything about mounts. I just go by what I've seen.


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## FLYFSHR (Apr 16, 2008)

Although descent looking I'd say replica. If I saw it in person it'd be easier to say
the fins do look a bit perfect and smooth edged.


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## DocEsox (May 12, 2008)

The hype for replicas, IMHO, is a bit over the top. Yes they certainly are less fragile and more durable then a skin mount....but a well done skin mount will last decades. I have my first steelhead, mounted over 35 years ago and it still looks darn good......a bit of paint fading but I'm not sure that would be different with a replica but the type of paint being used. I do have to agree that a poorly prepared skin mount can break down rapidly.

Problem with replicas......it is sometimes extremely difficult to find an exact match for the fish you have caught. I have been looking for a mold to match a large butterfly pea**** caught in Florida 3 years ago and have still not been able to get one very close. Plus, despite a great taxidermy artist when looking in person at a mount you can always tell which is replica and which is skin. Personally I have two skin mounts and 4 replicas with another replica and a wood carving in the process of being done. There are few fish I would actually keep for a skin mount but done by an artist they simply look the best.\

Brian


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