Any recourse?

I finally caught a walleye that,in my mind, would make a great mount. Plus it was the biggest I had ever got out of this smaller riv. I gave the fish to a taxidermist that I did not know but saw some examples of work he had done. This kid was located in the Rice Lake area.
After many promises of completion he has not got it done yet.
The excuses are many but I do not think he has plans do ever completing.
The money isn’t even an issue. This fish holds some pretty great memories from a body of water I have fished for over 20 years with a group of great friends.

I suppose I should chalk this up to stupidity. I should have vetted this kid more closely.

steveo, surley he has the fish yet, and you can get it back and take it to another taxidemist. If you did give him a downpayment ask for it back, right is right. Hope it works out for you. Ayeye

How long has it been? My guy typically takes about a year. Not saying a year is right but he’s been reliable.

is this a hobby guy ? NEVER do this unless you know them personally and can shame them at every opportunity… like said, get it back and take to a shop.

biggill wrote:

How long has it been? My guy typically takes about a year. Not saying a year is right but he’s been reliable.

X2, I’ve never had a fish mounted, but I know it takes a long time from other family members who have. A year seems to be about the average.

old timer took him under his wing. I did not know him. he first promised 90 days then it got worse and worse. he had every excuse in the book and I gave him plenty of leeway cause I got no real power in this deal. last transmission he was going to text me yesterday about picking it up this week.
heading to the same river and wanted to show everyone the mount. guess what?
Crickets. Crap.
I would have had no problem with a year if he would have told me up front.
kid is probably never going to get anywhere in life. he is a bold faced liar

Can’t you just go over and get your fish back? Take is somewhere else? Do you have good pics? Maybe do a replica?

-J.

steveo wrote:

I would have had no problem with a year if he would have told me up front.

Ok, that’s bs. You can’t make promises you can’t keep. And the thing that really sucks, as you know, is he has it in his possession.

Not to through it in for face Steve, but next time might want to consider a replica.
Take video’s of the measurements and all angles of the fish.

They will last longer, easier to clean and if there’s a problem you’ll be able to walk away.

Sorry, I know this isn’t helping you now.

if you have pics and measurements, if this yokle hasn’t finished it, i would get my money back and still go the replica route.

SteveO,
Hopefully, you haven’t paid him much money yet. I would try to get the fish from him and move on to another taxidermist. If I remember correctly, you have some good pictures of the fish. I’m sure you also have good measurements so a replica is also still an option if you don’t get the fish from the ahole.

Years ago I caught a 12# walleye ice fishing Oahe and left if with a local taxidermist at the river since he did a lot of mounts. Seven months later when I went to pick it up, he had over 100 mounts laying around with no names or tagging and none anywhere near the size of mine. Since mine was long gone, he said to just take my pick of the litter which I did (for free). After six more months it went into the garbage because it smelled and had bugs.

I purchased a graphite replica out of Minnesota which turned out very well.

walleye555 wrote:

Years ago I caught a 12# walleye ice fishing Oahe and left if with a local taxidermist at the river since he did a lot of mounts. Seven months later when I went to pick it up, he had over 100 mounts laying around with no names or tagging and none anywhere near the size of mine. Since mine was long gone, he said to just take my pick of the litter which I did (for free). After six more months it went into the garbage because it smelled and had bugs.

I purchased a graphite replica out of Minnesota which turned out very well.

lol this happened to my father. he caught a 30″ 9.9lb eye on the rainy river and left it around there to get it mounted. when he went back the next year for the trip and also to pick it up, the guy had a bunch with no names or nothing on them and nothing that had my dad’s name on it. so the guy was like, how big was it? he said 9.9 and the guy gave him one that was 9.8lbs (said so on the plaque) and then charged my dad like 100 bucks for it. dad was like, i don’t remember what it looked like so i was like oh well.

well its a nice mount and its sitting in my dads office on the wall. i put a tape to it though and was like, dad, there is no way this fish was near 10lbs. its 26″ long (no belly on it mind you…these are caught early fall)

A lot of “kids” think this is a great idea and big moneymaker. When they find out that it’s not a get rich quick thing,,they quit and keep down payments. Then, they look over their shoulder for the next 30 years wondering when they will run into another pissed off customer at the local gas station or watering hole. I’d text this dude “I’m coming over for my fish and my deposit”,,and then I’d do just that.

exactly
If he was going to screw me he could have done it a long time ago. he always answered promptly. should have known. guess this little experience cost me $60.00 and a damn nice walleye. I wanted a skin mount but now if I am fortunate to catch another 30″ walleye I will know better. you just do not like to get screwed and that is exactly what happened.