This is a question for all who have gotten replicas done. I recently had a walleye done and it looks NOTHING like the fish that I caught. Is this common, or did I get a bad replica? It looks nothing like the fish I caught. I’d like to hear some opinions before I express my feelings with the taxidermist. It’s a lot of money to not get what you wanted.
never had it done before, but my dad being a taxidermist and seeing how real fish are mounted, i really wouldnt think it would take much to have another taxidermist re-paint it.
Does it happen? Yes. Is it common? No. Should you just live with it? I wouldnt. A lot depends on why it doesnt look like the same fish. Is it size wise or color? There is a few things that could be done for either situation. Let us know why it doesnt look the same and maybe we can help ya out.
I don’t have a replica, but IMHO, the paint jobs are done too well…. Most of the ones I have seen are too colorful and brilliant, if that makes sense…. I know walleyes that I have seen are not “THAT” green…. 
I have on the other hand, seen some really nice one’s that I couldn’t have told you were replicas…. 
big G 
I will post up pictures of both here in a second. It’s both size and color. You’ll see here in a second.
the first one is obviously the fish. He bounced around on two scales from 13.2 to 13.8 and was roughly 30.5 inches long. He was quite thick!! Obviously a post spawn fish caught in May.
Then the mount. No similar colors, and it looks like it has 4 pounds of eggs in her. Am I being too picky???
I’m worried of replicas for just that reason
I’d ask them to try it again and that you want it to look
like the walleye in the provided pic.
Awesome pic by the way!!
I would hang the picture on the wall with a little note saying correct replica coming soon. A friend of a friend caught a trophy musky in Canada two years ago that had a barred pattern on it and when he got his replica he was given a spotted musky almost like the taxidermist did’nt look at the picture.
Your fish doesn’t have as big as a belly as the replica….I would have a talk with the person in charge. All you should have to do is place the picture on the counter… Good Luck
I think its fairly obvious that there is an issue here. I’m sure its obvious to the Tax. too. I think sluffing it may be a mistake. A friendly confrontation with the Tax. may get you somewhere. In my eyes, a refund is in order if that pic of the replica does it true justice. Be nice, its obvious theres a problem.
That’s exactly what I am talkin’ about…. black and gold do not equal green…. Some good suggestions given.
big G
You’re not being too picky. That’s just an example of poor taxidermy. The end result is supposed to look like the original or why bother with the photos and measurements in the first place?
I’d be very calm and nice with the approach as mentioned by some of the others and I would hold out for a new mount. Repainting it won’t do in my books. You didn’t catch a prespawner with a loaded belly so even if the paint is corrected it still isn’t right.
Best of luck to you with getting things squared away.
I had a musky done a couple years ago that wasn’t what I was expecting. I took it back and told him what I thought, and he agreed wholeheartedly with me. He did it over, did a great job, and everybody is happy.
First of all, 13.2-13.8 post spawn? Holy moly!
Second, a replica is a great choice! 
Experiences like yours give them an undeserved bad name. A good replica gives a guy the best of both worlds. I wish more walleye guys agreed. 
Third, you should definitely have a conversation with the taxidermist. Who knows why you got a bad mount, but you did. A friendly approach with picture in hand might just get you exactly what you were looking for. 
Travis, you definitely have a concern. They don’t give those mounts away, make them get it right or refund. There are a lot of good taxidermists out there. Just be civil about it.
yes, that dosent look right at all. tell him you want it re done. there is no detail in that paint job at all
first is the paint job is bad! remember rep or skin mount they both get painted! this guy just did a bad job in my opinion! the colors would have looked the same if it were the skin mount!
as far as the belly! reps come in various sizes! more often than not you will never get one that is exactly the same size as the one you caught! most walleye reps that are 30.5 inches long have a bit of a belly on them!
that probably was the closest match he could get from his supplier!
with that said! there are much closer fits than that if one put some time into finding it!
looks like he ordered the first 30 inch walleye he seen in his book and only can paint that one way for a walleye!
looking at that paint job you might need to find a better tax to paint it!
fish are a tuff critter to do that’s Y its very important to do your homework on you tax before choosing!
good luck!
Thank you everyone. I will do just what everyone said. I will contact him and talk to him and see what can be done. I am glad I have good pictures, but man it would of been neat to have something that resembled that fish. The color on him was amazing, and we almost thought it might be a saugeye. I will show him both pictures and see if he can make it right. I will withold putting his name on here unless he chooses not to do the right thing. I’d hate to see someone lose GOOD money on something this off if he thinks nothing is wrong. I feel it would be fair to warn anyone using him. But then again, he may have had a bad day, and will make things right. And if he does, I will give him his deserved credit. Until then. Thanks again everyone.
Good luck and congratz on the awsome looking fish.
Wow…that doesn’t look like the color of any eye I’ve personally caught!! No way I would stand for that subpar taxidermy.
From the looks…doesn’t look like a fibertech or LAX replica.
Kelly has two at his cabin… replica of a 30″ Mille eye done by fibertech and a 50″ Mille Ski done by LAX. Both are excellent replicas, the color and realness of both are outstanding…look like they were just pulled from the water!
Your replica looks like it was pulled from a stale barrel of yellow paint and what’s with the white on the tail?? Terrible work! Please post this guys name so non of us unknowingly use him. Did he have a pic to use for comparison?? If he did and that’s what you got, he’s a terrible taxidermist!
BIRDDOG
Let us know how this turns out Travis… Good luck!
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
