Minimum sizes for mounting fish?

Everyone has their “number”. What is your minimum length for fish you would have mounted? I have a buddy that has a 32″ walleye mounted and so he would not mount one smaller than that now. If I catch a 31″ I will have that mounted possibly even a 30″.
How about you?
*Walleye
*Sunfish
*Crappie
*Northern Pike

Replica if I ever mount any of those

Walleye= chunky 30″
Crappie= 16″
Sunfish=11″
N. Pike=42″
Muskie= 54″
All replicas most likely.

Walleye 12lbs.
Crappie 15.5 in.
Perch 15. in.
Probably replicas. already have one and like it very much.

Having not caught a ton of huge fish in my life yet I’d like to get a start on my wall of fame so my standards aren’t as high as some of you guys:
Bluegill: 11
Crappie: 15
Perch: 15
Walleye: 30
Pike: 40

I’d probably get replicas though.

Walleye 30″ or 12lbs. Stream Brown Trout 25″ But Never a Replica. If a fish has lived long e-nuff to be a Mounter. He or She has already done there job in the water and on the Wall. 2 cents… …rrr

Have a 11″ Bluegill and 14-1/4″Crappie,a Smallie I caught when I was a kid Im not sure of the length but i know ive gotten way bigger ones since,it still looks awesome and I wont forget the day I caught it.Just need a fat walleye at least 30″,and a Sheepshead min. of 15lbs.Enclosed is the bluegill i had mounted.

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I have a question for folks that have mounts of animals and fish. Before you head to the great beyond, what do you plan on doing with your mounts? this is a serious question. I have many of them and am not sure where they will go if my kids don’t want them for some reason. Not to be a downer, but I want to make sure they get a good home.

river rat randy wrote:

Walleye 30″ or 12lbs. Stream Brown Trout 25″ But Never a Replica. If a fish has lived long e-nuff to be a Mounter. He or She has already done there job in the water and on the Wall. 2 cents… …rrr

X2. I am not a replica guy at all. There’s something about a plastic fish that anyone can order that just doesn’t do it for me…..

For me, if I am going to mount one, I want it to probably be the biggest I have ever caught….. These are my MN minimums:

crappie -16″ or 2.5#
Gill – 12″
Walleye – 32 or 13#
Pike – 45″ or 25#

Personally I believe in putting the big females back for breeding genetically superior eggs, that’s me. I ate a 15 pound pike this year because he took it in the gills, not quite a trophy but getting up their.

As for trophy sized fish it’s not all in the inches. I’ve caught pike ~ 40″ which only weighted in at 13 pounds and a pike at 36″ that came in at 17 pounds which is up there in size. Pike > 15 pounds are big fish they don’t grow fast like Musky’s.

Same with walleye Ive caught 27″ walleye that were 6 pounds and 27″ walleye that were 8+ pounds which is a trophy to some people.

For me, I’m not big on skin mounts. I like Timmy’s breakdown though.

crappie -16″ or 2.5#
Gill – 12″
Walleye – 32 or 13#
Pike – 45″ or 25#

F.W.I.W., replicas are not plastic. They are fiberglass. Skin mounts AND replicas are both an art form in my opinion.

Timmy wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>river rat randy wrote:</div>
Walleye 30″ or 12lbs. Stream Brown Trout 25″ But Never a Replica. If a fish has lived long e-nuff to be a Mounter. He or She has already done there job in the water and on the Wall. 2 cents… …rrr

X2. I am not a replica guy at all. There’s something about a plastic fish that anyone can order that just doesn’t do it for me…..

For me, if I am going to mount one, I want it to probably be the biggest I have ever caught….. These are my MN minimums:

crappie -16″ or 2.5#
Gill – 12″
Walleye – 32 or 13#
Pike – 45″ or 25#

I’ve caught > 500 walleyes and the biggest is 8.5 pounds, unless you fish lake Erie, walleye over 9 pounds are damn rare as are pike of 25 pounds or higher. I’ve only caught one 45″ 25 pound pike and I’ve caught > 700 pike all across NYS and Ontario. Your numbers surprise me. Most people never catch a 25 pound pike in their lifetime.

jerrj01 wrote:

I have a question for folks that have mounts of animals and fish. Before you head to the great beyond, what do you plan on doing with your mounts? this is a serious question. I have many of them and am not sure where they will go if my kids don’t want them for some reason. Not to be a downer, but I want to make sure they get a good home.

Find a school that may take them. Otherwise Craig’s list for people that may want them for decorating there business or cabin. Better than a dumpster.

Back to the post. I don’t like seeing this question at all. Everybody’s trophies are different, it may not always be the size it may be a memory of time that is encapsulated in that mount.

Personally I like the real thing. It’s fine for those that want plastic but JMO if the only large fish you keep off a body of water is going for a mount I do not believe you are messing up the breeding system for that body of water. Allot more fish get taken out of systems by poor handling.

I also like mounting the “real” fish… my personal opinion. I’ll agree it is about more than the fish size. Yes, I had goals with the four fish I have mounted, but just as important is the memory and situation behind them. It is more than just fishing the right water for something to go on the wall.

My buddy has a 29″ fat walleye on the wall. Caught out of a lake that reproduction was not happening, and catching a walleye was becoming very rare. It was a special trip for him from the start, with his aging father… and he knew it was going to be one of the final trips he got his dad out. When they caught it, and his dad netted it in a clumsy, very small old net, and from that water… it was a real trophy. He had caught bigger on Lake Erie… but this was so much more of a trophy…. the situation, location, and all added in. He will never mount another walleye… regardless of size. His smaller trophy is all he wants.

My 40″ pike came in a like situation, and is better on my wall than any monster I catch in the future. I agree with the size ranges being mentioned… but think there is more to it.

Depends on what you want to do honestly. I have a set of bluegills from when I was younger that my uncle as a taxidermist did for us kids, lately I wanted to make a display so I kept fish I thought about for the case which meant a trophy northern of mine 41″ but smaller perch and a couple eater walleye. Size doesn’t always matter, especially with my walleye in there, those two had such character in their color and skin plus each had a great story to go with them.

I prefer a framed photo and a replica. I’d feel honored catching a fish that beat the odds and I’d honor him by releasing him. A picture to me is good enough and the replica gives you reference to the actual size, including girth and shape if you go to the right “artist”.

That being said…
17″ specked perch
10 maybe 12 pound bass
12″ bluegill
24lb channel catfish

Not sure about saltwater fish yet.

There is a second reason I like letting them swim again. A lot of people (including biologist) claim eggs and sperm of older fish aren’t viable, but even if there is a 1% those genes get passed on at least one more season, that’s good enough odds for me. You never know, you may have just caught a true fast growing, breeding machine freak of nature.

Walleye- 31+”
Bluegill- 12+” ( I have one one the wall already that is over 11″)
Crappie- 15+”
Northern- 45+”

Now, here is where I get weird…
Eelpout- 30+”
Bullhead- 19+” (released a 19.5″ already… oops!)
Dogfish- 30+”
Rockbass- 14+”
Sheepshead- 31+”

I love them all!

Interesting conversation… I certainly respect either mount provided the fish is caught legally… I also respect the opinion of those who think that the large fish is past its prime breeding… I, like pug, believe that if I can give that body of water one last infusion genetically, getting that < 1% back in the system is worth the release.

That said, I’ve been lucky with my catches:

I have a 20-ish” Stream Brown on the wall in beautiful colors that would make most brook trout envious. Don’t know that I would put another stream fish on the wall, other than I am considering putting two IA brookies on the wall from the late 70’s at 16″ & 17″, the bigger might still be the state record, had I been better in the know at the time. It sure ate good though.

I have a just over 50″ musky and still would put my 42″ tiger up first, it was a beautiful fish. Never knew what I had in a late 70’s 17″ crappie from Koshkonong, my 28.5″ walleye was spawned out and was really beaten up, so I would look for something bigger yet and hopefully from the lower 48. A replica of my friends 13 year old catching a 30″ from my home lake is a consideration. Lost and would love to catch that 42″-45″ northern from Leech a few years that straightened my hooks. Still looking for a big enough largie (PB-22″), smallie (PB-21″), perch (PB-13″) and gill to consider in any way… Then there’s saltwater…

Good luck on your dreams guys, always fun to contemplate.

Mark

Thanks for the comments! I think I have concluded for myself:

30″+ Walleye
11″+ Bluegill
15″+ Crappie
42″+ Northern

The problem with getting a replica is that as soon as the fish swims away…assuming it lives after all the time out of the water for the pictures and measuring/weighing and hook in its throat… the guy in the next shack over will pull it out and bring it home. What I cannot stand are the people keeping the 27″ walleyes to “eat” and or show off. Unless its a memorable moment, Grrrr throw those back please.

Alot of it i believe is personal preference and location. I think if your proud of it and have worked years to catch it. Then have a mount or replica of it there no real sizes in my mind.

Walleye: 30″
Gill: 13″ (we have a private landlocked lake with an average of 11″ sunnies)
Crappie: 15″
Northern: 42″ or about 25#

I have the following all real skin mounts

31.5″ 10.5 lbs Walleye open water

26.5 8.5 Lbs Walleye Ice Fishing

12″ Gill Ice fishing

16″ Crappie ice fishing

15″ Perch, still swimming..

Zero… no interest in mounting anything, but good photos are great.

I’d never kill a trophy fish to put it on my wall, and haven’t forked out for a replica, either. But, I think walleye over 30″, pike over 48″, lakers over 40″ are prime candidates for a picture, measurement and replica that will out last every skin mount. But, the great thing about a replica is, regardless of the fish’s size, if the fish represents something special to the angler, they can keep that memory forever without taking fishing opportunities away from future generations.

The biggest problem I see with people removing the prime breeders from a lake is, they say, “well I don’t see a problem with just taking one prime breeder out for my wall” except, if everyone or a large number of people take that same attitude, it’s not just one fish, but many that are taken out of the system and once they’re gone, those genes are lost forever. And the ancient, giant pike that spawn in front of my dock every May would probably like to disagree with those who think the biggest fish are often past their prime breeding years