I replied to a post on a forum, you can read about it here http://fishtalkfishingreports.yuku.com/topic/4968 and added a picture where a man from Florida was showing a 12 pound bass, bad part is the fish was out of the water and died.
Another poster asked. “why wasn’t the fish released since she was a breeder and could have been caught another day?”. I replied, “because we all make mistakes”.
I also caught a 12 pound 14 ounce bass and had it mounted. Ir has haunted me ever since. What I should have done and will from now on, is get a replica made and let the big fish live.
A replica is easy to do for measurements and they have come a long way, again, the paint job is a major part but if a taxidermist can do a good job on your bass then he can do a good job on your replica.
Measure the fish’s length and the girth and a replica can be made. Also, I would advise taking a picture or two of the fish so the taxidermist can see the actual color of the fish.
I know when I had my tackle store in Florida, you could talk until you were blue in the face but almost everyone wanted to mount the original fish instead of getting a replica. It’s time to change that opinion and to save the fish for another day.
You have to remember, not only are you costing that fish it’s life but if it is a female, which most big bass are, then you are losing all the babies it would have had too. That can add up over time for both quality of fish and quantity of fish.
Please get a replica and save the fish for another day!
