Me And My Big Mouth

The link doesn't work for me either.

Kerby...

 

OK, OK, enough of the chest pounding and crown placing. It's a TWENTY INCH FRIGGIN STRIPER people. That's the perfect sized fish to start with. l'd never done anything but small game and upland birds before I took in my first whitetail. So just which one of you saints NEVER, EVER took in a piece that you'd never done before? This ain't damned rocket surgery. We need to stop eating your young. He could have gone over to those other haphazard "taxidermy" sites and had roses blown up his all. He came here for HELP.

JL, I guess us old guys have to stick together. Thanks for stepping in.

 

Frank, methinks you're in denial. The site doesn't work for me either. I get a blank page

 

Actually, the page isn't blank. The whole top section of the page is (seems like half of it). You have to scroll down to see what is there. Unfortunately, most people are going to see that huge expanse of nothing and move on as it does, indeed, appear to be a blank page. All the other links on the page load starting at the top. Only the home page is messed up.

 

why not just order a repo?

 

why not order a repo?

 

Because he can't order a 12 inch bass, a 7 inch bluegill, a 12 inch catfish, 15 inch shad, or 16 inch northern. He needs to learn how to actually skin mount a fish.

 

I think that's what others prefer as well, that he actually learn how to do it...instead of attempting to do it without any actual experience...for a client who hired him as a professional.

We've all seen the first fish mount posts, most of them not favorable. It's a trip down memory lane even for some very accomplished taxidermists.

But, there are some who could pull this off, with the right background and careful research. There is a great deal more information available than there once was, if you can weed through it, plan, and execute.

Nevertheless, it's probably not advisable for most to make trial runs on client work.

 

If your selling yourself to do work for a client you better be up to the task
If you can’t skin mount it or buy a replica
Then cast your own as the triple tail I have in fish of month pictures
Would you let a second year med school kid do surgery on you?
But on the other side so many sell themselves short I work cheap in fear of loosing work ???
Lay out your ground work
Know what your expenses are and decide how much you think your worth
This year my deer went to $600
Bass bream And crappie. Not croppie went to 300 commercial one side , $52 per inch for two sided fish and I now do 30% this way

 

Clew, do you know what the call the guy who finishes as dead last in his med school class? Doctor. I've seen "veteran" taxidermists put out terrible work. I began in the :closed shop" era where everything was self-taught. I took in dozens of mounts id never tried before and I would admit it to the client. I'd tell them a price and admit I'd never done one. I further told him that I'd knock off 30% if he liked it but if he didn't, ild keep the mount to practice on. That eliminated deadbeats. Some people just have that "magic". Did you ever see Ken Walkers first attempt? It looks better than my last.

 

Give them back to the client. Be honest and tell him you jumped the gun. It takes a long time to master fish and especially the scale tipping and irridescent colors on those stripers. My minimum charge for fish is $375 because it will take me the same amount of time on a 12 inch or a 20 inch. That 20" Striper is a $500 fish plus habitat. You can't wholesale out for $120. Practice with your fish, several, before you do a clients and make sure you have liability insurance in case you screw up a trophy fish.

 

If veterans are putting out terrible work, probably a good indicator that most novices shouldn't make a first attempt on a customer specimen.

Also, a big difference between bottom of Med class...second year student...and I looked it up on webMD.

 

BULLSPIT. Your attitude and some of the others her led to the "closed shop" era that JL, RC, and I lived through in the 50's. Its truly sad when egos and self-adulation try to squelch adventure and innovation. Thats really why this site has gone from a beacon of knowledge and adventure to where 90% of the posts here are either political or selling something. If you turn away every job you have no experience in, just where the Hell do you suggest they get their experience from? Buy your video or attend your pay seminar???

 

I have zero fish mounted of my own. No fish for display. I have only ever done customer work. Have never gone to a seminar other then my own, have watch on Rick Krane video and all I learned was that you can use different mediums. I can look back at my firsts and say eww, but I can also look back at them weather skinmounts or replicas and say they are a lot better then many who have been doing this for a very long time.
First skinmount I traded for a stack of break through magazines. Pale walleye custom cast head and cast fins.

second replica ever of a lake st Clair smallie

 

Without a time machine it's just not possible that my attitude led to the closed shop era you lived through in the 50's, George. So I'll match you one BULLSPIT.

I also invite you to try and find me selling anything or soliciting business on this forum. I'm not economically motivated in any of my statements.

You know, one of the most prominent taxidermists in my area got his start by mounting road kill. Fish aren't that hard to come by George. I suggest coming by one, and mounting it to accrue fish taxidermy experience before trying to taxidermy client's fish.

For the two of you, good grief. I've already said it can be done right out of the gate, but usually it doesn't turn out well and that isn't something I'm making up.

It's great that you're proud of your self-instructed success Mudbat and that you want to encourage others to discover their own talent in fish taxidermy, but am I to understand from you that because your boot strap approach has led to results superior to some veterans in the field that everyone should just jump right in because they'll put the veterans to shame too? If the "it's so easy a caveman can do it" mantra applies, all these veterans would fall wayside to DIYers, or be a heck of a lot better such that novices couldn't regularly out do them as you are suggesting.

What's that saying...results may vary? Indeed that is the case.

If you two want to provide more than encouragement, I suggest you give this person the step by step in depth taxidermy process that will help them get the job done well.

Otherwise, those encouraging pats on the back you're giving this taxidermist may have just enough momentum to push him into the deep end to find out if he can swim, and maybe he can...but maybe he can't.

Telling a man to fish isn't the same as teaching him to fish.

 

Not at all. But it can be done. Ive been a dental tech for 23 years( ceramist and higher end removable work) and painted for contests from a child through teenage years so I already started with skill sets in molding, sculpting and being able to see color that many simply wouldn’t have. So it was a little easier. It also made it a shot ton easier to fix what i messed up! But I still look back at my begin stuff and say “ ewwwww, wish I could do that over!”

 

Failure is not an option. If you walk away from what you started here you will never forgive yourself. Follow through. You've already learned you may have charged too little or bit off more than you can chew. That's ok. Years and years in the construction business and I still make that mistake. I was born with the need to save the world and be better to others than I am to myself. (I blame my mom). Regardless take your lumps and learn from them. Your going to do this again I guarantee it. I mount fish for myself only. I enjoy it. In fact I have so much eye for detail I can't finish any of them. And that's another problem. I have a brown trout I have painted at least 3 dozen times and I'm still not happy with it. If I had but one recommendation for those who want to do fish taxidermy I would say take some art classes first. If you can't blend colors then your in trouble. I have some of the most awesome mounts hanging on my wall that are COADOF. (colors of a dried out fish). Some of them have been that way over 10 years. Some day I'm going to learn to paint them. Some day... Some day.... Good luck! I think your starting down that same path as everyone else.