Attatching method LCR Walleye

All of the Premiers are Rotocast and there is no block of wood in them. But, the thickness of the material is durable enough that there are no worries of them coming loose (I've inquired about this with John at LCR and he has assured me that the stuff they use is plenty strong). I don't know about the Signature Series as they may have a block of wood in them. But, most anywhere on the Premiers with a few screws and you should be good to go. If you're not sure what you have, the weight is a dead giveaway. The tradeoff for no seam work and rotocasting is there's no way to get a block of wood in there. So, the material used has to be thick enough to support the weight of the blank...

 

Deja Vu! I was about to talk with John about placement of the "block" that is not there. I too, attach them with success, but have been telling customers there is a block in there that a screw will grab on to. Guess not! There really should be something, since I feel the screw may loosen in time. However, rotocasting is different than the 2 part molds that are common.

I recommend Deck screws and some quick set epoxy.

 

I documented the phone call from John at LCR just in case one ever falls off the wall so my dead customer (from it landing on their head) can sue LCR instead of ME - lol! J/K of course. I don't use anything other than more screws than I normally do. But, Dennis' idea of using some epoxy or some lock-tite or something to lock those threads in certainly isn't a bad idea! FYI, on a big LCR pike or musky I usually use thicker screws with a course thread. And stagger them up and down and side to side to disperse the weight between numerous screws. AND, make sure the screws are not that long (going into the blank). Some screws (threads) stop at a certain point and you certainly don't want to screw the screws in past where the threads will grab. ANd get them tight, but not super tight where you start stripping the hole. Again, a dab of epoxy or hot glue maybe on each screw as you put in probably ain't a bad idea!

 

Curt
I just got done with a double 5lb+ smallmouth bass pedestal where I wanted to attach at a single point on both fish. With the fish being hollow a single deck screw wouldn't cut it. So I drilled a 1/4" hole and pushed a long dowel, the entire length of the fish and drilled the same size into the rock and branch and it was a very sturdy attachment. It also allowed me to remove the fish for transport-great for my customer and easy to reinstall.

 

Not to hijack this thread, but there is a hanger out there that Don Frank used in an issue of Breakthrough that was really nice. It is a two piece system, one attaches to the fish and one to your drift or rocks. Anyone know what that hanger is called and who sells it? He uses it to attach a pretty big musky on a rock habitat that hangs on the wall. I would recommend this to you Curt, you can take the fish off for transport or cleaning.

 

toggle screw

 

Also consider if you're putting screws into a hollow cast, run the screws in at angles toward the head and tail so that they can't easily slide off.......just a thought.

 

I use dowel rods and epoxy. But I'd really like to learn how some of you attach fish at one attachment point to a weed stem (or something of the sort) on a pedistal mount. Something that makes the fish look suspended vs. laying right on the rock or what ever it's attached too. I'm going to go back and do a search but maybe a tutorial on this would be helpful.

 

On a replica?

 

Hello…first time posting…long time lurker…..so this is a method I use..tell me if this is a bad idea…..I drill a hole in the blank and then fill with IE3070 or Smooth cast 310…for a 10 pound LCR bass I use about 6-7 ounces….I inject with the body of a syringe no needle…then I put the all thread in the hole…I then pack clay around all thread so the polymer does not seep out….I then position the fish so the polymer is directly above the all thread…the smooth cast sets up in about 10 minutes….once cured the all thread in tightly held by the polymer that is bonded to the inside of the fish blank…..

thoughts???

 

I didn't see that article. I remember a thread about this (somewhat obscure) two part system: http://www.mckenziesp.com/Never-Touch-Paint-N-Mount-System-W46C3548.aspx .

 

Drill two holes in the back of your blank big enough for a toggle bolt to fit through. Put a toggle bolt on the appropriate length of all thread and run into the blank. Put a large washer and a nut on rod and tighten down to blank. Repeat on other hole. Now you have two rods coming out of the blank that you can easily attach to your driftwood with washers and nuts.

If you guys are attaching big muskies with just a couple drywall screws you are taking a big chance. An LCR 50" muskie blank weighs about the same as the live fish.

 

This is what I do as well , It works great and its about as simple as you can get !

 

Yeah, another method that would work okay I guess. But, I'd be afraid of using only two screws in these heavy things with ANY attachment method! I'd use more than two of anything and disperse the weight down the length of the fish with 4-5 screws on big fish. 3-4 screws on bass or walleye sized. A little redundancy here will give you peace of mind and obviously there's less weight on each screw with the more you use. Plus, if one fails with only two screws used that fish is falling! You BEST be buying screws made in America if you're only using two screws - lol!!!

My problem with toggle bolts is you can't really tighten things too much because of the fear of crushing and/or cracking the material. Just like threaded screws if you tightened them too much. But, at least with threaded drywall screws (for instance) you will get (simple), stable attachment points throughout the screw w/o worry of any movement w/o having to tighten down very much. With toggle bolts the weight of the fish is basically resting on the bottom lip of the two holes. And you need to draw things together tightly to alleviate movement with toggle bolts. Plus, John at LCR has assured me that the materials they use have been tested to hold THREADED SCREWS. Now, that's from the horses mouth. (It was in an email actually, I saved the email just in case one does break away and kill one of my customers - lol!)