What You Wish For

[rps]

As you might expect, I belong to several different fishing boards.

Yesterday someone from the Lake Erie area posted a question.

Should he stuff a 10 pound fish that did not measure 30 inches?

30 inch walleye in Lake Erie are like 20 inch LM in Table Rock. Nice to catch and worth a picture, but not that big a deal.

Choose you species, choose your fishing locale, ignore what you may have done or believed in the past. What size would it take for you to mount a fish?

 

[fishinwrench]

It would have to be at least a state record.

I don't find myself overly-impressed by mounts, therefore I don't assume anyone else would be either.   

I had an 11.7 from Okeechobee mounted, and all anybody ever said was......"Did that come from Lake Ozark?".   Once I confessed that it came from Florida nobody was much impressed by it.  😅

[MrGiggles]

I'd mount a 30" walleye from Stockton. My PB is 24", I've seen some high 20s but 30 is pretty rare I think.

Who cares what anyone else thinks, if he's proud of that fish and wants to mount it, he should. How many guys have dink bucks on the wall? It doesn't need to be a booner to be mount worthy.

[Devan S.]

1st I'd probably never do a skin mount.

2nd Even the best reproductions are only close and rarely are the colors matched that well. 

3rd highly dependent on species. To me Walleye, Bass, ect just don't make as good a visual mount as trout. There is also a lot of crap paint jobs too. 

That being said the situation and story dictates more than just the fish size. 

I have 1 mount of the fish in my picture. A trout a bit over 24" caught well below the park in RR. Fish was colored up pretty and I was camping with all my friends. That same fish caught in Taney or RR in the park I wouldn't mount. I'd much rather have a really good picture if I was fishing with someone and could get one. 

 

[FishnDave]

I only have one fish mounted, a 24" Largemouth Bass from Iowa.  Caught @ 30 years ago.  It was (and still is) longer than the state record, but not heavier.

I doubt I will ever have another fish mounted.  For me, a photo is just as good to show people, and I can have that on my phone everywhere I go.  Nobody's gonna come to my house to see a mounted fish.

[rps]

Good replies. My best bass, one I might have considered mounting in my youth, came from a Tulsa pond in the late 60's. I had no money to mount. It was a bit over 9. Today that pond is a "water feature" in a high dollar gated community. If only for the irony, I might enjoy that mount. I have been blessed with several good fish since then, but I have chosen not to mount. I am sure many of you feel the same. What would it take to change your mind?

 

[rps]

18 hours ago, MrGiggles said:

I'd mount a 30" walleye from Stockton. My PB is 24", I've seen some high 20s but 30 is pretty rare I think.

Who cares what anyone else thinks, if he's proud of that fish and wants to mount it, he should. How many guys have dink bucks on the wall? It doesn't need to be a booner to be mount worthy.

Walleye Central has a 10 pound club. Seems to me that might be a good dividing line. Even then, think repo mount?

[Ketchup]

21 hours ago, MrGiggles said:

. How many guys have dink bucks on the wall? 

Hey, don’t pick on me. 

[Ketchup]

I caught a 21 pound striper below the dam on Texoma when i was 14. If i would have had the money, i would have had that one done at the time, but that is youth speaking. 
 

Since i am a 99% bass guy, it would take a 15 or bigger for me to get a repo done. That would be the only species i would consider out of respect and love for bass. 

[MrGiggles]

1 hour ago, Ketchup said:

Hey, don’t pick on me. 

I'm picking on myself a little too. I only have one on the wall that might break 140, probably in the 130s. The rest are unremarkable size-wise, but they're important to me.