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After being totally out of the taxidermy business since 1991, and the reproduction business since 1994 or thereabouts, and seeing what is on the market today, I will mold my own thank you.

Our downfall before was our unscrupulous employees, who divulged our suppliers, and techniques to our competitors (sold us out), and made fish blanks we refused to sell to our customers. This got us farther behind in orders, and put us in financial straits before we resolved the situation. We shut down for lack of trustworthy help, and to save our marriage.

Yet, I see blanks with thicker fins than we rejected, being celebrated today. We sold our “seconds” for half-price at the conventions at customers’ request, and were embarrassed to do so. It helped defray the travel and lodging expenses.

Some today cast the heads and unpaired fins separately, requiring reassembly, which is the downfall of skin mounting. You are taking something God made apart, and no matter how good you are, or how many awards you have won, it will never again be as it was. The best we can do is to come as close as our human ability can create.

As I am coming out of retirement from a job-related injury to do this, and have talked at length with My Creator, I know this is a God-given ability, (“Talent on loan from God” as Rush Limbaugh would say,) and choose not to seek the notoriety I once did. I do not plan to go back into the supply end of it, or the competition circuit. Henceforth, I shall only stand in judgment before God.

However, I am open to doing some custom molding, and make replicas with the mouth molded in, and naturally thin, flexible, translucent fins for a select few individuals. Attached are a couple of photos of fish we molded for others about 25 years ago. The unfinished chum salmon is representative of what we sent our clients.

At this time I am primarily interested in molding bass and trout, but will be happy to discuss custom molding of other species. Back in 1987 when our Fish Clones came upon the scene, many of the top fish taxidermists demanded a separate category for reproductions because they did not wish to compete against our replicas with a skin mount. So, you have us to thank for that, although today’s replicas that I see are easier to spot when compared to skin mounted fish.

So no, no offense meant to anyone, but using what God made as the standard, today’s replicas could be more realistic.

Just my observation,

Dave

Okay, I molded my first fish since 1995 using my proven techniques, a largemouth 24 inches long, 18 3/8 inches in girth. All things considered, I believe it came out as good as could be expected with an uncooperative airbrush. The mold conformation was good, and the fins came out paper thin, with good mouth detail. It makes a pretty fish for an August bass from Lake Palestine, in East Texas. Oh, and I used Denny’s bass eyes.