Mounted! The largest freshwater fish I will probably ever catch.

[IndyGunworks]

Caught the fish three or four years ago on a fly in trip to Latrielle Lake Lodge in Canada. Took photo's and measurements and had to call over 10 places before I found someone w/ a mold large enough to make a replica of my fish. It looks like it has a big belly, and that's because It does. I am 90 percent sure this thing had eaten 3 large walleye before I caught it on a jig w/ a minnow, no leader. took 30 minutes to get it to the boat. It was 44 inch's long, and weighed over 20 pounds. Were were on a lake where we had to portage w/ tackle and gas tank so we didn't take any scales with us to know for sure. It was released. I have been searching for a piece of driftwood to mount this thing on ever since and I think I have found the piece. It weigh's close to 75 pounds, and is over 6 feet long, but I think its going to be a good match. What do you guys think? Roll w/ it or keep looking for another piece?

 

[armedindy]

looks really nice.....im jealous

 

[Mrmonte]

Looks good, do you have any close up shots that show detail? What shop did the work? Good on you for releasing that beast, the smaller ones fit in the pan better anyway

 

[IndyGunworks]

I would have to look on my other hard drive for the actual photo's of the fish, but I do have them. I don't remember the name of the place, but it was a shop out of florida that was on dirty jobs. It cost me 450 bucks, and took them almost 6 months.

 

[Mark 1911]

That's awesome! Catch of a lifetime?? That thing totally dwarfs anything I've ever caught. Biggest northern I ever caught was about 27 inches. I've see one around 33 inches. I'm beyond jealous.

I didn't know Northerns got that big!!

What lb test did you catch it on? Remember?

 

[hoosierdaddy1976]

looks great!

 

[Westside]

I really like the looks of that.

 

[Mrmonte]

I would have to look on my other hard drive for the actual photo's of the fish, but I do have them.

I don't want you to get the wrong idea, i'm not questioning whether you caught a pike that big. I just wanted to see some detail of the paint work. Its tough to find a good artist to make fish look realistic. I had a smallmouth done by this guy and couldn't be happier with the work.

Angling Artisans Unlimited - Top Quality Fiberglass Fish Reproductions

 

[IndyGunworks]

6 pound braid. I was walleye fishing at the time, and got lucky that the jig was in the corner of his mouth. the line was so frayed though it broke LITERALLY as we got him into the net. If I had been using mono I am 100 percent certain I would never have landed that fish.

 

[whitetailbowhunter]

Very nice mount, keep the driftwood combo

 

[hornadylnl]

Do they even use the real fish for mounts any more?

Looking at the limits, I'm only allowed to bring home 4 walleye. 3 under 18" and 1 over 18". For northern, I'm allowed to bring home 6. Only 2 greater than 24" and only 1 greater than 34".

I suppose if I got a mount worthy fish, I could bring it home.

 

[IndyGunworks]

They will mount the real fish, but you would need to freeze it right away. for a fish to get this size its probably over 20 years old. So I vote RELEASE

 

[hooky]

You just need to take a few measurements like IGW did along with some pictures. They'll pour a replica and it will look great hanging on your grandkid's wall.

I like the driftwood. Are you thinking you might want a longer piece than what you have?

 

[hornadylnl]

I've got a scale with a tape measure built into it that I'm taking with me. If I get anything worthy of mounting, I'll get the measurements and take several pictures.

 

[IndyGunworks]

I am thinking the piece is to large, it weighs almost 75 pounds and will be difficult to mount level since its not flat.

If you take measurements make sure you take many. Head girth, girth in front of the dorsal fin, and girth by the anal gland, as well as lengths and widths of the fins and how far away from the tip of the mouth they are.

 

[hornadylnl]

I am thinking the piece is to large, it weighs almost 75 pounds and will be difficult to mount level since its not flat.

If you take measurements make sure you take many. Head girth, girth in front of the dorsal fin, and girth by the anal gland, as well as lengths and widths of the fins and how far away from the tip of the mouth they are.

Not sure how you'd really fixture up that piece of wood but if you had a large enough bandsaw, you could cut a big portion off of the backside to get rid of most of the weight of the wood and make it flat in the back.

If I get anything that I think would be mountable, I'll take a bunch of pics and those measurements. Probably take pics while making the measurements so that the taxidermist will know where I got them from.

 

[hooky]

Not sure how you'd really fixture up that piece of wood but if you had a large enough bandsaw, you could cut a big portion off of the backside to get rid of most of the weight of the wood and make it flat in the back.

I was wondering if it could also be ran over a jointer to take off material and lighten it up. You might flip it over and fill it full of holes with a forstner bit to lighten it up too.

I think it's a good length and height based on the picture.

 

[AGarbers]

This is what I was going to suggest. If I take the guard off my jointer I can work up to twelve-inch wide pieces. I am envious. My best northern is 36 and all my musky are smaller than your northern! Good for you to release it. They stop growing once they're in the pan.

I was wondering if it could also be ran over a jointer to take off material and lighten it up. You might flip it over and fill it full of holes with a forstner bit to lighten it up too.

I think it's a good length and height based on the picture.

 

[Mrwindow]

Very Nice

 

[monitor51]

NICE fish!!!! Do you have access to some good seasoned barn wood? Though not natural to the fish, I think some greyed barn wood behind that beauty would really help make the color pop.

Totally worth the investment.