Mattlures

FC I am going to write up a big post about replicas and Skin mounts. Can you send me the pictures of your replicas? Send them to mattlures@yahoo.com THANKS! I know you had at least one done by Robersts and anothe done by lake fork. Those are 2 of the 3 shops I recomend so I would to show those.

I know your pain. I have been there before. In my opinion if a bait produces huge bass for you then price is no object. Now of corse this is within reason. If its a $100 bait and there getting destroyed or your loosing them then I would look to other altenatives. However I would gladdly pay $1000 for a bait that I KNEW I would catch 3 bass over 18lbs with and then loose the bait. Of corse there is no way of knowing that but my point is the $1000 is well worth 3 18+lb fish to me. Any lure that is under $15 that produces even one huge fish, to me is worth it. keep in mind I am not Rich by any means. I just keep it in perspective. I think of all the junk fishing stuff I hav bought and all the stuff I dont even use and the money I spent on those things and then I consider the price of something that does work for me and has produced a big fish. Now the expensive gear looks like a bargin. If you want to prolong your swimbaits, get a lure retreiver and some Mend-it glue. You should get a lot more use out of your baits

If the pond is that small the the OBVIOUS reason is that you kept the fish. Of cource they are not in there, YOU TOOK THEM OUT!!!!!! hello. Now that doesnt mean you took them all out but when a pond is that small it can be fished out in 2 or 3 trips. If there are some bigger fish left you will most likely need to change your aproach. If they were biting a buzzbait but now they are not use a different topwater bait. If they were hitting a big worm use a jig or a smaller worm. Use something similar that worked before but chang it a little. Small ponds can get edjucated realy fast.

Wayne you are correct. I forgot about how they actually used to "stuff" fish. Yes that was even before the foam manikins. Sawdust was one of the things used to stuff fish usualy mixed with some form of presevative. Anyways I looked at your picture and overal it is an exceptionaly nice skin mount especialy since its over 30 years old. You did well in your choice of taxidermist. However because it is a skin mount it is still a rotting decaying piece of skin and it does show some signs of it. I sent you a detailed email pointing out several flaws. Most of them minor but they are still signs of skin mount inferiority. With your permission I would like to post your picture with the flaws I have pointed out. If you dont want me to I wont.

Wayne if it is a skin mount it was mounted exactly as I described. That is how they are done. I am not trying to insult anybody for thier opinions but a skin mount is an inferior product. Most of the better taxidemist wont even do them anymore. I am sure I can pick apart any picture of just about any older mount. It just the nature of skin mounts. my email is mattlures@yahoo.com If anybody want to send me pics of thier skin mounts I will show you all the thingg that are wrong with each mount. Now keep in mind a replica is only as good as the taxidemist. This is also true with a skin mount. The difference is the replica starts as a perfect mount and then has to be painted. A skin mount has to be skinned preserved and mounted and then painted. Most do not do perfect mounts. Most of the older skin mounts I have seen dont even do decent work. A replica is superior in every way. However if you do decide to go with a skin mount (or replica) you absoluty get what you pay for. DO NOT go with the cheapest price. If the taxidermist is realy good then they arent cheap. The problem is, a lot of think they are good and unless you know what to look for then the customer also thinks they are good. Most "profesional" mounted fish that I have seen look terrible

Wayne if your mounts look like they did 30 years ago then they must have looked bad when they were first mounted ;D Skin mounts age and unless you kept them in a vacume, in the dark then they have deteriated. You probably havent noticed because you see them every day. If you post some good pictures of your mounts I bet I can find many flaws with them. Keep in mind I am/was a taxidermist. When you get a skin mount, you skin a fish and then glue the skin to a foam body. You have to position it correctly. You also have to position the fins and the jaws and fill in gaps with filler and many other steps in an attempt to make that skin into a fish. The reality is by the time you get "your" fish back it is not the "same" fish you brought in. Unless the Taxidermist is extremely good your fish will be off a little in girth or length and many many skin mounts are not posed in natural positions. After the fish is mounted and dried it is then painted. My point...........It is not exactly the same fish as when you brought it to the taxidermist. Now keep in mind, you now have a rotting cracking yellowing warping fish on your wall. Sure it doesn't happen overnight but it is happening. People argue that they want a skin mount because it's their fish, I disagree. It's the skin that somebody attempted to put back together into your fish. Now I'll discus replicas. First off they are molded from a real bass in a natural pose. The mouths are positioned properly, the fins aren't over extended, and the body is correct and proportioned. It is a much more accurate representation of a real bass then a skin mount. A replica only requires dusting, as it is not rotting. It does not yellow. It does not distort. It does not become dry and brittle of have the scales lift or fall out. It is a superior product in every possible way. Many of the top Taxidermist in the country wont do a skin mount because they are so inferior. It is my "professional" opinion that a replica is a better and more accurate depiction of "your" fish than a "real" skin mount. So Replicas ARE the way to go with any of your trophy fish that you want mounted.

I am inspired! I am going to get my little girl her first fish. i was actualy hoping to get her a big bed fish but I think that would be to hard. I might take her out in the bay and have her catch some slatwater bass. Those pics are awsome and I plan on doing the same. Thanks for posting

Paul you are awsome. Your duaghter is a cutie. I have a little girl also. She 3 and asking to go fishing. I am going to take her out real soon. how old is/was your daughter when you started her?

Nitro because the lake is Private I assume its not getting fished a lot? I also assume the fish are not being harvested? If this is true, it is your duty as a guest to remove as many small bass as you can. Now obviously you dont want remove all of them but That would practicaly be impossible anyways. Your answer is yes. You need to remove the small bass when you catch them. In most lakes LMB are the top predator. They will eat themselfs out of their food. By removing the small bass you will allow the bigger bass to get even bigger and you will also allow the prey species to increase their numbers.

Out here in Cali our lakes go through cycles. In the 80's the big producer was Castiac. It made a lot of huge bass but things have changed. The guys in the know, know which lakes are ripe and are holding the largest fish. They also know if they are improving or regressing. This is done by comunication whith other in the know and paying attention to fish reports and talking to the rangers and the local Biologist. For sombody with no clue on how to find the biggest fish, My first recomondation would be to call the local biologist. They are a great polace to start. The only better info would come from guys who are actualy catching the biggest fish but if your not tight with them they will probably not give up the goods. Check lake histories. Call the lake rangers. call your local biologist. Talk to local Bait stores. You should be able to narrow down your area to a few lakes with the best chances of kicking out a record. I know of 2 lakes that currently have world records in them. I also know of 2 more that are VERY close. and even a few more that might get there in 5 years. I also know of wich lakes are going down hill. This is valuable info when looking for the biggest fish.

Thats funny. When ever I see this question asked most of the answers say to NOT use a treble. I personaly do use one uless I am fishing areas with lots of weeds etc. I am not saying I am right or sombody else is wrong at all. I do not use a treble on my other baits just the gills. When you are swimming them they tend to get eaten and the bait is usualy engufed so the top hook is adequate. When bed fishing the bait gets bit and smashed and spit out quickly so I always rig some kind of stinger. My preference is a smaller 2x qualty hook like an owner size 4

If I lived in any other state besides Cali or GA I would release the fish. But since I do live in Cali a state record would most likley be a world record and I'm keeping it. If I catch a 22lb 3oz bass its going back, 22lbs 4oz and I am keeping it. yeah I know its supossed to be 2oz over Perry's but I wouldnt care, Tie or break the reacord, its dying.

Ha ha man do we have differnt opinions. I horse in every big bass unless its on light line around cover. But as soon as the fish is in the clear I am horsing it in again. If the fish is going away from me, I let it unless its heading for a tree, then I do what I can to stop it. If the fish is turing or coming towarsds me even at an awy angle I put a lot of pressure on them . I have not lost a big fish in about 2 years. The last I can remeber wrapped me deep around a tree. I use to loos a lot of big fish when I got to careful and let them run and fishgt how they wanted to. Now I take control and my landing ratio has gone way up. I am not telling you to horse the fish because you if your not experienced doing it you could loose fish. At night I tend to be a lot more carful as I cant see them but in the daylight I know when to put the brakes on them and when to turn them. It just comes with practice. Throw your line away. Buy new line, Braid is terrible against rocks and other things for abrasion. It will get cut. I NEVER use braid, I hate it. I like fluro, its srtong and very abrasion resistant. Maxima is my favorite. I also use a Palomar almost exclusivly. One of the biggest reasons for me using a high quality reel is its drag. I dont let the fish take a lot of drag on me but when I need to a good smooth drag is crucial. Stay calm and focussed WRB is right, the fisht doest last very long.

I am sure you have gotten a bunch of tip to help you catch fish but I have another one for you. Downsize your line. If its just bites your after then use 6lb test Fluoro. Be quiet on the water and make longer cats to your target. I know these are basic but often overlooked by beginers. Also try a nightcrawler with a single splitshot about 8inches up from the worm. Use the smallest splitshot you can find. That along with the light line is easiest way to get bit by bass that I know of.

Brian your funny....."big" ha ha my baby bass is little! anyways here is my thoughts when fishing the BB. the best time to fish them is when the lake has baby bass swimming around. When they are 2-6in they are prey and real bass will gorge on them. Theye are still prey when they get a little bigger but not as much and they also start to act like predators when they get 7-10 inches. Now think about those little 4in bass swimming around in the shallows and hidding in the weeds and rocks etc. What would happen if one of those bass fingerlings decided to swim out into deeperwater along a point. ledge, dock,weed line,etc.? It would get eaten. there is a reason they stay close to cover and hide when they are that small. Now all you have to do is fish those areas that a real fingerling would have no chance surviving in. I personaly like a slow staedy retreive. In my experiance the bigger bass dont like to chase and they dont bite out of reaction nearly as much as small bass do. thats why Jigs work well on big bass. Just slow roll the bait past ambush points or any other dangerous looking spot. Remember to lube the bait and swing and dont stop reeling when you do get bit. If you try and play out a swimbait bass you will most likely loose.

I have the Salter scale and I couldnt be hapier with it. Its easy to use and extremly accurate. I KNOW that the wieght its telling me is right. I have checked it against a certified scale it the weight was exact.

If you and you daughter ever come down to San Diego send me an email. I will take you out on my bay boat and I will treat you to the best day of fishing you have ever had. I can absolutly promise you many salt water bass. You wont even have to chip in for gas and I have all the equipment. You will just need a fishing liscence. I am not just throwing this out there thinking you wont come down. I am dead serious and I truly do hope you take me up on my offer.

Wood baits are generaly light comparred to soft plastic baits. I bet you could get by with a hevy action flipping stick. I wonder if a feathered treble for a tail would look good or hamper the action? You could also connect a lexan type tail with eye screws so it moves. Castaic also did a wood bait and just glued a soft plastic tail to the back of the bait. It would be similar to yours. I assume it woulndt be durrable though.

DANG!!! Impresive!!

Hey Big M that swimbait came out real nice. I have to disagree with you and the others though. I think its kinda small I bet it gets bit, especialy on a hot night. What are going to do for a tail?

jhoffman tell her I said thank you! unfortunatly I dont think my pictures do the fish justice, especialy the first one. It was a big fish it was aprox 26 1/2in The second fish looks big but in the picture it looks kinda short because I am bending it. It was also soo thick and fat that it looks a little short but it was not. I estimated its length to be about 27 1/2-28 inches. I marked my rod and checked when I got home. I now keep a tape measure with me. The big one is my new PB. 17.2

I am having my best year ever. Here are my two biggest so far

Brian and the rest of the forum plese forgive me if this sounds like spam. I am honestly only trying to help. My gils have accounted for more 10+ lb fish then all my other baits combined but my baby bass is by far the easiest bait to use and gets a ton of bites. I would recomend the bass especialy for post spawn when the big bass are feedinging on 2-4in baby bass. Use this bait to gain confidence and from there you can expand your swimbait asenal. There are a lot of good brands on the market but now since "swimbaits" have become soo popular, there is a ton of junk. It is always better to buy a couple good quality PROVEN swimbaits then a buch of cheaper ones. As far as the paddle tail baits go, I would stick to the smaller sized ones and use them for their strenghts. They are great weedless baits. Also just because they are called swimbaits doesnt mean they are made for targeting big bass. This used to be the case but not anymore. Those paddle tails work but they are not big bass baits.I know it can be frustrating but dont give up!

I would start eating the smaller bass when you ctch them. Even the 3lbers. Your pond is out of ballance. Another suggestion would be to add aditional forage. Shad, Crawfish, Tilapia,Shinners, Minnows. Most of those wont compete with the bluegill. Tilapia will but they are better eating so that should make you happy. You still have to kill some smaller bass though.

I personaly dont like any of the soft toad baits I have used. I havent tried the Rage frog, but..............................The Rage tail shad is awsome. I get better hook ups then the toads I have tried and I like how it thows water like a buzzbait.