22RangerZ520R

He's completed my smallie, should have it in a week. Can't wait to see the smallie in person! His work on both my largemouth and smallie are PHENOMENAL!!! www.davecampbellfish.com

Thanks. I just wanted "the best", that's it... Nothing at all wrong with the Exsence's. No sir, not a pro-staffer. Wish I was, I could have gotten them even cheaper... I did get a good deal on them though along with all my other rods/reels.....

Traded in my (4) Exsence 3000's for (4) new Stella 3000 FJ's this week and wow.... They're like a Rolex, can't feel a single gear and smooth as butter! Just got to spool up 8lb Tatsu on them and they'll be ready to be broke in up north this spring on some smallies...

Same as Rodney said above, but I prefer the longer 7'6" models, 903C/904C......

Thanks man. I'm leaning towards #1....

Thx.

Here's my .02... There's a reason why a Lamborghini costs more than a Kia!!!! Like what has been said above, I did a ton of research before going with Dave Campbell and his name came up several times as being one of, if not the best in the country. Most of the other big replica companies did a simple/basic air brush paint job on the fish, they looked "ok", but I'm not satisfied with just "ok". I wanted the best and although I initially had sticker shock with Dave's "master grade" fish finishes, after recently getting my PB largemouth from him I can say it was worth every penny and the mount will last a lifetime. Save up the money and get quality. "Cut corners" elsewhere in life... eat Ramen noodles or something for a few months and save up the coin to get a quality mount. You don't want to have the mount hanging on the wall and have "buyers remorse"...... I find myself going into my office multiple times a day just to take a glance at my mount...LOL. Dave's working on my PB smallie as we speak, can't wait to see it in person. Good luck with your search for a taxidermist, give Dave Campbell a look and compare his work to all others out there and you'll see for yourself..... My largemouth mount he just finished is on his website and Facebook, plus I posted it in this forum too. www.davecampbellfish.com

Need opinions on my PB smallie (6lb 4oz) replica mount layout options... Out of #1, #4, #6 or #8 which do you like best? The piece of paper towel in the bottom of #6 is where he'd cut the wood off under the plaque. My PB largemouth he just completed is on his website, 12lb 8oz - www.davecampbellfish.com (or in previous thread in this forum...)

Thanks! I'll post the smallie driftwood options when he gets to that point on that mount... Yes sir, worth every penny!

Got it in yesterday, and WOW. It looks even better in person... I can't wait to see my smallie he's doing as we speak... Mad props to Dave Campbell, his work is PHENOMINAL!!! My largemouth made his website for an example of his "master grade" work. The first three pics are of the completed mount before he shipped it. The last pic with blue wall is her final resting spot in my office!

Yeah, Dave painted each scale one at a time! Most of the other companies I researched just did a quick overall air brush paint job with zero scale detail. I'm glad I went with Dave Campbell!

Yes sir, I'm looking forward to getting them both up on the wall! I haven't seen any other replica mount companies with the amount of detail that Dave Campbell has on his fish.

Not to toot my own horn, but my rig is 100% paid for, no monthly reminders here... The house/mortgage is also paid off, did it back in 2012 when I was 31 years old. I did these things on an average salary and with ZERO inheritance. It was saving money and lots of overtime hours at work. My rig is a pure "want". I had a 2013 F250 w/ 2009 Z520 prior to this rig, absolutely nothing wrong with either truck or boat... Bass fishing is my "beer"/"release" in life and in my line of work (cop), I need frequent drinks.... Having top of the line rods, reels and rig makes the overall fishing experience that much more enjoyable for me. And keep in mind too that EVERYTHING we are given whether it be money, materialistic things or just another day to live are gifts from God and that we are just managers of His belongings while here on earth! Yep, pretty simple...

Thanks. I have a skin mount on the wall now of a 7lb I caught back in high school and this replica slaughters it!!! I'm dying now to see it in person and see what he does with my smallie!

Thanks. It's Dave Campbell - www.davecampbellfish.com

Not to hijack thread, but I have (2) Mustang Elite 38's for sale in the Flea Market Forum if interested....

Really cool pic there! That's like a pic that would be in a Ford brochure/pamphlet about the truck...

Another vote for Black.... If it's between silver and blue only, I'd definitely go silver...

No he doesn't make his own blanks, but he does modify them quite a bit. He replaced a couple fins on my largemouth and had to rework a part of the back of the largemouth. He told me he is going to have to replace a few fins on my smallie, because the ones that came with the mold didn't look good...

Yes sir, all of the above. Length, girth, weight and tons of pics.... He's going to start my PB smallie soon too, can't wait to see the driftwood layout options and final colors on that one too!!!

Yep, he's one of the best in the country. I noticed that others (Lake Fork Taxidermy, etc.) were just doing general air brush paint jobs with little detail... Dave does each individual scale! My avatar pic is my PB, but yeah I can post more pics of the actual vs replica. I think it looks phenomenal!

Yeah, I'm going with #2.

Thanks! I did a ton of research and Dave's name came up several times as being one of the best in the country... I noticed with a lot of the other replica companies (Lake Fork, etc) would just do an overall air brush paint job with zero scale detail, etc. Granted, all of those type companies were in the $500-$700 price range and I paid roughly tripe that for each of my fish... My theory is there's a reason a Lamborghini costs more than a Ford Fusion.....!!!! Dave is also doing my PB smallie (6lb 4oz) and he said he should have it finished by May 1st. My largemouth he's doing is 12lb 8oz. It's about a 1 year turn around time with him now. I'm jacked up, can't wait to see it in person and put it up on the wall..... He has a "studio grade" (economical) and a "master grade" (his top of the line/"platinum" finish), both my largemouth and smallie are master grades. Check him out - www.davecampbellfish.com

Dave sent me some updated pics... It should be finished in a couple weeks. Scale detail is awesome, can't wait to see it in person!