Mike Kirkhart of New Wave Fish Reproductions in Stuart, Florida (772/283-7270), explained the business of fiberglass reproduction. “We do taxidermy and also supply fiberglass fish forms to the trade. You need molds for a wide range of lengths and girths for each species. We have molds for largemouth bass up to 26 inches long by 21 inches in girth, taken off real fish.
“We currently have 1,600 fish molds in stock, and share our molds within the trade. If a client calls and I don’t have the exact mold for his fish, I probably know somebody who does. Or, I can sculpt any released fish using measurements or a photo. The process is like building a boat, with fiberglass and resin. Reproduction mounts are hollow and lightweight. There’s no shrinkage over time as inevitably occurs with skin mounts. They take paint beautifully and last indefinitely. Skin mounts typically show signs of deterioration after 10 to 20 years.”
Saltwater taxidermists have been doing fiberglass reproductions since the 1950s, but the public was largely unaware that their mount was fiberglass, Kirkhart notes. “Fiberglass reproductions of freshwater fish have been available for approximately 20 years, but it’s only recently that many anglers have begun requesting them. They recognize that they can catch a big fish, release it, and still get an accurate mount of their catch.”
Matt Thompson, a taxidermist and supplier of fiberglass components from Lovejoy, Georgia (800/477-6815), says, “I still do plenty of skin mounts, but you certainly lose detail due to shrinkage. In the head of a largemouth bass, for example, all those fleshy areas on a live fish are lost in a skin mount. It will shrink to the bone and the bass will look gaunt. A fiberglass replica eliminates this—these look as full and lively as the fish was when you caught it. Accurate scale painting is needed to make a fiberglass repro mount come alive,” Thompson adds.
Artistic Impression
Competition is a major part of the NTA show, and there were some truly impressive pieces on display. Kenneth Bauman, Anadarko, Oklahoma (405/247-5711), won a blue ribbon for his largemouth bass. “It’s a skin mount using a body that I cast off the actual fish so the anatomy is identical to the fish—you can’t get away with using a stock fiberglass replica body in this competition,” he explains. “Once the skin was treated, I used an airbrush to recreate the living pattern and colors, then applied a two-part polyurethane auto gloss for a realistic wet look.”
Bauman’s prize winner, a bass leaping from the water on a pedestal, is not your typical piece of taxidermy. “I’ve competed for over 10 years, and the trend in competition has gone from a habitat recreation with grass and driftwood to a more artistic representation of the fish. These displays are attractive at an aesthetic level. Like a piece of sculpture, it has a pleasing flow meant to capture something in your heart.”
