IN-DEPTH STUDY

Growing up in Oklahoma gave me ample opportunities to fish for largemouth bass. My father was an avid bass fisherman, and he took me to every pond and lake in the area in pursuit of this awesome fighting game fish. Later in life, my interest in taxidermy began, and largemouth bass became the center of my attention. As an Oklahoma taxidermist, I soon figured out that you have to be able to mount a great largemouth bass and whitetail deer if you want to stay in business.

My goal as a new competitor was to be able to “blue ribbon” with both of these species. It took a few competitions and many hours of study before I reached this goal. I made several major mistakes along the way, slowing my goal-reaching process. One major mistake was trying to copy other taxidermists. I had a bass mounted by a prominent taxidermist in my area in the mid-80s. For a few years, every bass I turned out was a carbon copy of this man’s work. After entering my first competition, I figured out copying his work was getting me nowhere. It was time I did my own research and developed my own techniques. I had to use “nature” as my guide, not rely on others for my techniques. After figuring out these finer points, the blue ribbons began to come. I hope my In-Depth Study of largemouth bass can open up a few new ideas in your taxidermy techniques of this awesome fish.

In this study, I have tried to discuss several different anatomical areas of the bass. Please remember there are a couple of different subspecies of largemouth bass, and each strain may vary slightly.

...Continued in the Fall 2004 Issue of Breakthrough.

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