Northwest Fishing Reports

For ever I had said I would not spend the money required to mount a nice fish and hang it on the wall. In 2015 I caught two Northern Pike with the same dimensions, on consecutive trips. Both fish were 45 1/2" and weighed 25 pounds. This year in February I sent photos and ordered a fiberglass reproduction of the released fish, from Lax taxidermy in Wisconsin. The mount showed up on my doorstep last week. I couldn't wait to see it.
When I started to remove the packing peanuts, the first thing I saw was the eye staring back at me. I was so realistic, and I could only imagine how the rest of the fish would look. Photos can not do justice to this thing. It's absolutely amazing to see in person. Rick Lax does great work. His communication during the whole process was lacking. By that I mean I couldn't get many responses to my emails, but he did answer the phone when I called and was plenty helpful. If you decide to have him do a mount, make sure you tell him that you want the mount to look like "Your" fish. A friend had one done and it was beautiful. It just didn't look like his fish. Lax is now in the process of getting him a new fish done. Lax told him to be sure to tell him he wants any further mounts to look like the fish he caught. I assumed that would happen but didn't take any chances. I spoke with him on the phone and told him what I wanted, and he delivered.
Having the mount done was a good decision. Having it done at Lax, was a great decision.
The actual fish was 45 1/2". I had him print the length as 46" on the plaque. I say it's ok to "Round Up" when discussing fish size.

Lax did my son's 50 inch tiger muskie and it was an excellent job also. they are highly recommended. I didn't know you had to tell them to make it like the original. that seems like it goes without saying. Good info. I got a 46"x20" tiger at Curlew first week of Sept. Going to Minn third week of Oct. to up my pike count to a more reasonable level.

beautiful mount, congrats!

Frankly, I have never considered this before. That's probably because I've never caught a fish anywhere near that size! I can only imagine the fight.
Can anyone give a rough estimate of what something like that would run? And if not something that size, roughly for any other size? Thanks.

Lax charged $14.95 per inch plus shipping. The plaque it's mounted on was another $150. I ordered mine during their fishing show season and got a 10 percent discount. Total with shipping was $900

Thanks very much for that quick reply. It's nothing to sneeze at but if you get a fish like that, with plaque and shipping, that seems quite reasonable. Now all I have to do is catch a fish like that!

I remember when I was a kid a caught my PB largemouth of 8 lbs 20 inches in Goodwin. I wanted a mount so I told my parents. My dad told me if I get this one mounted It would be the only one so if I caught a bigger one I couldn't get it done. Here I am 15 years later looking for a largemouth over 8 lbs hahaha. I could get it replicated but I'm still holding out hope! Plus I want my first mount to possibly be a monster salmon. We will see. Thanks for sharing! Beautiful fish and very well done!

If you shop around a bit, and aren't super picky about it being 100% accurate, you can save a bundle. I got this one for my brother after he caught the worlds smallest pike on his first attempt at pike fishing. True, it doesnt look much like his pike, but he really appreciated the thought and the effort that I went to in getting him the trophy.....especially the singing part. He really appreciates me as a good brother. I may even be his favorite bro..........

His pike....
His trophy....