Thread: True Slab

Great fish!!!

That's a monster! I've never even laid eyes on a 3 lber. But I will definitely save it if I do now that I know there's research to be done. How old is the "average" 3 lber?

Originally Posted by LowePro

Matt.....I am starting to convert my profession over to taxidermy. I have been mounting things for almost 10 years but only did it on the side for fun. My question is.....Is there anyway I can salvage part of the fish that you need and it not mess up the mount?

Yes you can. I have a deal worked out at a local taxidermist in Conway. They used to call me when ever a big fish came in and I would remove the otoliths from the skull as they were skinning it out. Eventually they saw me do it so many times, that they figured it out and now they remove them and just record the info of the fish for me and I come pick the otoliths up. I just need to show you how it is done. It is pretty easy!

Congratulations that is a pretty fish.

Originally Posted by stoagpawpaw

That's a monster! I've never even laid eyes on a 3 lber. But I will definitely save it if I do now that I know there's research to be done. How old is the "average" 3 lber?

I have only aged three 3 pounders, so I hesitate to say what the average age is. They were also all from different lakes in the district. This is why I NEED this data. I cant reliably say what the average age of a 3 pounder is. I think that in Arkansas a fish that grows to over three pounds is a little different that the rest of its brothers and sisters. It eats a little more and grows a little faster than the rest. I don't think that they are that much older than smaller fish, I think they just grow faster (competitive advantage). The short answer is at least 5 years old (from the three that I have aged).

Nice congrats!

Nice slab congrats

That's a good Un.