# LAX Reproduction Mount Pics



## K gonefishin (May 4, 2004)

Last October Sell-Fish, myself and my friend Walt took a trip to St Clair and Walt caught a 34-37 pound horse that went 50.5. Walt let the fish go and decided since it was his first musky trip and he got lucky with such a big fish and trip like this will be limited he wanted to get a reproduction mount I told him I always heard good things about LAX so he got it back a little while ago figured I'd let you guys have a look at it. The cell phone pics don't do this justice and I wasn't all that crazy about glass mounts until I saw this fish, it's unbelievable and looks just like the fish that Walt caught. It's awesome.


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## krustydawg (Apr 26, 2004)

Very nice ! How much (on the average) would a replica mount like that cost ?


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## K gonefishin (May 4, 2004)

I think it was around 600 or so plus shipping. I think LAX is around 12 or 12.50per inch. Their musky work is bomb, walleye...skin is the way to go IMO, plus enough big eye balls to go around (at least for us on Erie) and they die shortly after but Musky on the other hand can keep growing and growing and growing, CPR all the way with these trucksters.

I usually have my digital in my truck next time I'm over there I'll get some GOOD shot of the paint work and detail of this fish it's amazzzinning. LOL. I about fell over when I saw it. TITTIES mount. I want one. And he took down a 55 plasma above his fireplace in his basement to hang this girl too. I haven't seen it hung yet it was on his poker table when I saw it. I can't WAIT to see it on the wall above the fireplace.


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## Tatonka (Aug 23, 2007)

Looks nice !


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## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

Absolutely NO offense Kev and Kudos to the guy who caught the trophy! BUT I don't like the way it looks.....I think it looks totally fake just like most repros I've seen....to each his own, but I just don't like the way they look. I have only seen one repro that even comes close to looking natural and I mean it was slightly close at best and still looked fake. The fins look too perfect, the bars and spots are too exxagerated and I hate the fact that they put all that clear-coat on them which makes them too shiny. Not a big fan of repros, especially Lax. Just me .02


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## sploosh56 (Dec 31, 2008)

That mount looks incredible!


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## K gonefishin (May 4, 2004)

Your entitled to your opinion, cool. However, do yourself a favor and go to musky first and go look at all the repros on that site (find the post thats titled lets see your repros) and then come back and maybe give a 2nd opinion, I went through every page on there and 70% of them I wouldnt even hang on my wall I really thought they looked bad, not only the paint but the way the mount was done in general. Comparing my friends mount to the picture of what it looked like when he caught it to others Id say LAX did a damn good job of re-creating the catch.even if it is fake as a 3.00 bill. Since letting this fish go was the right thing to do a repro is the only option available. 

I just looked at the pic of the real fish that I took when he caught it (which you gave me **** about holding it upright with a boga so that's 2 strikes about this same topic) and it does really look spot on to the mount.


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## MuskieJim (Apr 11, 2007)

Kgone, I too think that Lax's replicas are sweeeeet. I'm sure that photo you posted does that mount no justice. The few I saw in Columbus at the Ohio Musky show looked absolutely incredible. I am having the 7 pound smallmouth I caught done when I buy a house. Paul, I've definately seen some that look like crap, but I think Lax and Fittante do a pretty good job. Especially when the alternative is to either kill the fish and have a skin mount, or have a replica. I think Fittante replicas look a lot more realistic, but Lax mounts are made to look glossy, like they just came out of the water, hence his trademark "is it alive, or is it a lax?"

I mean seriously, these look great!
http://www.fittantereplicas.com/muskie.shtml


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## BaddFish (Jun 20, 2009)

My only criticism on the Lax's I've seen (mostly from muskiefirst) are the fins tend to look too red... but its hard to say- maybe the photo of the fish was really red... but the dipped in red paint look- looks awful to me. Fittante's look pretty good... K- yours does look like one of the better ones I've seen- congrats on the catch!
I'll just do my own when ever the time comes...  I'm doing a 52" carving from St Clair for a guy out of bass wood- I'll post when I'm done.


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## 1roofmusky (May 20, 2008)

Jim-
That smallmouth story gains a pound every time you tell it! -And you've told it about 6 times !! BUY A FREEKIN' SCALE before you catch another big on!!!!


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## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

K gonefishin said:


> Your entitled to your opinion, cool. However, do yourself a favor and go to musky first and go look at all the repro&#8217;s on that site (find the post that&#8217;s titled let&#8217;s see your repro&#8217;s) and then come back and maybe give a 2nd opinion, I went through every page on there and 70% of them I wouldn&#8217;t even hang on my wall I really thought they looked bad, not only the paint but the way the mount was done in general. Comparing my friends mount to the picture of what it looked like when he caught it to others I&#8217;d say LAX did a damn good job of re-creating the catch&#8230;.even if it is fake as a 3.00 bill. Since letting this fish go was the right thing to do a repro is the only option available.
> 
> I just looked at the pic of the real fish that I took when he caught it (which you gave me **** about holding it upright with a boga so that's 2 strikes about this same topic) and it does really look spot on to the mount.


I gave you sh!t about someone holding a fish upright with a boga??? I don't think so, nor do I recall that. I don't dog people for the way they hold fish...it was probably someone else. If you could produce that literature/publication, I'd certainly be glad to eat my own words for ya. Finally, would you mind posting the picture of the original fish so that we may have something to compare to? Thanks.

Also, I will agree that Fittante's repros look more realistic....believe me, I've been to enough shows and I've seen enough repros to make my own opinion.....Most importantly, I've seen enough of the "real" thing to know what they should look like. As I insisted before, there is nothing wrong with taking home a personal trophy; everyone has that right. I'm sick and tired of hearing about how great it is or how much more special it is when guys release a trophy fish! I'd be willing to bet that there aren't too many muskie fishermen out there killing every big fish they catch to get mounted...


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## K gonefishin (May 4, 2004)

Here is the original pic. I compared the pic below in a 5x7 to the mount side by side and it looks damn good in person, I haven't seen a ton of musky repro's like alot of musky fanatics but I have seen alot of really good pics online and IMO this one is good like I said...and at the end of the day as long as my buddy is happy that's all that matters and he's estatic so that's what really counts not what some dudes online say.


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## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

That is a great fish Kevin....I don't recall ever seeing it before, so it definitely was NOT me saying anything about holding it improperly.....trust me, there are plenty of fish in my albums of people who fished with me holding them in the same manner. It doesn't bother me one bit...I'm hoping that you at least acknowledge that. 

Finally....IMHO, the repro does not do that beauty any justice...thanks for the pic!

Paul


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## K gonefishin (May 4, 2004)

ShutUpNFish said:


> That is a great fish Kevin....I don't recall ever seeing it before, so it definitely was NOT me saying anything about holding it improperly.....trust me, there are plenty of fish in my albums of people who fished with me holding them in the same manner.
> 
> Finally....IMHO, the repro does not do that beauty any justice...thanks for the pic!
> 
> Paul


There are alot longer and bigger fish out there but for a st clair fish, this fish was a PIG, my buddy goes 275 and you can see the girth/size of that truck it's a goooood fish for sure not to mention one of the first musky's he's ever caught ever. Nothing will do that fish justice except the pic, the catch, the memory.


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## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

K gonefishin said:


> There are alot longer and bigger fish out there but for a st clair fish, this fish was a PIG, my buddy goes 275 and you can see the girth/size of that truck it's a goooood fish for sure not to mention one of the first musky's he's ever caught ever. Nothing will do that fish justice except the pic, the catch, the memory.


Yes something would....the actual fish hanging up on his wall

Now are you going to retract your statement about me getting on your buddy about how he is holding it? (strike #1 as you referred to it)


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## K gonefishin (May 4, 2004)

ShutUpNFish said:


> Yes something would....the actual fish hanging up on his wall
> 
> Now are you going to retract your statement about me getting on your buddy about how he is holding it? (strike #1 as you referred to it)


I'll retract it, sorry it must have been someone else.. sorry dude.


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## MuskieJim (Apr 11, 2007)

Paul, I will agree that I have seen some skin mounts that look incredible. But I've also seen some that look like garbage after 10 or so years. Believe me, I have no problem whacking a 52 or 53 incher to have it mounted. I am all for repros for the guys who dont wish to kill the fish. But the real fish hanging on the wall does have a little ora about it. 

And Gabe, don't be such a punk. The fish's weight has never, ever changed. It was and still is, the biggest smallmouth I've ever seen in my life.


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## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

Thank you, I appreciate it...


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## crittergitter (Jun 9, 2005)

MJ,

Hey, I have had fish grow like that to. Just ask me about my 15 lb walleye! lol

Does this look familiar?

What's 23 inches? My new PB smallmouth! 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New PB caught 6/3/08. 23 Inches, Weighed 6 pounds, 9 ounces on the digi.


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## MuskieJim (Apr 11, 2007)

Ouch. Hard Evidence!


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## 1roofmusky (May 20, 2008)

I don't think I'm being a punk when you have a post in the "Largest Confirmed Ohio bass" thread saying the fish, "was weighed on a digi just under 7lbs"


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## 1roofmusky (May 20, 2008)

Smallie, 23.5 inches, almost 7 pounds on digital. Fish was released.


__________________
If it swims and eats, I can catch it. 
><((((((((º< ~~ ><&#8226;> 

-cut and pasted right off the other thread......... PUNK! !%


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## 1roofmusky (May 20, 2008)

Jim-
That smallmouth IS the biggest one I've seen caught by any one I know!


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## crittergitter (Jun 9, 2005)

1roofmusky said:


> Jim-
> That smallmouth IS the biggest one I've seen caught by any one I know!


Ditto! Biggest I have ever seen. That's a sumo smallie and came out of a river. Wowser!!!!!


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## Snakecharmer (Apr 9, 2008)

Man I hate it when I look at the brass plate under my mounted walleye. I could have sworn it was 10# when I caught it. Now it say 8#2 oz. Either a misprint orI got the wrong plate. But then how did it get my name on it...


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## sploosh56 (Dec 31, 2008)

that is a mammoth smallmouth! holy crap!


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## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

Who Really Cares!?!?!?! Remember, Bass are just bait Anyway around here!!!!


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## MuskieJim (Apr 11, 2007)

Ha, leave it to Paul to help me find clarity. Bass are bass! Haha.


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