Excited about my first hatching of trout eggs!

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Starting to get swim up fry. I have gently removed any I see to a separate floating basket and started feeding them fry powder. Will have to do this up to 8 X per day. Won't get much ice fishing in this winter.

The reason I moved them is I don't want to coat the alevin with fry powder.
 
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I will sell some and put the rest in my 100,000 gallon flow through outdoor earthen pond in the spring. At some point I will have to thin some out if I don't sell enough. I have a maximum carrying capacity for the pond of about 500 lbs. I could probably sell them all if I could sell them interstate. Problem is to transport out of state I have to do expensive health testing. Most likely not cost effective for my size of operation.

However, I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch as anything can happen along the way. Right now I'm having issues with trace amounts of ammonia. Nitrites wen to zero and them ammonia came up. A coldwater biofilter is new to me. I'm sure if the water was warmer I'd have no issues.
 
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Cecil B. said:
The fish aren't bought mounted. They are purchased from me whole frozen for the taxidermist to mount for his or her showroom, state, national, or world competition, or to make a replica. I have also sold some fish to taxidermy schools. The competitions based on reproducing fish accurately both anatomically and the original colors (usually done with an airbrush) is a really big deal. Also a very good way to improve skills due to a critique by a judge that is an accomplished and award winning taxidermist.

I have had people fish my ponds and have me mount the fish for them but not many.

The replica market it there because many anglers refuse to kill a fish, and prefer to release it. A replica is produced that was molded off a fish that as of a similar size. The blank is painted to look like the real thing.

The following photo is a replica largemouth bass done by a friend and colleague in the trade. I did not supply the fish for the mold, but I do supply other species. As you can see the quality can be quite good done by a skilled artist.

View attachment 1218048
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it still seems like a waste of good meat to me. I don't think the actual fish should be mounted these days, now that fiberglass replicas are available. I've always kept trout because they are farmed and stocked, but i'm going to try and do more than 50% catch-and-release this year. I always end up giving half of the fish away that I keep anyway just to make sure it gets eaten.

What happens to the meat when the fish are mounted?

Congratulations on the fry as well. Trout are one of the most difficult fish to keep alive in captivity from my experience - 2 weeks is the longest I got any to survive as adults. I tried keeping a total of 6 in the 9-12" (2 Browns, 4 Rainbows) range caught locally and immediately placed in a laundry bag and re-submerged in the light current until I was ready to leave, then a battery powered air pump was used to get them home. Even w/ nearly 3X the filtration required, I still lost all of them from 1 day to 2 weeks later.
 
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Frank Castle said:
it still seems like a waste of good meat to me. I don't think the actual fish should be mounted these days, now that fiberglass replicas are available. I've always kept trout because they are farmed and stocked, but i'm going to try and do more than 50% catch-and-release this year. I always end up giving half of the fish away that I keep anyway just to make sure it gets eaten.

What happens to the meat when the fish are mounted?

Congratulations on the fry as well. Trout are one of the most difficult fish to keep alive in captivity from my experience - 2 weeks is the longest I got any to survive as adults. I tried keeping a total of 6 in the 9-12" (2 Browns, 4 Rainbows) range caught locally and immediately placed in a laundry bag and re-submerged in the light current until I was ready to leave, then a battery powered air pump was used to get them home. Even w/ nearly 3X the filtration required, I still lost all of them from 1 day to 2 weeks later.
Click to expand...

I agree,perhaps u can make this a sort of tourist destination or a cool place for a school trip,and keep expanding.
 
Well I don't agree with you guys, but of course I'm biased as I do taxidermy for a living. :-) It's an art form and it's plenty challenging. Colors have to be put back in with an airbrush. Best part is I don't have to take orders from a boss, although some of my customers can be demanding.

The replicas have to be molded off of real fish that's expired t'd so I don't really see the point. And most trout in this country are managed as put and take anyway. And yes the flesh can be eaten before a fish is mounted as none of it is used in taxidermy.

As far as catch and release: I believe an angler that practices catch and release exclusively kills more fish than an angler that mounts that once in a life time fish. And many of the large old fish I mount for anglers are close to the end of their life span. Also not very fecund anymore if not sterile.
 
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