{"id":2324,"date":"2023-04-06T15:02:58","date_gmt":"2023-04-06T21:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/?p=2324"},"modified":"2023-04-06T15:05:31","modified_gmt":"2023-04-06T21:05:31","slug":"remembering-walter-an-ice-trophy-of-a-lifetime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/2023\/04\/06\/remembering-walter-an-ice-trophy-of-a-lifetime\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Walter: A Trophy of a Lifetime"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Every angler dreams of landing\na once-in-a-lifetime<\/a>\nkind of fish\u2014and I was fortunate to experience one such catch this winter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While ice\nfishing<\/a> at legendary Henrys Lake, I caught \u201cWalter\u201d<\/a>,\na 30-inch cutthroat-rainbow hybrid trout. It was the highlight of my ice\nfishing career, and one of my favorite catches ever. To celebrate the occasion,\nI decided to keep Walter as a trophy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes a fish\ntrophy-worthy? Each angler\u2019s criteria will differ. But these days, trophy\noptions exist for every shape and size of fish\u2014even ones you choose to release!\nIf catching a trophy is on your bucket list, here are a few things to know:   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choosing the Right Fish <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taxidermy is expensive, but\nwhen it\u2019s done right, it lasts a lifetime. So, choose your trophy fish wisely! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Size is a primary\nconsideration. In my opinion, the best trophies are \u201cspecial big\u201d specimens you\nmight never encounter again. I\u2019ve caught lots of big\ntrout through the ice<\/a>, especially at Henrys<\/a>,\nwhere my previous\npersonal-best<\/a> was 24 inches. Walter surpassed that by 25%, and 30-inch\ntrout (other than Mackinaw and steelhead) are rare finds anywhere in North\nAmerica. Walter was definitely a trophy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My next decision was whether to\nharvest Walter for a skin mount, or release him and order a replica. I already have\na replica\nmount<\/a> of a 24-inch Idaho largemouth bass\u2014a fish I released because it was a\ncrucial member of the spawning population (and probably close to 20 years\nold!). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cutbows, like most hybrid\nspecies, do not reproduce. And at nearly 10 pounds, Walter was likely\napproaching the end of his life (most trout don\u2019t live more than 7-8 years). I\nwould have had a hard time harvesting a wild trout, but as a hatchery-produced\nhybrid, Walter made an ideal keeper. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A trophy fish also needs a great\nstory. And pulling a giant trout through an 8-inch hole in the ice\u2014on a 28-inch\nrod, no less\u2014definitely qualifies! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had a narrow window of\ncriteria for my skin-mount trophy. And Walter checked every box. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Picking the Right Artist <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once I decided to bring Walter\nhome, the next step was choosing a taxidermist. Lucky for me, I had an existing\nfriendship with Dave Danner of Tall Tale Taxidermy<\/a>\nin Meridian. Dave is a talented artist with more than 40 years of experience.\nWhen Dave did my bass replica, he gave me a tour of his workshop and display\nroom filled with awesome trophies. I knew if I ever had a skin mount made, Dave\nwould be my guy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Replica mounts are great\u2014I love\nthat they provide the option for catch-and-release\u2014but skin mounts offer\nsuperior beauty and realism. The head (including the teeth!), fins and skin of\nthe fish are preserved and stretched over a mold. Once Dave adds his touch-up\npainting magic, the final product is a stunning tribute to an incredible fish. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not all taxidermy is created\nequal, so do your homework and make sure you choose an artist you trust with\nyour prized catch. Remember\u2014a well-made trophy will last forever! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Field Care Matters <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you decide to keep a trophy, taking care of it in the\nfield will improve the quality of your mount. Keeping the skin and fins moist\nis key. When I caught Walter, I called Dave from the lake and followed his\ninstructions for proper preservation. Because I was able to pack the fish completely\nin snow inside a plastic bag, Walt arrived at Dave\u2019s workshop in pristine\ncondition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fish caught during warmer weather or in remote locations might\nbe trickier to handle. Do some research ahead of time and have a plan in mind,\njust in case the fish of a lifetime shows up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m really happy with how Walter turned out. It was a\ndifficult decision to harvest a fish for a trophy, but it was such a special\ncatch\u2014and Dave did such a beautiful job\u2014that I\u2019m glad to have a memento worthy\nof the occasion. Tight lines! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every angler dreams of landing a once-in-a-lifetime kind of fish\u2014and I was fortunate to experience one such catch this winter. While ice fishing at legendary Henrys Lake, I caught \u201cWalter\u201d, a 30-inch cutthroat-rainbow hybrid trout. It was the highlight of my ice fishing career, and one of my favorite catches ever. To celebrate the occasion,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2324"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2324\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2327,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2324\/revisions\/2327"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tightlines208.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}