Trophy Fish Replicas and Their Stories
Recently, I was flyfishing down on the Little Red River at Heber Springs with my friend Gregg Patterson (who helped photograph the world record brown trout of 1992).
I noticed a young couple fly fishing the area above me with good success. Then the young lady, Megan Gray, landed a magnificent fish, which I identified as a very large, male brook trout— a rare catch anywhere, and especially for that stretch of the river!
My friend, Gregg, & I went over to them to share their excitement. This brook trout was an excellent specimen: very well-conditioned and beautiful. It was in the catch-and-release area so I excitedly helped her take some quick photos, then recover and release the fish.
Since this brook was caught in the catch-and-release area, it wasn’t eligible for a record. But comparing it with the current state record brook trout, which is 18 inches long, this fish easily measured that plus some! Not only that, his girth was extremely large for a male brook trout.
I reported that to the Game and Fish Commission. it’s not official, but its size looks to match, if not surpass the current Arkansas state record!
I am honored to have created three replicas of this fish! Meagan‘s personal replica, one for my friend Gregg who shared the experience, and one for permanent display at the Corps of Engineers Visitor Center in Heber Springs.
Another one of my favorite trophy replicas was for Aiden Garner, one of my Cross Trail Outfitters students. One lucky summer day, Aiden pulled in a 33-inch brown trout at Dry Run Creek.
He had gained a lot of skill & passion for fly fishing so he experienced a great deal of success! This particular brown trout was caught on one of our Cross Trail Outfitter* (CTO) summer fly fishing camps. And Aiden, along with many other local youth, have experienced some amazing catches in our Arkansas waters.
Aiden caught this magnificent fish himself and since I was there I got to take some excellent photos of it.
And it was just too good to not create a replica of it!
This brown had a magnificent shape, beautiful body lines, and brilliant coloration. The real-life replica I did is an excellent, accurate, duplication—which Aiden proudly displays in his trophy room at home! For so young a fisherman, he has set the bar quite high for a future trophy.
But again living here in Arkansas, that could happen on your next cast.
Here in Arkansas, catch-and-release laws allow us the opportunity for quality trophy fishing. That's because if we took these fish from the water we would soon deplete this wonderful natural resource.
And so fish replicas end up being a wonderful conservation tool that allows you to commemorate your trophy catch while conserving the health of our rivers and preserving our natural state.
Best of luck to all my fishing friends out there! Call me up when you pull in your next trophy catch and Rivertown Gallery will create a stunning replica for you!
