In the spring of this year my son caught a
101" striped marlin in Cabo St. Lucas Mexico.
When he brought the fish to the side of the boat
the captain , club in hand, asked my son if he wanted to kill the fish to be mounted which he
wanted and agreed. At the dock we paid a deposit
for the skinning, shipping to Gray Taxidermy in
Florida, and mounting. Several months latter I
get the bill for "mounting" crating and shipping.
The fish arrives in a huge crate and my son opens
the crate to find a hideous fiberglass replica
of what I assume they think a marlin looks like.
We go to the web to find Grays number over the weekend and find that Gray and the charter boat operators in Florida have been doing the same
scam as in Mexico. The Attorney General acting
for people taken by Gray has reached a settlement
with Gray in that they will repay those scammed
in Florida for their out of pocket costs. I spoke
to the Attorney general today and he was not very encouraging due to the fact that the fish was
caught in Mexico. How sad is it that my son
is robbed of a trophy of a lifetime by Gray
and the beat goes on!

P.S. Anyone live near the water and want a
vibrant blue fiberglass marin lawn ornament
as an alternative to pink flamingos??

You have mail, Allfoden, please don't throw it away worth big bucks.

$367.70 plus tax & ship

Hello!

You probably don't want to hear this but virtually all saltwater fish are now displayed as a reproduction. The exceptions would be scaled fish such as redfish, red snapper, etc.

The fact that repros are used is not the problem. The problem is that the taxidermist did not tell you this at the time you made the order. Sometimes a taxidermist will cut off the bill and use it on the repro. This seems such a waste of a fish to me plus it's a lot more work for the taxidermist (read: more money!).

Here's the good news . . . since it is a reproduction, if you don't like the paint job, another taxidermist can repaint it for you. I know that's extra $$ for you but it's a lot cheaper than starting over.

if you don't want it, don't throw it away!!! Go to www.taxidermy.net and put it for sale on the forums there. There are taxidermists who will buy it for another customer.

Let us know what happens!

Good luck!

JDS

I admit that I have had only one (1) fish mounted
before this which was a brook trout in Canada. We
did not read "the fine print" on the back of the
deposit receipt we received in Mexico. It gives
Gray Taxidermy sole power to mount your fish
or to provide a replica. The scam is that the
fisherman is not told when the fish is landed that
he/she has the option not to kill the fish and have a replica made. Instead it is kill the fish and have a mount done or release it. At the dock there was also never a mention of Gray
providing a replica. Gray's billing for final
payment also does not mention replica. They bill the cost as "mounting". This is the exact same
scheme that Gray used in the U.S. and was forced to settle and to discontinue the practice by the Attorney General of Florida.
Got to watch your back these days even when
you are doing the things that you enjoy.

I haven't used Gray's but I have been there and done that in Mexico and I can tell you that it is extremely difficult to prevent a Mexican boat captain from killing the fish. Why? because they sell them in the local markets.

They have a great breeding area apparently, but it seems a shame to kill such a great sporting fish for such a little gain and somewhat short sighted as well.