A walleye is the fish most Wisconsin anglers grow up chasing, and a big one from Winnebago, Green Bay, the Wolf River, or a Canadian fly-in trip deserves to be on the wall. Stehling’s Taxidermy has been mounting walleye in Jefferson, Wisconsin since 1978, in both traditional skin mounts and hand-painted replicas, and we ship finished fish anywhere in the country.
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Skin Mount or Replica?
Walleye Skin Mounts ($30 per inch)
Your actual fish, skinned, preserved, mounted on a carved form, and repainted to match the photos you took at the boat. A skin mount is the traditional choice and the one most anglers want for a fish they kept. Walleye have thin skin and delicate fins, so freezing the fish flat and whole is what makes a good skin mount possible (see field care below).
Walleye Replica Mounts ($35 per inch)
A fiberglass reproduction cast from a walleye of the same length and girth, then hand-painted to your fish from your photos. Replicas are the right call for a slot fish you released, a fish that was filleted before anyone thought about a mount, or an ice-fishing walleye that froze in a bad shape. They never fade, crack, or shrink, and no one but you will know it is not the original fish.
Walleye Mount Pricing
| Fish | Skin mount ($30/in) | Replica ($35/in) |
|---|---|---|
| 24″ walleye | $720 | $840 |
| 26″ walleye | $780 | $910 |
| 28″ walleye | $840 | $980 |
| 30″ walleye | $900 | $1,050 |
| 32″ walleye | $960 | $1,120 |
Length is measured from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail. Driftwood, rock, and water bases, and two- or three-fish scenes, are quoted with your mount. Pay in full, 50/50, three installments, or monthly through our Easy 8 Payment Plan. Standard delivery is 12 to 14 months, with rush service available at 180, 90, or 30 days. See the full price list.
Walleye Mount Poses and Bases
- Wall mount, slight curve. The classic. A gentle S-curve with the dorsal fin raised, hung on a driftwood or walnut plaque.
- Driftwood base. The fish suspended over a piece of driftwood on a wall or table base, with a jig or crankbait in the corner of the mouth if you want the story told.
- Feeding scene. A walleye turning on a minnow or a perch, best on a floor or shelf base where the whole fish can be seen.
- Ice scene. A walleye under a cut-out ice hole with a tip-up or jigging rod, a favorite for winter fish from Winnebago or the bay.
- Pair or trio. Two or three fish from the same trip on one base. Priced per fish plus the base.
Field Care: Getting a Walleye Ready for the Taxidermist
- Do not gut, bleed, or fillet it. Leave the fish whole.
- Take photos right away, while it is wet. Both sides in daylight. A walleye’s gold fades within minutes, and the photos are what we paint from.
- Pick the show side. Decide which side will face out, and keep that side up and unmarked. Hook damage on the other side is fine.
- Wrap it in a wet towel and bag it. Fold the fins flat against the body, wrap the whole fish in a soaking towel, slide it into a bag, and squeeze the air out.
- Freeze it flat. A fish frozen bent, or with a fin stuck up, stays that way. Lay it flat on a shelf, not on top of other packages.
- Releasing it? Measure the length and the girth at the thickest point, take the photos, and let it go. We will build a replica from those numbers.
Our fish field care guide has the full walkthrough, and you can drop the fish off in Jefferson or at our New Franken showroom near Green Bay, or ship it to us frozen.
Walleye Mount FAQ
How much does it cost to mount a walleye?
$30 per inch for a skin mount and $35 per inch for a replica at Stehling’s Taxidermy. A 28-inch walleye is $840 as a skin mount or $980 as a replica. Bases are extra.
How big does a walleye have to be to mount?
There is no minimum. Most walleye we mount are 26 inches and up, but a first fish or a personal best is worth mounting at any size.
Can you mount a walleye that was already filleted?
Not as a skin mount, but we can build a replica from the length, girth, and photos. If you only have the head and the length, we can still match it.
Do replica walleye mounts look real?
Yes. Each replica is hand-painted to your photos, not sprayed with a generic pattern, and we match the bars, cheek color, and fin edges of your fish.
How long does a walleye mount take?
Standard delivery is 12 to 14 months, with rush service available at 180, 90, or 30 days.
