Marine Artist Raymond Douglas is the founder and owner of King Sailfish Mounts, of Fort Lauderdale. Douglas, who loves to fish, got into the business of producing replica fish mounts as a commitment to preserving memories, while at the same time promoting conservation of the resources.
Douglas believes the ability to retain a catch and reminisce about it forever while still releasing the fish is the perfect way to pay tribute to a memorable day of fishing. While some taxidermists still produce skin mounts, King Sailfish Mounts specializes in producing a fiberglass replica of the fish, which is why Douglas keeps hundreds of molds in varying sizes of most gamefish species.
All Douglas needs is a length and girth measurement and a few photos of the fish to match the colorations that remain in the angler’s memory, and he can produce a replica that will let the fish live on to fight another day, while producing a replica that will allow the angler to rekindle the catch for years to come.
We caught up with Douglas, with his wife Lisa and daughters Coral and Starr, after a recent Cay Club event and had the following conversation:
FFW: How did you ever get involved in the taxidermy business?
Douglas:You mean to say the fish mounting business. I don’t think the term taxidermy describes what we do. Taxidermy involves the use of real fish skins, whereas we make replicas of trophy gamefish using only man-made materials. We call our product a “Release Mount”. I suppose that I was attracted to this industry because I always loved fishing and felt that this would be a good way to help encourage marine conservation. Also, I had a bad experience having my first fish mounted as a young teenager and, therefore, often wondered about the potential for opportunity in this business.
FFW: What was difficult about having your first fish mounted?
Douglas: My parents and I were uncomfortable with the experience from beginning to end. In a way, we were tricked into having the fish mounted. The captain and mate kept saying that it was a very special fish. They brought it on board and killed it, and then insisted that we get it mounted. The taxidermy company eventually charged a lot more money than we had expected. We were told that the fish had to be crated and shipped, and that we could not pick it up at the factory. Imagine that! The most memorable thing for me was, when I would call to find out when it would be ready, the person on the phone was so rude. Later, I was embarrassed to learn that an 8-pound kingfish was not special in any way at all.
FFW: You've had to have heard some stories, so how do captains pressure customers into killing fish for mounts?
Douglas: These days most captains and their crew act in a professional manner and lead their customers to rewarding, once-in-a-lifetime catches. Unfortunately, there are a few charter operations that continue to practice deceptive sales techniques in order to earn inflated commissions offered by certain taxidermy companies. The conspiracy often involves the killing of the trophy fish to cause the customer to feel obligated to buying a mount, while concealing the fact that the actual fish is not needed or used in the mounting process. Clearly defined cost information is often unavailable until after the non-refundable deposit is paid, preventing the angler from making an informed buying decision. Reportedly, one charter operation would keep a frozen sailfish on board, and when the angler was distracted, the hooked fish would be placed into the water while trolling. As the line came tight, the angler would think he had hooked the fish of a lifetime--giving the crew the opportunity to solicit a mount order and earn an easy commission.
FFW: What music is currently playing in your car?
Douglas: Todd Rundgren from the early 70's. Mainly from the Something/Anything days of 1973 to Initiation of 1975. I also have collected dozens of sealed copies of A Wizard, A True Star and TODD -- not to mention various bootlegs and at least 25 audience tapes of various concerts from the WMMR Philadelphia broadcast in '71 to Central Park in 1976. I could always relate to "Dumb Larry from Homeroom 9". Growing up near Detroit, we often went to concerts at Pine Knob, Cobo Hall, Ford Theater and Royal Oak Music Theater. My favorite radio station was WABX in Detroit, which was an underground station in the early days of FM. When I occasionally get tired of Todd, I listen to The Grateful Dead, The Velvet Underground, Blind Faith, James Gang, Traffic, Quicksilver --Country Joe and the Fish is cool, Dylan is not too bad at times. I liked older tunes from Neil Young for a while. The first record I ever purchased was by Iron Butterfly and the most recent was by The 13th Floor Elevators.
FFW: What is the worst part about the business?
Douglas: The worst part of this business is that it creates an addictive obsession for perfection, which always remains just out of reach. Sometimes, when you feel you have finally arrived, you look again only to find it still just off in the distance.
FFW: What us the most rewarding part of your work?
Douglas:Traveling to a remote destination to make a new fish mold is the most challenging thing for me, and to successfully accomplish the task is the biggest reward. In most cases the work is done in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar faces--not to mention a variety of other uncertainties including the availability of required materials, etc. Added to the challenge sometimes is the pressure of working with not just an ordinary fish but a potential world record. And, usually there is a large financial investment by the sponsors. One slight error in judgment can mean total disaster with no chance to recover.
FFW: How did you ever get involved in the taxidermy business?
Douglas:You mean to say the fish mounting business. I don’t think the term taxidermy describes what we do. Taxidermy involves the use of real fish skins, whereas we make replicas of trophy gamefish using only man-made materials. We call our product a “Release Mount”. I suppose that I was attracted to this industry because I always loved fishing and felt that this would be a good way to help encourage marine conservation. Also, I had a bad experience having my first fish mounted as a young teenager and, therefore, often wondered about the potential for opportunity in this business.
FFW: What was difficult about having your first fish mounted?
Douglas: My parents and I were uncomfortable with the experience from beginning to end. In a way, we were tricked into having the fish mounted. The captain and mate kept saying that it was a very special fish. They brought it on board and killed it, and then insisted that we get it mounted. The taxidermy company eventually charged a lot more money than we had expected. We were told that the fish had to be crated and shipped, and that we could not pick it up at the factory. Imagine that! The most memorable thing for me was, when I would call to find out when it would be ready, the person on the phone was so rude. Later, I was embarrassed to learn that an 8-pound kingfish was not special in any way at all.
FFW: You've had to have heard some stories, so how do captains pressure customers into killing fish for mounts?
Douglas: These days most captains and their crew act in a professional manner and lead their customers to rewarding, once-in-a-lifetime catches. Unfortunately, there are a few charter operations that continue to practice deceptive sales techniques in order to earn inflated commissions offered by certain taxidermy companies. The conspiracy often involves the killing of the trophy fish to cause the customer to feel obligated to buying a mount, while concealing the fact that the actual fish is not needed or used in the mounting process. Clearly defined cost information is often unavailable until after the non-refundable deposit is paid, preventing the angler from making an informed buying decision. Reportedly, one charter operation would keep a frozen sailfish on board, and when the angler was distracted, the hooked fish would be placed into the water while trolling. As the line came tight, the angler would think he had hooked the fish of a lifetime--giving the crew the opportunity to solicit a mount order and earn an easy commission.
FFW: What music is currently playing in your car?
Douglas: Todd Rundgren from the early 70's. Mainly from the Something/Anything days of 1973 to Initiation of 1975. I also have collected dozens of sealed copies of A Wizard, A True Star and TODD -- not to mention various bootlegs and at least 25 audience tapes of various concerts from the WMMR Philadelphia broadcast in '71 to Central Park in 1976. I could always relate to "Dumb Larry from Homeroom 9". Growing up near Detroit, we often went to concerts at Pine Knob, Cobo Hall, Ford Theater and Royal Oak Music Theater. My favorite radio station was WABX in Detroit, which was an underground station in the early days of FM. When I occasionally get tired of Todd, I listen to The Grateful Dead, The Velvet Underground, Blind Faith, James Gang, Traffic, Quicksilver --Country Joe and the Fish is cool, Dylan is not too bad at times. I liked older tunes from Neil Young for a while. The first record I ever purchased was by Iron Butterfly and the most recent was by The 13th Floor Elevators.
FFW: What is the worst part about the business?
Douglas: The worst part of this business is that it creates an addictive obsession for perfection, which always remains just out of reach. Sometimes, when you feel you have finally arrived, you look again only to find it still just off in the distance.
FFW: What us the most rewarding part of your work?
Douglas:Traveling to a remote destination to make a new fish mold is the most challenging thing for me, and to successfully accomplish the task is the biggest reward. In most cases the work is done in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar faces--not to mention a variety of other uncertainties including the availability of required materials, etc. Added to the challenge sometimes is the pressure of working with not just an ordinary fish but a potential world record. And, usually there is a large financial investment by the sponsors. One slight error in judgment can mean total disaster with no chance to recover.
FFW: How did the concept of marine conservation become so important to you?
Douglas: I grew up in Michigan, living near a small crystal clear deep-water lake that had been carved out by glaciers after the last Ice Age. It was a beautiful pristine balanced environment, and the lake held great populations of northern pike and jumbo perch. I fished a lot as a teenager. It was unbelievable. Over the years, as our community developed and the population increased, the ecosystem became disrupted -- the lake polluted and nearly all the fish were completely wiped out. That was a part of my life. Then, in my early 20’s I moved to Ft. Lauderdale and witnessed on a daily basis the hanging of dead sailfish at the docks of the local charter fleets, and felt a similar lack of respect for things in nature.
FFW: Sounds like you are a bit of a “tree hugger” there, Mr. Douglas.
Douglas: Not at all. I have fish in my freezer at most times. Only, I never could stomach the idea of killing something just to take a picture or to promote an afternoon or next day fishing charter. Thankfully nowadays, the killing of billfish and other species to have a mount produced is a thing of the past.
FFW: So, King Sailfish Mounts helps to encourage marine conservation?
Douglas: Yes, in fact, I would assert that we have done more than any other company in our industry to encourage the release of trophy fish for mounting purposes, and we hope to continue along this same path in the future. For example, we have just made arrangements with The International Game Fish Association and The Billfish Foundation for the promotion of the release mount concept and King Sailfish Mounts will in turn donate funds to each organization to be used for conservation, education and research.
FFW: What is your favorite fish to paint and to catch?
Douglas: Tarpon, hands down on both accounts. I like camping out in the backcountry, stalking in shallow water, using a fly or a lure on light line. The alligators and birds add to the experience.
King Sailfish Mounts proudly offers an array of mounted fish, producing both freshwater and saltwater fish mounts. Also called
release mounts, KSM's fiberglass fish replicas provide sportsmen with the absolute highest level of quality and value, and symbolize an age of environmental awareness. Our artists capture the rich beauty.....(for more, click on
"About Us". )Please visit
King Sailfish Mounts 
Years later after moving to South Florida,
