Mastering Taxidermy with George Reed: Expert Tips for Hunters & Anglers
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Capt. Matt:Good evening, everyone, and welcome to New England Outdoor Life Podcast. We are, trying some new stuff and entering our close to our second year in doing this and deciding to, quote, take the road on the take the show on the road, and going to new venues, doing trade shows, meeting with other people. And, we are still right here in the wonderful Green Mountain State of Vermont. But, meeting with a good friend of mine is a taxidermist. And as we've said, we really wanna try and stay diverse in our topics about the outdoors.
Capt. Matt:And tonight, I wanna introduce George Reed from Wildlife Design Taxidermy.
George Reed:Thanks, man.
Capt. Matt:Thanks for having us here.
George Reed:Thank you.
Capt. Matt:Trying to think how long ago you and I met in the wonderful outdoor world. Probably up at the Yankee Sportsman Classic here in Vermont.
George Reed:Yeah. Probably. Yeah. Yep. I think so.
Capt. Matt:Well, you have got phenomenal work and, not only, can't say enough about the product that you have, but your knowledge with it. And I thought you'd be a great one to to talk to about the subject matter, and can't say enough about, the opportunity, but also that you've got my son's deer here. So getting to see the finished product. So, but again, thank you very much for having us tonight. How long you been doing taxidermy?
George Reed:I think I started back in 2007. I think I started. I was always been interested in it, you know, and as a kid collecting squirrel tails and stuff like that growing up and fishing and, yeah. I was always interested in it. And I think, when I was in eighth grade, I think, we went to a museum and I got to see different animals and how they're displayed and habitats, stuff like that.
George Reed:And I became really interested in it. And then with the Internet coming online and stuff like that, you could just type in and look things up, you know, and
Capt. Matt:Sure.
George Reed:Kinda got into it that way and yeah.
Capt. Matt:Very good. Now did you go to school for it? How did you start learning
George Reed:the craft? Internet, reading it, you know, reading different things, magazines, Yeah. Videos. Yeah. You know, just kind of trying to get everything I can get my hands on to to learn everything I could about it.
Capt. Matt:Sure. Good for you. Well, I think anybody knows a good taxidermy is an art form and especially when it comes to doing fish. And you and I talked about doing fish too and that, a lot of people don't realize that there is a ton of paint work involved with that. And we'll talk a little bit about that later on tonight.
Capt. Matt:But, I know you're good friends with Pete LaJoie as well. And I can recall when I was in high school when Pete first started, he was down at the Rutland Fair here in Vermont. And I said to him, I might wanna get into taxidermy. I love to hunt and fish. And he goes, you you love to hunt too much.
Capt. Matt:Don't do it because you're gonna cut into your hunting time.
George Reed:So That's that's true. That's for sure. Yeah.
Capt. Matt:So certainly can to change your your demeanor and and, looking at time allotment, obviously, in what you're doing. But you're getting to work with wildlife, you know, and obviously a huge passion of mine. But, so tell us about your business and what you got going here.
George Reed:We've started this business, 02/2017. I started full time. We do generally pretty much just deer and, you know, big game. We were we used to do fish as you know. We're not doing any fishing any longer, but, maybe down the road we might start doing them again, but Yep.
George Reed:Pretty much just big game. Yep. Awesome. Deer, bear, moose. Yep.
George Reed:Yep.
Capt. Matt:Now do you get folks, regionally or just mainly from Vermont or
George Reed:Vermont. Pretty much all over the I mean, last year I've gotten deer from South Dakota, you know, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois. Yep. You know, we get them from all over.
Capt. Matt:Awesome. Yep. Good stuff. So I'm lucky enough to shoot a deer that I wanna put on the wall and add to my collection. I'm in the woods just starting the field dressing process.
Capt. Matt:My bell has gone off at this is an animal I wanna put on the wall. Mhmm. What should I be thinking about as far as that animal's care from then on out?
George Reed:Just, you know, like, if you're gonna drag it out of the woods, you know, you wanna keep it up off the ground or put it in something to drag it. You don't wanna be dragging it on on the ground. Just bear. Sure. Keep it clean clean, cold.
George Reed:Yeah. And then get it to your tax service as quick as you can.
Capt. Matt:There you go. Yeah. What would you suggest for somebody that's on the road on a, you know, a long distance hunt, whether it's made or not? You know, I I have been fortunate enough to go on a handful of, guided hunts in different provinces and states, and, some outfitters and guides are phenomenal at caping, and others leave a little bit to be desired. So what's your suggestion there?
George Reed:I tell guys, you know, if they're gonna go for a hunt, you know, practice on a deer that you don't plan on mounting. Sure. You know, just cape it out. Try caping it out. You know, the more you do, the better you're gonna get at it.
George Reed:And, but, yeah, try to get you know, depending on where you're going, you know, maybe look up at a local taxidermist. Sometimes you can get guys that'll cape them out for you for a fee or whatever. But Sure. Yeah. I mean, I've had customers call me up in the middle of the night and say, hey.
George Reed:How do I do this? You know? So we've done a we've assisted in a few capes over the phone, but, yeah. Just I just tell guys try to practice and, you know, that way you can keep your own out and know what you're doing and Sure. That way you're not gonna make a mistake.
Capt. Matt:Yep. Now we know that a lot of the bear season's starting fairly warm weather
George Reed:Yeah.
Capt. Matt:Especially Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire. Pretty critical to get them on ice fast.
George Reed:Especially bears. Yeah. Especially bears. You wanna get them cooled off as quick as possible. They do they do wanna slip.
George Reed:Yep. Yeah. Same thing.
Capt. Matt:When you talk about slip, what's that mean?
George Reed:Well, as soon as a bear, you know, you kill an animal, it expires, you know, bacteria starts growing as soon as that animal's dead. Mhmm. So it's like, just like anything else, it's gonna rot. So, you know, you wanna get it, you know, get it cold cooled down, put it in a freezer or whatever and
Narrator:Yep.
George Reed:As soon as possible.
Capt. Matt:Yeah. Certainly make a difference to get that height off the meat right after kill.
George Reed:Yes.
Capt. Matt:Then obviously getting the
George Reed:meat, you
Capt. Matt:know, the consumptive part of it on ice as well. Mhmm. What if somebody, you know, wants to do other things with that bear? Better to have them bring the whole thing on the skull and pause to you?
George Reed:Or Yeah. I just generally tell them leave the pause and the skull in. Yeah. You know, I just take care of that myself.
Capt. Matt:Gotcha.
George Reed:But then again, if you're, you know, hunting out of state, I don't know, you you know, it's
Capt. Matt:it's just Obviously with laws and, you know, worrying about chronic wasting disease and what you can transport and, you know, knowing that you can't bring any brain matter, when it comes to white tails Yeah. And a lot of elk places too. So they got to bring it on the skull cap you know and then % meat to bones so I think most people are pretty aware of that you know but you know a lot tell anybody if they're listeners right now and make sure you know your laws if if you're coming from a CWD state back to you in Vermont. It's gotta be deboned and
George Reed:Exactly.
Capt. Matt:Clean. So what other suggestions do you have for people prior to bringing an animal to you?
George Reed:Well, I mean, depending on who you're work working with as a taxidermist, you know, maybe getting a hold of him before the season or or before your hunt, you know, letting him know if they, you know, if they're taking in work or, what have you, and certain taxidermists have a way they want it an animal scun out a certain way or whatever. Sure. Yeah. I mean, that's what I I mean, some guys, you know, they're stop they stop taking in works. It always be like, if you got an animal and you don't have a taxidermist, what are you gonna do?
George Reed:You're gonna be stuck with it in the freezer for a year or whatever. But
Capt. Matt:Yeah. Yeah. This year, bear success rates keep climbing, and that's that time of year that's pretty tough as we talk about with temperatures, and I saw a fair amount of taxidermist putting on social media. I'm capped out. I'm sorry.
Capt. Matt:I can't take your bear in right now.
George Reed:And Yeah.
Capt. Matt:So that that's a tough pill to swallow, honestly. And, I've hunted in Maine, both deer and whitetail, and we had a processor up there that, my guide, that I work with up there used to take all his bears to. And the gentleman was getting up in age and his kids were doing a lot of work for him, and they took on other jobs and he closed his meat shop. So we've kinda had to do some change in our own and, you know, go to do our own prep work ourselves now, especially if it's a trophy, somebody wants to get, you know, get mounted. So, you know, there's always, like you said, is that planning that goes with it.
Capt. Matt:Yep. How much time is involved with keeping, an animal out for you once it arrives here?
George Reed:I mean, for a white tail, I'm I can keep a white tail out in fifteen minutes probably. You know, it's you know, the more you do it, the the efficient you get with it. Yep. A bear, you know, it's different, like, taking the paws out. Of course, it takes a little bit more time, what have you.
George Reed:But, yeah, I mean, it's it's pretty pretty quick.
Capt. Matt:Yep. So what's the process for you once you've got, a customer's animal? What do you do with that for that process from skinning to getting the cape off and that type of stuff?
George Reed:Yep. Once I get it, scun out, get the, the skull out of it or what have you, if it's if it's in it, you know, we flush them down, we salt them, and then I ship them out to the tannery once they're dry.
Capt. Matt:Gotcha.
George Reed:Then once I get them back from the tannery, you know, there's you gotta size them up through the forms they need, and, there's still some work that needs to be done on them once you get them back from the tannery. You know, you gotta still thin some of the areas down around the eyes, the face, needs to be thinned down and stuff. Form prep, you gotta prep your form when you get your forms in. Yep. Then, you know, you mouth the deer up and then watch it for a couple days, make sure it's drying correctly.
George Reed:And, you know, once once the deer is dry in a couple weeks and then you finish work, you know, you have epoxy around the eyes, get the eyes all set and Sure. You know, all your finished work and painting and
Capt. Matt:Yep.
George Reed:What have you.
Capt. Matt:What do you notice? Obviously, there's taxidermist in every state and all around the country. And and obviously, we talked about before we turn the cameras on when we start looking at self promotion and some people are good at it and some are, but what are your critique marks you would say you've noticed with other taxidermists that a customer should be looking for if they're gonna be choosing a new taxidermist?
George Reed:Yeah. I mean, just go to go to somebody's shop and, you know, ask them questions, look at their work and, you know, their turnaround times, you know, look around, look at their work, see if their work looks, you know, real, like the eye work, you know, the finish work, how the paint work looks, Yeah. Just look at the cape, how to look, you know, does all the hair patterns line up where they need to be and
Capt. Matt:Sure.
George Reed:Yeah.
Capt. Matt:What do you find to be the most popular white tail mount? Upright or in a three quarter sneak or
George Reed:Probably semi upright is probably the probably the most popular. Yeah. Yep. Semi upright and then then it'd be the sneak, I guess. We get a few of, like, the old school or upright.
George Reed:We get a few of those a year, but generally, it's a semi upright or sneak pose.
Capt. Matt:Sure. Sure. I know in years past, you and I have talked about fish. And as you said, you've just gotten so busy and good for you that you've gotten to that point that difficult for you to do fish right now. But obviously, with catch and release world today and fishing, people are, you know, getting a fish they wanna release back to mother nature, but haven't mounted.
Capt. Matt:Mhmm. So I've always told people getting good measurements and good photos. Are those measurements critical with a large game animal too or do you suggest that or
George Reed:usually, I don't I don't take any measurements till I get my my capes back from the tannery. Gotcha. Then usually, I'll take my measurements then. Gotcha. Well, you know, a fish I mean, you got the fish right there and you get basically, it's the length and the girth measurement.
Capt. Matt:Yep.
George Reed:Then any, you know, the close-up photos as far as fish goes, you can't have enough enough photos, you know, like any unique markings on the fish, the head, the fins, you know, you want pictures of all that stuff. So
Capt. Matt:Yep. So we'll talk since we're there right now and talking about fish a little bit. What's the difference between, a reproduction versus a skin mount and the time that goes with each one of them?
George Reed:Skin mount, you know, you're taking you gotta skin the fish, take the skin off the fish. You can there's forms out there you can buy or else you can just what I used to do, I used to buy big blocks of foam and then just take measurements of the fish, and I used to carve my own forms for the fish. Yeah, I mean, well, replica, it's all there for you.
Capt. Matt:Sure.
George Reed:And just, put it, you know, you have to put the fins on and then paint it, of course.
Narrator:Yep.
George Reed:Yeah. I mean.
Capt. Matt:Now correct me if I'm wrong and I'm being a fishing guide, people ask me all the time. A skin mount and a replica both have to be painted. Correct?
George Reed:Yes. Yeah. So a lot
Capt. Matt:of people don't realize that that natural skin is gonna fade and lose its color, you know. And I tell people all the time, put the fish in the cooler, and then when we get back to filet them and notice what the color changes
George Reed:Oh, yeah.
Capt. Matt:You know, it doesn't take long. Yeah. So obviously, having good photos and no matter if they're gonna keep it or not. And I've had some customers that have kept catch, you know, from Champlain Lake Ontario and telling them to keep them cool, you know, get a wet towel on them, keep them packed with ice and, but again, getting those critical measurements before they dry out.
George Reed:Yeah. You know? And and like pictures, you know, take pictures as soon as you get out of the water because like you said, they'd start changing colors as soon as you get them out of the water. And then, you know, as far as like wrapping them up, then, you know, like you said, like the towel. I used to tell guys wrap them up in, like, plastic wrap first.
George Reed:Yep. I find, like, your trout like, I used to make all my own fins, cast my own fins, and, like, the the texture from the towel will embed in the fins, and you can't get that out.
Capt. Matt:Sure.
George Reed:I mean, it's it's almost impossible to get that out of those fins. Yep. So I just tell guys, you know, lay it out on the table, wrap it in plastic as flat as possible, keep the fins all tucked in nice and tight, then freeze it like that.
Capt. Matt:Sure.
George Reed:Yeah.
Capt. Matt:I've, very happy and fortunate that I've got a rainbow trout that you gave me. And, I've taken it to a ton of shows over the year, and I've had other taxidermist come to me and say, who did that? That's phenomenal work.
George Reed:Nice.
Capt. Matt:And it just looks so realistic. And it's hard for me to bite my tongue knowing the work you can do, and you just as you said, you know, kudos to you and what you've built with your business and, obviously, what big game takes up time for you. And people don't realize the time that goes involved with doing fish, you know. And I'm trying to explain to them that I've got a guy for you, but if he can get to it, he's probably a couple years out. You know, they look at you, they got four heads.
Capt. Matt:They just don't realize the time consumption that goes with everything you do here.
George Reed:Yeah.
Capt. Matt:But, you've got quite a little shop right here, right next to your home. How did you lay out your your shop, and did you build it around the business, or was it just a garage you
George Reed:It was just yeah. When we bought the place, it was just a garage, and then we kinda just morphed into this. Really, there was no I just kinda went with it and Sure. Really no plan. Yep.
George Reed:I didn't know how it was gonna turn you know how it is when you start a business. You don't know what the heck's gonna happen. So it's Sure. We just kinda slowly kinda this is what it turned out to be, you know, and pretty lucky.
Capt. Matt:Good for you. That's phenomenal. When you got started to where you are today, mainly word-of-mouth or have you do you have a website? You do social media? That type of stuff?
Capt. Matt:Yeah.
George Reed:We have a website and a Facebook page. We've been a few shows, basically word-of-mouth in Facebook. You know, we do post on Facebook quite a bit, pictures of different animals. But, yeah, I think
Capt. Matt:Have you done any competitions at all in the taxidermy world?
George Reed:Oh, yeah. We we used to compete quite often. I haven't in the last couple years. I think two years ago was the last time I competed, but you would try to go to the shows Yep. Every year.
Capt. Matt:Good for you.
George Reed:I mean, that's that's the it's a great opportunity for people to learn who wanna know, you know, learn about taxidermy. It's we can't beat that. Join the an association.
Capt. Matt:Yep.
George Reed:Just so much to learn.
Capt. Matt:Absolutely. You know, I I I have been pretty fortunate over the years to meet many of your brethren in the taxidermy world around, and it's neat to to pick up the little nuances that, other taxidermist around have learned over the due time now and, how things have changed with technology and of course, social media and Sure. And how you do what you do, you know. But, somebody is aspiring to be a taxidermist. Any suggestion to them?
George Reed:That'd be the first suggestion I'd make. Join your local, association. Yep. Then just take your time with it. Don't be in a hurry to to get into a business, you know.
George Reed:I think a lot of guys get into that mistake. You know, they wanna they'll go to school for a week and all of a sudden they come home and now they're gonna start a taxidermy business and Sure. It's easy to get a bad reputation.
Capt. Matt:Yep. Yeah. There's no question that practice makes perfect. Yes. You know?
Capt. Matt:And, I have found with my business being diversified keeps me steadier throughout the seasons. And obviously, battling mother nature is something else when you're looking at weather and wind and everything. But, you know, I tell people I'm not a professor at just bass fishing. I can take you out and troll for trout and salmon, jig for lakers, go fly fishing for different species, and just try to mix it up. But that's twenty some years in business of doing it and stuff that I've done my whole life, you know, and learning that stuff.
Capt. Matt:It doesn't happen just overnight. And, just because you go to a guide school doesn't instantly make you a guide on. I know there's a couple of taxidermy schools down in Pennsylvania and I'm sure they're a great way to get your foot in the door to start off, but, practice, practice, practice, you know. And Mhmm. I have just taken on a new hobby this year and doing some fly tie.
Capt. Matt:And, me with sausage fingers, it's not the easiest thing and my eyesight fading with with age. So
George Reed:Yeah.
Capt. Matt:But there's a lot to it, you know, and it's something that my grandfather dabbled in a little bit. And when I was a little kid and to keep his kind of legacy going, I started learning it. And I got a lot to learn. There's a long ways Yeah. To go with it.
Capt. Matt:And I've been going to some other, tires and learning what they're doing and their craft too. Just like taxidermy, it's an art form. Sure. You know, there's a lot to it and a lot of patience involved with it. Yeah.
Capt. Matt:You know? So what's an expected turnaround time that somebody would plan on once they drop their game off to you?
George Reed:Right now, I'm about twelve, fourteen months. Yep.
Capt. Matt:Yep. And what does that time all include? Is it just drying after you've got it on the form? Or,
George Reed:Well, I mean, it's to do a deer, like, the time length to take to do one deer, you're probably looking maybe twelve hours or so maybe. Twelve, fourteen hours.
Capt. Matt:Gotcha. Yeah.
George Reed:But yeah. I mean, depending on the dry time and stuff like that. Sure. Yeah.
Capt. Matt:Sure. Well, you've certainly done a phenomenal job. And as people can look around the room and, as we said, this is kind of our first shot at doing some remote video and what better place than to come to a taxidermy studio. Mhmm. And, people can see firsthand and I'm sitting here drooling looking at this steelhead and thinking, dude, you are missing it because I would love to see you do a lot more fish.
Capt. Matt:It is a beautiful specimen.
George Reed:Thank you.
Capt. Matt:But I, if anybody know the time that is involved with doing that artwork and I don't remotely wouldn't even know where to start and and Mhmm. Painting up something like that. But, as people can see, it's a passion of yours and something you do phenomenal at. And, any goals for you that you're looking at trying to accomplish or any trips you wanna do or stuff like that? No.
Capt. Matt:We're just
George Reed:mountain deer heads and, you know.
Capt. Matt:Yep.
George Reed:It's about, you know, nothing nothing playing in the future Good. Anyways. Yeah. But we'll see.
Capt. Matt:When I find a partner for you, I'll send him your way. Well, as I said to start the night off, we can't thank you enough for inviting us in. And, we're gonna wander around your shop a little bit, and we're gonna have some video stuff that folks are gonna be able to see online, and, obviously, helping you spread the word. Not that you need it. It sounds like you're doing very well.
Capt. Matt:I don't think anybody ever wants to turn any work away, but I know, come September, I'm like, oh my lord. How many more chargers do I wanna do?
George Reed:You know?
Capt. Matt:So it's, I'm looking at our seasons every year and what could come with it. But, now again, being a fellow Vermonter, thank you very much for what you do and supporting everybody out in Fish and Wildlife. How do people find you?
George Reed:Well, we're on Facebook and, we're on we have a website, Wildlife Design. You can check that out if you like.
Capt. Matt:Is that .com, Net?
George Reed:.Com. Gotcha. Yep.
Capt. Matt:Yep. And all your information is on there. Sure. And we're in Brandon, Vermont for people watching out there in the wide, wide world of the web. If you're anywhere here in Vermont, I highly suggest, come and talking to George.
Capt. Matt:But, sir Thank you. Thank you very much for joining us tonight.
George Reed:Thank you.
Capt. Matt:We've got a lot of stuff coming down the line, folks. And, next week, we're gonna be talking cross country skiing here in Vermont. And we've got some other guides we're gonna be talking with, you know, from around New England region. And not too distant future, talking about our upcoming fishing season as well. So thank you so much for joining us here at New England Outdoor Life Podcast.
Capt. Matt:Till the next episode, Captor that signing off.
Narrator:Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. Don't forget to head over to New England Outdoor Life Dot Com to sign up for our mailing list. And while you're at it, check out thirdalarmcharters.com. That's third with the number three.
Narrator:Have a great week, and we'll see you outdoors.
