Ever since Bob Drahos was a child he loved to hunt and fish. He and his brother were always camping in the woods. Bob's next door neighbor's hobby was taxidermy, and Bob was fascinated by the way he could bring animals and fish back to life. When Bob was ten years old he sent away for taxidermy lessons from Northwest School of Taxidermy, and within three years was completely overwhelmed. At the suggestion of his father, they sought out John Koza who was known as the best taxidermist in town. John not only trained Bob in the art of taxidermy, but he also trained practically every taxidermist in the phone book. Bob founded True Life Taxidermy in 1989 at a time when the Yellow Pages listed twenty-two practicing taxidermists in the local area. Today, there are only five remaining taxidermists with Bob being the only practitioner of original methods he learned as a young man. We visited with Bob recently, and listened as he explained his craft and the services he offers;
True Life Taxidermy specializes in mounting fish and big game heads. Many of my customers are policemen or retired policemen because they enjoy hunting and fishing, but I also do a lot of work for restaurants and office buildings. Recently, many people are deciding to have favorite pets that have passed on stuffed and mounted, an area where only two local taxidermists specialize.
Many people tell me they'd like to learn to do this, but you have to possess a degree of artistic ability if you want the final piece to look natural. I've been in the woods studying nature since I was ten years old, and it takes a lot of patience to replicate nature's work. Fish are the hardest to do because I paint each one by hand. After a fish is mounted it turns brown and white. Most taxidermists today spray their fish with a spray gun, but I still prefer to paint each scale by hand for a more realistic appearance. I'm mounting a lot of Steel Head now as they've replaced Walleye as the predominant species in Lake Erie. Steel Head have at least eleven different colors, and trout normally have around fifteen.
When mounting big game, the tanned skin is placed on pre-built forms. They do sell forms for fish now, too, but I prefer to stay true to the old fashioned method of making a plaster cast of the fish that replicates the exact shape and all the muscles.
The last big job I did was for the Harry Buffalo Restaurants. For their game heads I purchased skins from another taxidermist in Minnesota, tanned them, and mounted them on my own forms. I also do reptiles such as iguanas, turtles, and snakes. Mounting snakes is very difficult, but I do tan snake skins for those wanting to have boots or belts made.
Another facet of my business is restoring items that have been mounted years ago. As long as you still have the horns, I can replace the cape, the skin on the outside, add the original horns, and make it look like it was just shot yesterday.
True Life Taxidermy produces true-to-life reproductions utilizing old fashioned techniques rarely practiced by today's taxidermists. Call True Life Taxidermy today, and don't forget to tell them The Advocate sent you!
