First Brook Trout Carving

[MathFish]

So, being cooped up this winter longing to head out and enjoy time on a stream casting flies to wary trout has had some affect on me I suppose... I have made three pinewood derby cars this year and have enjoyed sharing them on this site. Some of the comments on my latest post of the California Golden Trout got me inspired to take a crack at carving a trout without wheels.

I got a block of basswood from a good friend of mine and laid out a sketch a brook trout based off of a photo of a brookie that I caught at Linn Run this past August.

Then it was off to my scroll saw. I had to cut the block down and remove the presser foot of the scroll saw so that I could fit the block to make my first cut. I realize that a band saw would be the correct tool to do this, but I don't own one (yet...).

Then I taped the cut pieces off to be able to make the rest of the cuts that I was able to do with the scroll saw.

I then made some marks on the piece with a blue sharpie. I watched a YouTube video of how some expert carved a trout from wood and the guy used a sharpie on his carving. The wood that was used in the video must have been a different type of wood, because it became quite a mess on my piece. If or when I make another carving, I think I will use a carpenter's pencil or a something else... I used the markings to help guide me with the sanding. For the bulk of the carving, I used a Dremel tool. It was the first time I have ever used one. The Dremel proved to be fairly easy to use on the basswood, but I used it very cautiously knowing that you can't put wood back once you removed it...

Then it was a bunch of sanding by hand...

I decided to add some detail carving into the head of the fish. I marked the gill plate and the eyes onto the block and carved the lines out with an X-Acto knife. The blade cut through the basswood pretty easily. I was pretty nervous as I did this, not because I was afraid I would cut myself (I did once...) but because I was fearful I would screw up this part.

I also decided to carve in some detail in the fins too. This was easier to do than the head details. I also sanded over the head of the trout lightly with 220 grit sand paper to try to smooth over the details.

I took about 2 weeks to work up the nerve to start painting the fish... I have only ever painted one side of a fish with the pinewood derby cars and I was nervous to be able to pull off the symmetry. But I mustered up the courage today and painted it.

I realize that I didn't get some of the proportions correct and I embellished the coloration of the trout in the photo, but I am happy with how this turned out.

Thanks for reading!

 

[rrt]

Well, I think it's just beautiful. I couldn't even begin to do something like that. I hope you have a nice place to display it. (If you don't, I could certainly make room for it in my fly tying room! )

 

[krs]

Outstanding work, you should be very proud!

 

[ryansheehan]

Wow, love the view from the top, looks like a real gemmie.

 

[salvelinus]

It looks realistic to me, especially the paint job. You should be proud. If you ever decide to take commissions, let me know. That looks as good as any professional piece I've ever seen.

 

[BrookieChaser]

That is cool, nice work! The top view is especially realistic looking.

Now you can make your own recreations of memorable fish you catch.

 

[LLR]

Outstanding - you should be proud of this. Well Done !

 

[afishinado]

Great job!

You transitioned from craft to art, IMHO.

 

[troutbert]

Terrific. Getting the proportions and curves to look natural seems like a very difficult thing, but you got it. The painting is very realistic also.

 

[FarmerDave]

Very nice!

On one vacation to North Carolina, I bought a carving of a shore bird as a momento. The guy had some awesome stuff, and even did work for ducks unlimited.

Well, your fish carving is at least as nice as the little shore bird. No exaggeration. OK, I'm fond of brook trout so I could be biased, but still.

 

[Dave_W]

Very nice indeed.

The curve of the body, which can clearly be seen from above, is especially well done and realistic. Getting body shape right has proven one of the hardest parts for me when doing carvings or taxidermy.

 

[JF_]

Great job, I'd never think it was your first try....

 

[tomgamber]

That is fantastic!

I'd throw a fly at it if i saw it swimming above an old bed spring!

 

[DaveS]

Very impressive!
You’re very gifted.

I can’t even carve the turkey at Thanksgiving.

 

[krayfish2]

Love it. I'm guessing you could sell as many of them as you can carve. I'd buy one if it was in my budget!

 

[Out4Trout]

Get a piece of drift wood and mount that fish to it for one hell of an awesome display. Great job !!

 

[flyflicker]

Absolutely beautiful! How many man hours; carving and painting? A true work of art!

 

[MathFish]

Thanks for all of the kind words everyone! I really believe the time I have spent making those trout pinewood derby cars is what was the main factor in how this fish turned out. I definitely need more practice on pulling of the proportions of the placement of the eyes on the head and with the size of the eyes too... but I really do like how the painting turned out. I tell you the process of painting this brook trout really gave me a new perspective on how beautiful brookies really are.

I still have to put a coat of lacquer on it and my plan is to mount it on a post and make a base that has some rocks and driftwood below the fish. I would ultimately like to keep it on my tying desk.

I do need to get some more basswood because I’m interested in trying to make some more trout carvings. I would like to make a carving of some small natives and some small wild browns.

Oh... and I bet I had about 8 hours in the carving part and maybe about 2 and a half in the painting part.