September/October • 2020 • GASPARILLA MAGAZINE A
the thing to do, the Reark family now utilizes
a different method to remember their fi shing
trips.
“Many taxidermists are now using more
modern fi berglass mounts,” she said. “Skin
mounts aren’t used as much. Now one fi sh
can be molded several dozen times, and
that one fi sh’s sacrifi ce can be used for 50
different mounts. It’s more conservation
minded now. They come in all shapes and
sizes, so if you measure your catch you can
fi nd a mount that is exactly like it. Also, fi sh
skin mounts don’t keep well; eventually the
scales will fl ake off and they become more
fragile.”
The Reark family owned a bar in Avon Park
called the Turkey Tavern, and fi lled it with
animal mounts of all sorts. Many were given
to the family, some they hunted. When Kelly’s
parents sold the bar they kept much of that
décor, so you can imagine how interesting
their home is.
Kelly is a wildlife artist by trade, and uses a
lot of fi sh mounts for her work. Fish are her
passion.
“I started out with the tarpon, because of
my love for them, and for Boca Grande,”
she said.” I have three different taxidermists
I talk to regularly, and I work with the molds
that they have made. That gives me the
/tatooedtarpon.com
