For me, 2020 was a year filled with big fish and memorable trips. I landed a personal-best trout in April. I witnessed a state-record crappie in July. And in December, I caught a state record of my own by pulling a rare Lahontan cutthroat through the ice.

But none of these fish surpassed my all-time favorite catch — a 24-inch largemouth bass I landed in 2014. The fish was a rare find, especially in Idaho, where bass grow slowly. Catching a 20-incher is relatively rare, and a two-footer is once-in-a-lifetime stuff. I released that fish so it could continue growing (and spawning every year), but I knew I wanted a mount made one day.

That day came on Christmas, when my family gifted me a replica of my trophy bass. Actually, it came a couple months prior, when my wife told me the news and gave me license to start shopping. My research led me to Tall Tale Taxidermy in Meridian