My goal in writing has always been to teach and to educate, so that making a living could be fun and profitable. In this article, I will introduce new products and new and faster ways to end up with a very desirable end product, an example being fish reproductions and their parts. The process of making fish reproductions has been around for a long time, but like many other areas of taxidermy, the process has not changed for a while. Well, I have found what I think is a better way of doing it.

TO RENEW OR SUBSCRIBE, CALL 800-783-7266 OR VISIT www.breakthroughmagazine.com.

FORWARD: Recently I saw a post by Joe Kish on www.Taxidermy.Net and I found it one of the most interesting writings I have read in a long time. I’m not sure how many of our readers saw this post, but I immediately knew that anyone who loves competition taxidermy needs to see and read it. The actual name for the post was Sell The Sizzle, Not The Steak – First Impressions. It is a masterpiece that I felt needed repeating. Sometimes words of wisdom like this one posted on social media get lost because of the millions of posts on the Internet and I felt this one needed to be resurrected in print for the other non-social-media followers.

Maybe we all need to visit Taxidermy.net more often. I think many of you will enjoy this essay in retrospect about thinking beyond the normal when planning for that next competition piece.

TO RENEW OR SUBSCRIBE, CALL 800-783-7266 OR VISIT www.breakthroughmagazine.com.

It was with sadness and shock that I learned that Robert Holshouser passed away November 8, 2018. I first met Robert, or “Burt,”as I later dubbed him, in the late 1980s in Anchorage, Alaska. I can’t elaborate on all the specifics of Robert’s life and accomplishments, but knowing him for well over 30 years, I got to see firsthand the talents he possessed.

TO RENEW OR SUBSCRIBE, CALL 800-783-7266 OR VISIT www.breakthroughmagazine.com.

 Inflation is a sustained general increase in the cost of goods and services and a reduction in purchasing power of the dollar bill. If you charged $500 for a whitetail shoulder mount last year, to maintain the same pay rate (regardless of additional cost increases) this year with an inflation rate of 2.95 percent, you will need to charge $514.75 just to prevent a loss in pay from last year.

TO RENEW OR SUBSCRIBE, CALL 800-783-7266 OR VISIT www.breakthroughmagazine.com.

THE LAST ISSUE'S study of coyotes featured facial details, facial attitudes, and still body poses. In this issue’s study, the focus will be body attitudes often recreated by taxidermists because of special requests from our customers, and other times it is for that search or quest for a new and different attitude for a competition piece. I have been told many times by taxidermists, “Thanks for that photo reference in the recent issue! I used one of them as a guide to complete my competition entry.”

The coyote reference for the last issue and this issue were divided into attitude categories. In this issue I will show groups for fighting or aggressive, howling, walking/running, pouncing, and with prey. I hope you are not only enjoying but also learning and using the reference we present in Breakthrough. If any of you have special requests or a species you would like us to feature, send us an email. You can do this by visiting our web site at www.breakthroughmagazine.com or email us at info@breakthroughmagazine.com.