A beautiful carved salmon by our friend and angler Mark Bennett - we've landed more than a few fish together and his deep knowledge of Salmo Salar is evident in this exquisite work. The details are tremendous here, from the careful carving of each individual scale, the curve of the fins - even the jaws have teeth! I particularly like the conception of the piece - "coming and going" - with one side of the hen fish painted bright to capture the incoming migration, the other a darker copper color as it prepares for another outbound ocean journey. As I said to Junior, this practically wants to make me drop a white wulff on its head to see if it moves.

The fish is carved from basswood and mounted on a mahogany base which allows for easy swiveling. It measures 32 inches long and 13 inches from the bottom of the base to the top of the dorsal fin. On the base is a plaque engraved with "Salmo Salar", and Mark has signed the underside of the stand. In short, this would be a great addition to the office, the lodge, or next to your tying desk.

Note: On our blog, we also spoke with Mark about his approach to carving and craftsmanship.