State grad becomes world champion taxidermist

“Work is for those who don’t know how to fish,” according to the plaque on many fishing cabin walls.

But it is those who know how to fish and want to remember the fish they caught who are creating an abundance of work for 2007 wildlife and fisheries graduate Tyler Erickson, of rural Brookings. He is the owner of Top Notch Taxidermy, a business he started in college and turned into a full-time occupation within six months of graduation.

He hit the pinnacle of the trade when his reproduction of a yellow perch received world champion designation at the World Taxidermy and Fish Carving Championships in Peoria, Illinois, in May 2017.

As a 10-time state champion with more than 50 major awards, he was competing in the master’s division at the world championships.

The yellow perch reproduction was one he had prepared for a charity auction in 2016. However, “it didn’t sell very high, so I purchased it back. I made a few tweaks on it for the show and sculptured a new acrylic base by hand. I still had roughly 80 hours into the whole piece. Sometimes it’s best not to know (the amount of hours spent),” Erickson said.

Since gaining the honor, his customer base has expanded.

“I have people ship me fish from all over the country. It’s weird taking orders from New York City. As far as my life, it hasn’t really changed. I’ve been very busy for many years,” said Erickson, noting his business success and growing family has cut down on the amount of time he is able to do his own hunting and fishing.

Call of the wild

“I used to hunt and fish three or more times a week. I only got out on the boat three or four times last year,” the Minnesota native said.

In addition to professional reasons to spend time with rod, reel and rifle, Erickson has motivation at home. “My son (Zadok, 4) really loves to fish. When the weather is nice, I try to take him out. He currently wants to go ice fishing.”

Erickson remembers reeling in his first trophy walleye at age 4 while with his father. He fell in love with the outdoors and envisioned a career as a wildlife biologist when he enrolled at State. His interest in taxidermy was by chance.

Call of a career

He enrolled in the American Institute of Taxidermy in Boulder Junction, Wisconsin, in June 2004, while continuing to attend classes full time at South Dakota State.

Upon returning with certificate in hand, he opened Top Notch Taxidermy in his apartment,  later moving his growing business to downtown Brookings. After graduating in May 2007, he worked part-time with Brookings Municipal Utilities. “After that first deer season, that winter (2008) I went full time” with taxidermy.

Success was immediate. In 2008, he had the best fish replica at the South Dakota Taxidermy Convention. He expanded again in the fall of 2009, and moved Top Notch Taxidermy to its current location, 2 ¼ miles northeast of Brookings. His awards have multiplied over the years and include four best of shows, 10 state champion titles (South Dakota and Minnesota), and a second in the world title at the previous world championships (2015), before winning last year’s breakthrough world champion title.

“The shows are not about trying to beat other people. They’re about trying to be the best I can be and to keep improving.”

Erickson decided to take on another business venture in 2017 when he launched World Class Replicas. After years of making molds of fish for competition and personal work, he decided to take it to the next level and start to produce these fish “blanks” for retail sales to other taxidermists and fish artists around the country.

“I sell them a replica blank, which is essentially a perfectly reproduced copy of an original fish. I mold the real fish in fiberglass or rubber and then I take the prepared mold, and make a cast of it with a two-part plastic resin system,” Erickson said. “The detail in the castings is phenomenal and when a talented artist applies color, the result is actually better than having a real fish preserved.”

Erickson also loves to innovate and “push the industry.” He currently has a patent pending on Photo Fish, a technology that he invented to embed a real image in reproduction fish and fins.  “They are a game changer and totally unique to the industry. They will allow people that struggle with painting to drastically increase their quality of work, and will aid even the best artists in the industry with tough fish species such as crappie.”

To keep up with the demand of Top Notch Taxidermy and World Class Replicas, Erickson employs five or more part-time employees, including SDSU students and alumni.

Now his goal is to win another world championship in 2019, when the next world championships are held and to continue to innovate and push the industry to new levels.

– Dave Graves