My sister (also a taxidermist) just received a gutted/skinned Northern Pike to mount. The cut is nice and clean but on the belly, there is no carcus to use for measurements. How should she go about measuring and what are your suggestions for making that cut as invisable as possible. I will print all comments and send them to her I know she will appreciate it since she has no access to the forum.
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can measure the skin for both the length and circumference measurements. as far as the seam goes, you can make a small narrow slit in the belly of the form running from head to tail, then when mounting make sure all the fins line up in their correct locations, then tuck the skin into this slit and pin in place until dry. when finishing this area simply use sculp-all, all game or a similiar suitable product and re-place the scale pattern and the seam will be almost invisible, be sure to charge extra for this work, the Breakthrough fish mounting manual covers this in greater detail for pedestal mounts and has photos to help explain the procedure
good luck
mark where the scales stop and the area for the front measurement, the top to bottom from your side profile, times two for girth.