Hello
ive tried and failed many atempts at taxidermy of fish. I any info on how to make a soulution for tanning a bluegill skin for mounting would be VERY helpfull . Any chemical names or anything. I have read alot about borax on this site, but i dont understand WHAT is does,(im not a great chemist) and if/when i do get a tanned fish skin, WHat then? How do i actually go about stuffing it?
Thank you for your time,
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A gift for you! Enjoy! http://www.McKenziesp.com/training.asp
Once you skin your fish and remove all the meat, you need to soak the skin in a solution of water and borax. Add all the borax that will dissolve in the water. For bluegills, I reccommend the fish fill method. Search the archives using the orange button for info on the fish filler or half-cast method. Good luck.
For panfish and sunfish up to the size of a large crappie, I like to go half cast on them.
What you will need:
Plaster of Paris
Sawdust/Plastic Bag
Fish Filler
Small wood block
Dawn Detergent
Degreaser (Optional)
Denatured Alcohol
Water
Fin Carding Supplies
Glass Eyes/Sockets
Clay/Mache
One Panfish Corpse
Make a 'pillow' out of a plastic bag. Fill the bag with sawdust and tape it off at the end. Fluff it and lay your specimen on it in the position you wish it to be mounted in. Mix up a batch of plaster of Paris and pour this over the fish. When it begins to set and go into a heat, SLOWLY peel the fish from the plaster mold from head to tail. Scrape away any rough spots on the mold where the fish was, and set the plaster mold aside to cure and dry. Skin your fish. Wash it in a detergent bath of liquid dawn, then give it a soak for about a half hour in Rittel's super solvent (I use this on all fish). Go to the hardware store and buy a gallon of Denatured Alcohol for about $10. Pour this into an AIR TIGHT CONTAINER. Don't be puffin' a cigarette or be working in the warm fireplace room while doing this either. fill the gallon jug the Alch. came in with water and mix the two togather. Soak your fish skin in this solution overnight to - forever.
When ready to mount your bluegill, remove the fish from the alch. solution and rinse and soak in clear water for about 10 minutes. Bring back that plaster mold, and lay the fish skin into it just as it came out of that mold. Mix up a batch of fish filler, not too dry and not too runny. Pack the fish with this mixture until it is uniformly thick as it was when fresh. Let the mold guide you. You will know when its overstuffed. Insert a small block of wood for your attachment into the seam area. Allow the fish filler to set up. Turn the mold upside down and "tap" it gently and allow the fish to fall out into your hand. Card the fins and insert critter clay or mache into the cheek pockets. Install your flex eye or eyesocket and set aside to dry.
I hope I've helped...
-A
TY very much