Ok I have been reading the archives for almost an hour already. the question I have and bear with me please this is my first fish ever. It is one of my own I caught last season. Brook trout, it is frozen and my question is after I thaw it can I put the whole fish in the 50/50 mix of denatured alcohol and water before I do the skinning? Or do I do it after the skinning?. I have a dvd of a basss being done and the guy just uses borax on a fresh fish while skinning it.
I plan on thawing it then measuring it and then If I can soak it in the 50/50 mix then skinning it and resoaking it in the solution, ordering all parts needed , then let it set in plain water for a while to rehydrate it then mounting it. Does this sound OK? thanks alot After reading the archives I was unsure on the soaking before skinning deal. thanks
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Soaking in denatured alcohol is not enough to degrease the skin. You also have to soak it in mineral spirits, dawn detergent or both.
Peter
...will tighten up the skin a bit and hold the scales a little better. I'd suggest picking up some PUFFED Borax to aid in the skinning process. I got away from using it all that much and just recently brought it out for some Crappies in bad shape. Sprinkling the borax around while skinning made a world of difference with keeping the scales on.
Peter is correct, the alcohol will do some degreasing but it will be minimal. Get some Mineral Spirits and soak the skinned out fish in Mineral Spirits overnight. Then, soak it in Dawn detergent/rinse a few times to get the degreasing solvent (Mineral Spirits) out of the skin. Then put it in the alcohol solution at least overnight to "tan" or help preserve the skin. You can actually leave it in this solution for quite some time, but the skin will start to yellow a bit if left in too long. Take out and soak in cold, clean water about a half hour before mounting...
Hey folks thanks alot. I was just unsure. I thought the denatured alcohol would be enough, Glad I came and asked. I have Mineral spirits and I will use it also now. Thanks alot.