with a saltwater trout are you able to skin mount it or do a fiberglass mold. thanks.
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Rule of thumb I use: "If it comes from salt water, it gets a reproduction." Some stripers and a few of the smaller game fish probably can be done, but the bigger guys always have oil problems of one sort or another. And it's adventurous to cast your own unless you have a great deal of experience. Several suppliers have a multitude of spotted trout, gray seas trout, sea trout, or weak fish replicas to chose from already. Why not take the high road and use one of them.
(Cynoscion nebulosus)which is found in the warmer Atlantic waters of the south and east and not a "trout" at all, or an actual true anadromous sea trout as in a sea run brown trout (Salmo trutta)?
I guess it's irrelevant as both can be skin mounted although I would use a cast head on both. I believe Matt Thompson makes mannikins for the Speckled Seatrout. I don't do saltwater fish so I'm not sure if anyone else has mannkins.
And don,t hold up well. Trust me and buy or do a cast.
I've been skin mounting them for 20 years. you just have to take a little care with them. and remove the gills and clean out the head real good. I also skin Red Drum sometimes, I also remove the gills and after they are dry I clean out the head and fill with foam.there is also artificial heads for specks and reds that look real well I just havn't used them. Try Matts forms they work well.
Did I just repaint one that was at least 30 years old and in remarkable shape? Paint job was a joke but it held up quite well over the years and the mounting itself was good for that time period. I also repainted a Redfish and Mangrove snapper. Granted these fish were not that large.
But I still say UNWISE for ocean fish, period. I've seen some done well, but they're all the exception and not the rule.
If you can't do them send them to me, I'll skin mounted for $150 you paint them.
I've got some trout that I mounted 15 years ago that look exactly the way that they did when I finished mounting them. They aren't any more difficult than anything alse. Yes, there is some rebuilding of areas of the head, but it ain't that hard.
Their skin isn't particulary oily either. Just make sure you remove as much meat and tissue from the skin as possible and you shouldn't have any problems down the road. The skin is paper thin, so once you've properly cleaned it there ain't nowhere for the oil to hide and leak out of. Seal the fish properly after cleaning it and you shouldn't really have any problem.