I skinned a bass today that had a head that should have been on an 8lb fish and a body of a 3lb. I know everybody runs into anatomically messed up fish that are not what we would choose to mount. I'd like to hear what other people do in these situations. (I informed the customer and he wants to proceed with the mount).
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It's the only way to go on messed up fish!
Joe
this fish is not a fish you would choose to mount. but, customers are not as fortunate as us to be able to deal with so many specimens. As long as you have discussed the original condition of the fish and it's unique characteristics with the client, and he is all good with it, there should be no problem for you. If you do a quality job on that bass, it will come out looking like a 3 lb. bass with an 8 pounders head. Exactly what the client brought to you. NO PROBLEM, Right? GOOD LUCK! PS. There are ugly people and there are ugly fish too! Just ask Cecil or George..beauty is in the eye of the BEE holder.
Some customers really get upset when you poke fun at THEIR TROPHY.
Mount it do your best and keep your mouth shut.
...I mention to the customer that it is probably a very old fish because of the large head. This comment sort've compliments their fish while also setting up the expectation for the final product. Then, when it comes to body carving time, I usually give the fish a little bit of a belly if it's non-existent. Also, try to convince your customer to let you choose the position. Manytimes, these fish will look much better in a downward curve vs. the traditional up and out. You want as much flexibility as possible with these "unique fish". Oh lastly, ANYTIME I thaw out a fish and there's some unique feature(s) or the length is not what they told me, the digital camera comes out and I take a photo or three of the fish along with their original packaging. Manytimes with the tape measure sticker I have on the table clearly showing the length. It's the CMA theory (cover my butt) in full force...
I guess I take the same approach but was lacking in good explaination on here.
If customer's want to pay you to mount a fish like that then oblige them. The fish is unique in its own way. All fish are differant in shape and size. I have been mounting fish for twenty five years and have come across this situation many times. If you use fish manikins like I do, you still go by your regular measurements. The head is just going to be big....unique, and believe it or not, it will not look too bad on the wall after it is done. During the mounting process you can make it anatomically correct by not opening up the mouth too much. Let it flow with the rest of the body. I hope this helps.
Chris
These all sound like good advice. I would like to add that I in no way made fun of this fish to the customer, I simply pointed out the unique characteristic to let him know it was not a mistake on my part.