Salmon Fins

Are you talking about the pelvic fins one in front of the anal fin?

 

They are called a fin guard according to my reference and you can rebuild them with any of the two part epoxies just as you would the adipose fin.

 

Yes, there's that extra piece of "skin" dangling from the backside/base of the pelvics on Salmon and Trout. Personally, when I use to do Skin mounts I would do exactly what you said. Leave them and let dry and build up with epoxy from what is left...

 

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Assuming you've properly degreased your whole fish skin, you are fine. There is very little, if any grease in those tiny little pieces of skin. If what's left after drying is strong enough to build upon I would go for it. Sometimes just leaving them is fine too depending on the size of the fish and how much shrinkage. Unless you're talking comps. For commercial apps, no problem. And I can see why some cut them off. They're oftentimes tucked to the body and hard t see. So, very few customers would miss them I think...

 

I probably did a bit overkill on greasy salmon and trout. But, I did a lot of big, greasy Lake Michigan fish. But, I would degrease in Mineral Spirits overnight. Acetone works too. Then, clean up with cold water and Dawn soak/rinse before going in the Denatured Alcohol and water for a few days for preservation and more degreasing. Soak skin in cold water for an hour or so before mounting up...

 

They are called the axillary process. I cut them off and build new ones out of epoxy sculpt.

 

Why not just build upon what's there Bill? seems like more work to attach and build upon something else???

 

Good question. I had it in a 5 gallon bucket and I cut out a metal screen to fit the bottom but with a little excess metal to cut little half inch "tabs" all around for the screen to stand a half inch off the bottom. All the goo collects at the bottom. And I would use the MS til it started to stink. Perhaps a few years with my limited volume of maybe 40 skins a year. Just make sure you don't leave your skins in there more than overnight or perhaps 24 hours. MS is a solvent and it will begin to break down your skin if left in there for days plus. I only did overnight with big greasy salmon and trout. A few hours is all that is necessary with most warmwater skins..

 

I've cut off those axillary fins on all my skin mounted salmon and trout and rebuilt them out of epoxy as I attached the dried fins and rebuilt the fin bases. I know most people don't know they're there but I know they were there when the fish was alive and that's what I want to see when it leaves the shop. I de-grease with Denatured Alcohol for a couple of days then re-hydrate in cold, soapy water until the skin softens then rinse and mount. You can leave a fish skin in DA almost forever as long as the DA doesn't evaporate away and you can reuse it several times.Use a shelf to keep the grease and oil on the bottom like Marty does.

 

Do any of you guys use phenolic acid?

 

I have only meet four folks using it
CL