Taxidermy Fish For Beginners?

Go to McKenzie Taxidermy Supply, search videos, and you should find one on fish skinning, mounting, and painting.

 

I just went to youtube and typed in How to Mount a Fish, and there are plenty of videos to watch. That should give you a start.


Kerby...

 

Try the 1/2 cast method with a 15-20 in LMB is about the easiest way to start. Tools from the kitchen and garage and all materials you can get at Walmart and Hardware store except eyes.

1/2 cast method : Fish in a bed of sand, 1/2 way. Cast in plaster, flip dried cast and remove fish. Skin fish from the side that was in the sand (show side now). Put preserved skin into cast void and fill with "FISH FILL" paper Masha and plaster mix. let mix set. Clean up, card fins and dry. Put the eyes in, sculp and texture the shrunken areas and back seam. Seal and paint and a habitat.

Best method I have found for Crappie and other pan fish, small bass. Works for fish that you cant get bodies for due to size or species. Scaled fish work the best.

Look up SOCK - doll method. You make a pattern of the fish then make a body out of cloth and stuff it with Styrofoam beads (BEAN BAG FISH).

Look up a book "Museum Quality Fish Taxidermy" has been out of print and my be free on the Net. some place.

 

Taxidermy Training Unlimited has fish mounting DVDs.

Van Dykes Taxidermy Supply Company used to have fish mounting kits with everything you need to do panfish, including instructions with the fill method. I think they still have them.

 

If your wanting hands on instruction,we offer one on one classes.Everything from carved bodies and cast heads to molding and casting reproductions.Check us out fishmount.com

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=D_jFd4rDUSQ
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PFN8-ja7-Ys

Lots of free information out there. Do the homework and you can learn a lot, I did. I watched this Matuska series recently, and found it to be quite an honest sharing of information despite its coming from a supply company.

 

Graduated from NWST, Toms a great teacher and an even better business man and all around good dude.

 

Any advise on skinning a 26in. stripper??

 

Is it FISH you seek to mount or instruction..... The way I read your post is that you are looking for specimens to mount, no?

 

Same as for skinning a largemouth bass. Don't flex the skin, keep everything flat. Remove the carcass in sections as you skin the fish. Their scales are not as tight as largemouth bass scales.