View Full Version : Fish mounts anyone??
invadertoast
05-07-2008, 04:39 AM
Came across these pics while going through some old stuff. My friend at my old job bought this 9' sailfish mount off eBay and I volunteered to go pick it up for him, mostly because I was dying to see it!! I borrowed a Ford Explorer and let me tell you, it was a tight fit!! My friend came with me and complained the fish was invading her space. The pople at the McDonald's drive through asked us about a million questions too...
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He had to hang it up at work because it's just TOO big! I told him if he ever follows me and quits that crazy place, I'll be it's foster mom as we have a tall enough wall for him :hmm3grin2orange:
Anybody have any fish mounts? I wish I could get blank ones and try my hand at airbrushing.
Where do you work where you have big enough walls? LOL...:hmm3grin2orange:
So I'm unclear...is that a stuffed fish, or just a replica of a stuffed fish?
Wild Turkey
05-07-2008, 04:54 AM
Mounts are the new "stuffed fish" or stuffed anything really... its a plastic cast of the sailfish you catch and give to a taxidermist who in turn makes the cast and paints it, then he gives you back that. Real fish smell and deers heads i assume wouldnt smell great after a few days either, no matter what you did to them
invadertoast
05-07-2008, 05:01 AM
Lol, I used to work at a sign shop, it had tall ceilings! I quit though, my friend who owns the fish still works there. There are different types of fish mounts, skin mounts and fiberglass mounts. You can't make a skin mount out of a saltwater fish, so they make a fiberglass mold out of one fish and make several models from a single mold. I'm not too sure on how freshwater skin mounts work though. I think today there's more catch and release, as in you measure and take a picture of the fish you caught and bring it to a fish mount place. Then they select a mold from a similar sized fish, make a fiberglass replica, and paint it to match your photo.
For mammals, I'm pretty sure they dry the skin out and mount it on an artificial frame. I'm pretty sure this is how they do freshwater fish skin mounts but i'm not 100% sure.
This is an old, old mount, it was made back in the 50's after a fish caught off Hawaii. The head, as far as we could tell, is carved wood. We think the bill is real and the rest is either fiberglass or wood. It really doesn't weigh alot. The dorsal fin is just plywood and looks kind of cheesy if you see it close up, lol. My friend has contemplated stripping the paint off and restoring it, but it still looks good enough for now. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to try to paint a fiberglass fish! I love to airbrush, I'm just dying to try it!
Drumachine09
05-07-2008, 05:04 AM
I've got like, 300 rabbit and squirrel pelts in a box in the attic, and a lion tail on my wall. I had a deer mount, but it got really ratty due to poor taxidermy, and I threw it away.
invadertoast
05-07-2008, 05:09 AM
I had a deer mount, but it got really ratty due to poor taxidermy, and I threw it away.
Yeah, poor taxidermy is not appealing, lol! If it's not done really well, and I mean REALLY well, stuffed mammals tend to look really creepy and just not "right." I really like well-done museum quality, "so real I think it's gonna bite me" taxidermy work.
Anybody see the episode of Dirty Jobs were he goes to a fish mount place? They show how they make a master mold of a shark... it's pretty gross!
Drumachine09
05-07-2008, 05:10 AM
Yeah, poor taxidermy is not appealing, lol! If it's not done really well, and I mean REALLY well, stuffed mammals tend to look really creepy and just not "right." I really like well-done museum quality, "so real I think it's gonna bite me" taxidermy work.
Anybody see the episode of Dirty Jobs were he goes to a fish mount place? They show how they make a master mold of a shark... it's pretty gross!
The mount was fine, but I think it was the tanning process that left something to be desired. It started to fall apart.
The lion tail I got has held up for like, 20 years. My uncle knew a taxidermist. Some guy brought in a tail to be tanned, and put on a felt to hang. He did it, and the guy never came to pick it up. My uncle kept it for a while, and then gave it to my brother. My brother gave it to me. And now, it hangs on my wall.
invadertoast
05-07-2008, 05:15 AM
That's pretty cool, I definately have never heard of someone having a lion tail! I wonder where the original guy got it from.
I don't have anything remotely close to taxidermy, I had an awesome cow skull but my sister's dog ate it. I have a megalodon tooth, but fossilized stuff doesn't count, lol
Drum's place is gonna be THE pad...
...once the world goes to hell in a handbasket...and we're all living in caves again like our Neanderthal ancestors...
Drumachine09
05-07-2008, 05:31 AM
Drum's place is gonna be THE pad...
...once the world goes to hell in a handbasket...and we're all living in caves again like our Neanderthal ancestors...
I thought it WAS the pad?
:hmm3grin2orange:
I stand corrected!
Kuli_Loach
05-07-2008, 12:47 PM
I have a mounted 8 point and duck. I also have a mounted 8lb largemouth but it is one where we took lots of pictures so we could release her back in the water so really it isn't one of her. They don't use any part of the fish anyways so if you want to get one mounted, take pictures from every possible angle and take it to the taxidermist that way.
rowenna7
05-07-2008, 02:30 PM
I worked as a helper to a taxidermist about 12 years ago. I didn't do it for real long but it was really interesting. As far as fish go, what they do for skin mounts is skin the fish (has to be done a certain way), then clean the skin thoroughly using special scrapers to get rid of every bit of flesh. The skin then has to be fitted on a special form, you can get forms for all kinds of species of fish (other animals too). Then the fish gets painted, the guy I worked for used an airbrush kit and did just beautiful work, very realistic. I didn't do a whole lot with the taxidermy, basically helped skin a few fish and a bobcat's paw *LOL* It was an interesting experience.
MandyL
05-07-2008, 07:51 PM
I have to admit... I thought you were talking about a fish mounting another one. :hmm3grin2orange:
I think it takes a special person to want a dead fish on their wall... :14: Not so much for me!
invadertoast
05-07-2008, 09:13 PM
I think it takes a special person to want a dead fish on their wall... :14: Not so much for me!
Heheh, see I look at it from an artists point of view, technically they're sculptures, and not really "dead fish," lol.
Taxidermy is one of those things that I feel like I should think is weird and gross... but it's just so interesting!
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