|
July 2009
Fish Mounts
by Deb "Huntress" Ackeret
I
love to see a good fish mount! A
well painted large mouth bass
with a nice shine and flared
gills always makes me think of
them exploding into the top
water plugs we used as kids.
Summer vacation at the cabin on
the lake. Catching perch and
bluegills during the day and
bass and northern pike in the
evening or early morning sure
beat going to school. Ah, what
memories those mounts bring
back. But that’s what a good
mount is meant to do….help you
relive the experience. I hope I
can give you a few tips here
that will help you remember a
great fishing trip too! |
There are
two different types of fish mounts. Skin
mounts are just what the name implies,
the fish is skinned out and mounted just
as most taxidermy birds or mammals are
done. Reproduction mounts are a
fiberglass representation of what the
fish looked like…you can take a photo
and some measurements, release or eat
the fish and have the mount done at any
time. There are pros and cons to each
type of mount. I’ll list a few to help
you decide what type of mount is right
for you.
Reproduction mounts
Advantages
include:
-
Not
having to deal with transporting and
keeping the fish….especially useful
when dealing with extremely large
fish such as some saltwater species
-
Mounts
will last forever…they are made from
fiberglass and are impervious to rot
and insects.
-
Light
weight…they are much easier to hang
or move.
-
You can
have the mount done at any
time….even years after ‘the catch’.
Disadvantages include:
-
The
mount is not truly ‘your
fish’…unless you keep the fish you
caught and have a mold made of that
fish it may only be a close
representation.
-
Cost…reproduction mounts will cost
at least twice the price of a skin
mount and if you have ‘your fish’
cast into a mold it may be as high
as 5x the cost of a skin mount.
Skin
mounts
Advantages
include:
Disadvantages include:
-
Having
to take extra care when transporting
and freezing the fish before
mounting.
-
Because
it’s a natural product it may fade,
crack or attract bugs over time.
Here are
examples of each type of mount.
Reproduction Largemouth Bass
Skin
mount Rock Bass
If you’ve
decided to get a skin mount done be
careful when boating and handling the
fish. Dispatch it quickly, place in a
plastic bag and put it on ice till it
can be frozen. Take it in to your
taxidermist as soon as possible. Damage
can be done to your fish by gaffing,
letting it flop around in the boat or
putting it in a live well or on a
stringer. If kept in a freezer too long
freezer burn can curl the fins and
scales.
It’s always
a good idea to talk to your taxidermist
before you get a mount done. Be
informed…get the price of the mount
(usually charged by the inch), ask if
there is driftwood/habitat included in
the price, and find out if your skin
mount will have the original head (some
taxidermists use reproduction heads and
just ‘your skin’ for the body.
Tight lines!
Deb
|
