Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations On Northern Pond Part 1 complete with pics

There are several different solutons taxidermists use depending on what they prefer and what works for them. Some use 50/50 denatured alcohol/water to soak the skin until ready to mount, and then rehydrate it in plain water. Some use a borax solution which is what I use. I also degrease a northern pike's skin in mineral spirts (paint thinner) before soaking in the borax solution. I use the the paint thinner for musky, carp, and trout and salmon also. Not necessary on other species.



I think you mean how far the northern pike is along at this point?

It will be ready for the finish work in a few days in preparation for painting.

I'm glad you're enjoying it.

Good question on how long it takes. I'm terrible at estimating times. I always underestimate. I just know it will be done in time and that is the most important thing to me and of course those that are waiting to see it! LOL

I have attempted to do time studies but always forget to record the end time. I get so involved I forget!

Here is Bruce's bluegill and the walleye placed into the mold impressions that were made earlier. The fish are overfilled with the fish filler mache and then the excess is pushed out the back seam. Just before the filler kicks the fish is removed from the mold impression and set into whatever postion I prefer. This is not the same as just slopping in fish filler mache into a fish skin. With mold as a guide -- as in this case -- the correct anatomy is duplicated.



Here they are mounted and drying with the fins carded. Note the fins are more relaxed vs. the unnatural fully extended fins on most commerical angler mounts. JMO, but I also prefer the mouth closed on a fish as it looks more natural. Bruce's fish has a small roughed up area on the side which will be totally repaired when I'm done. I'm an expert on repairs!

BTW these fish are not as straight as they look in the photo.

Cecil, are you good at filleting fish?




(You don't have to answer that.)

You know I'm not trying to brag but it's funny you brought that up. After skinning fish and having to deal with keeping the scales on, filleting is so easy! In fact I was at an aquaculture meeting and a fish producer was bragging about this woman that filleted his perch and how fast she was. When he told us how quick she was I chuckled to myself because I knew I could fillet faster.

Hey maybe we should have a filleting contest at the convention complete with a paramedic.

More fish pics.

Here's a yellow perch in a reverse curve postion to add variety to the display. The photograph distorts the turn to make it look more severe than it is.




Here is a black crappie.




Tomorrow I will include pics of the largemouth bass and smallmouth bass.

This is going to be outstanding. Thanks for doing this for us to see, Cecil.

I really like the natural positioning of the fins.

Awesome work, Cecil!

I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Thanks, Cecil. It sure is interesting to watch the fine details of your work.

Since bullhead or any catfish are a nightmare to mount I had a friend I know in Wisconsin that custum molds fish, mold me a black bullhead he caught fishing the other day. Here is what it looks like unpainted.



I also went with a fiberglass blank for the pumpkinseed as it was problematic finding a specimen here. Here is the blank for that.



BTW if any of you ever want a custom replica of a fish from your ponds this guy is the one to go with. His name is Joshua Knuth and he is located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. His email address is:

joshua@knuthart.com <joshua@knuthart.com

Cecil...

You are truely an artist and this is fascinating. I had no idea what all was involved with mounting a fish. Thanks.

Not sure about the artist part unless you mean BS artist. A lot of this can be learned but thank you for the kind words.

Here's Bill Cody's largemouth that will be attached to two lily pad stems and have his body pointed up at a steep angle eyeing over a frog on top of another lily pad. For some reason the picture makes it look really straight but it is not.



Here is the reverse side where the seam is. I chose to put the seam on the side as this is where a dark spot pattern exists and will make it easy to hide (relatively speaking).

Here is the smallmouth bass after it was mounted. (Reverse curve)

Another thank you Cecil.
Your work is amazing, thanks for taking the time to share it.

Matt Wehland

Here is an idea what the largemouth that is mounted in the following picture will be doing in the diorama. The stems of the pads will be bent steel, coated, and painted green with a flat metal tab welded onto the stems. The tabs will then be epoxied into the fish and should not be visible. A frog replica or frog lure will be epoxied to the top of another pad. My friend Josh Knuth in Oshkosh, Wisconsin who is an expert molder and gifted artist, is supplying the pads which are molded off of the real thing, and also the stems complete with the welded on tabs.

Mounted Bill Cody bass:




Live bass doing what I will attempt to duplicate:

Cecil,
Do these preserved specimens have a shelf life? I mean, after a certain (long) amount of time, does their physical integrity begin to break down in any way?...or....are they as sturdy in 100 years as they were when they were first preserved?

If done correctly using today's state of the art techniques I have no doubt mounts I do will not only outlive me but looks as good as they did when I did them. This is especially true if they are under glasS and don't get dusty, aren't subjected to direct sunlight on a continuous basis, or drastic temperature changes or intense humidity and heat. I wish I had a nickel for every customer that has had his mounts banned to the garage or dingy basement by his wife. It's sad they pay that kind of money but they end up there.

Just in case you may have seen some that are breaking down most likely those are done the old way and may not have been done by someone that does the state of the art techniques of today. Sometimes taxidermist's are lazy and don't take everything out of the fish either, which could cause bug problems -- although I have never ever seen that. I'm a stickler on removing everything all the way to the fin rays with a scalpel even if in some cases this causes me to make small holes near the rays, but that is easily repaired.

There are also a lot of discolored mounts out there that are due to smoking or grease in bars. A lot of those horrible deer mounts you see were also slapped together with a dry preservative vs. tanning. Tanning a hide always produces a better product.

Fish taxidermy has come a long ways in the last 20 years complete with fungicidal sealers and speciality paints. Also parts that are difficult to preserve are cast. What has really brought up the standard in our art form is state, national, and world competitions. If you talk to a taxidermist that pooh poohs competing run as fast as you can. This usually indicates he is not willing to learn new things or is not willing to put in the effort to improve his work.

More pics:

Bill Cody's largemouth showing where the shrinkage was built back up with a two part epoxy and the eyes are now in place. The lips,top of head, throat etc. all shrink down in the drying process and must be built back up to duplicate a live fish. Also any seams etc must be reproduced to their original likeness. Fins are also coated several times with "Sobo glue" to build them up to original thickness.

Front



Back






The back seam filled in and scales sculpted back in at the seam. The seam should not be visible once the fish is painted both with a hand brush and air brushed.




The northern pike. (The case it is setting on for the photo is NOT where all nine fish will go into!) That display case they will be in is MUCH BIGGER!





Bruce Condello's Condello strain bluegill.



Please note these fish are still UNFINISHED in these photos. Painting them makes a world of difference!

Never before have I understood the need for painting so clearly.

What a great thread! Captivating stuff to an old art major.
Thanks

This probably sounds silly, but Cecil you have a knack for getting the "facial expressions" just right. That bluegill looks like he's thinking about something. A lot of mounts that I see the fish seems to be without any personality.

Does that make any sense?

Cecil's entire presentation and pics for this thread should be printed out and arranged on a posterboard next to the final product. This tutorial will lend volumes of appreciation.

Cecil, with all of the work you put into skin mounts it seems that fiberglass reproductions would be less work. On the other hand I guess a skin mount gets closer to the original. Is this correct?

Yeah he's thinking he's mad at you Bruce for having him mounted. Can you blame him?

Seriously there is this one setting we call the "fish eye." It's where the eyes are floating upward and just don't look right. Maybe that is what you've seen? Although they can do about anything with their eyes, and move each one independently of each other, typically they are canted down slightly and in, in the front slightly.