SKINNING, FLESHING, MOUNTING & PAINTING A REVERSE CURVE LARGEMOUTH BASS
by Second 2 Nature Taxidermy Supply with Steve German 1 ¾ Hrs
Steve starts by measuring the fish. He makes an incision down the back side and begins to skin the fish. He cuts the pectoral fin off the back side and saves this for repairing other fins. Then he cleans the head, scrapes the skin clean, removes the eyes and cleans the cheeks. The skin is placed in a solution of water and Dry Preservative to soak. He test fits the skin on a urethane fish form. The form will need to be altered, he has already drawn lines on the form to show where to make the cuts on the bandsaw. He applies Dry Preservative to the skin, Hide Paste on the show side and Paper Mache in the head. He places the skin on the form. He puts Paper Mache in the tail and staples the incision on the back. Paper Mache is also put in the cheeks. Steve cards the fins, pins the fins, cards the gill cover, separates the gills and cards the tongue. After the fish has dried – he removes the carding and pins. He then uses apoxie on the head between the eyes, sets the eyes, patches holes and makes repairs. He applies fin backing to the fins and the seam on the back. Steve then paints the fish with Hydro-Mist paint and applies a top coat using Envirotex Lite on the show side. The base work is shown – a shadow box with driftwood attached to it. He mixes foam and pours into the base while adding sand. Weeds/sticks are added. The shadow box will hang on the wall with two fish mounts chasing a fishing lure.
