4 



Skinning and Skin Mounts 



Throughout this book I state repeatedly that for a really lifelike 

 trophy the fish should be molded and cast without trying to pre- 

 serve the original skin. But some anglers may want to try their 

 hands at a skin mount. And there are sometimes occasions 

 when it is not possible to bring a whole specimen safely home 

 but when the skin can easily be removed and transported ( see 

 Chapter 1 ) . So every angler should be interested in the proper 

 way to skin a fish. He should also know something about how 

 to mount a skin as a trophy— if only to be able to judge some of 

 the misshapen horrors he will see in museums and elsewhere! 



SKINNING THE FISH 



If the specimen is fresh, remove the slime as described in 

 Chapter 2. If the fish is frozen, thaw it out. Be sure the fins 

 and tail are soft; if they are dried and brittle, damage may occur 

 during the skinning. With a piece of wet cotton dab the fins 

 and tail occasionally to keep them from drying. 



A Formalin specimen should be soaked in several changes of 

 fresh water over a day or two and then dunked in a solution of 

 sodium bisulfite and sodium sulfite ( see formula No. 3 in Chap- 

 ter 12 ) so that the pungent odor of the Formalin will be elimi- 

 nated. Also, during the skinning process the fish should be 



8i 



