i88 How To Make Fish Mounts 



eye that fits exactly into the entire socket and which, of course, 

 is much bigger than the original eye. To do a good job on the 

 eye of a mounted fish, a portion of the eyeball should be indi- 

 cated and the width of the eye proper, measured. A glass eye 

 of the same size should be inserted. 



5. Color. It is more difficult to criticize the paint job of a 

 mounted fish. First, all species of fishes go through different 

 shades of intensities of coloration at one time or another. Often 

 two specimens of the same type of fish, inhabiting waters only 

 a few miles apart, will be different in coloration. If an angler 

 is accustomed to fishing in one area, he may consider a mount 

 of the same species of fish, taken from another area, as being 

 inaccurately painted. Second, a mounted fish is not easy to 

 paint. Anyone expecting to do a professional job must have 

 natural ability plus accurate knowledge of the coloration of the 

 live fish. 



One of the most important steps in painting mounted fishes 

 is to secure color transparencies of the fish while it is alive or as 

 soon as it is dragged out of the water. The photos must be 

 supplemented by color notes. Unless the artist has confidence 

 in his knowledge of the subject, the mount will be inferior. 

 Read the suggestions for techniques of recording color of the 

 specimen in the field in Chapter 1 and techniques of painting in 

 Chapter 5. 



Museum Field Work 



Museums of the world have had a more or less standard pro- 

 cedure in caring for fishes which were to be used for display. 

 Fishes taken in distant areas were skinned, packed in salt, and 

 sent to the museum. If the specimens were not too large and 

 taken closer to home, they were packed in ice and shipped. 

 Some museums working directly in the field made molds of a 

 few large fish such as sharks. 



However, the only method that will produce superior mounts 

 is to make plaster molds of all fishes as soon as they can be 



