198 How To Make Fish Mounts 



day or two, I remove them from the wood, wrap them in cheese- 

 cloth, add a tag, and then insert them in a bucket of Formalin 

 until time for shipment. Incidentally, I usually preserve heads 

 and other fins also. They are often invaluable for reference 

 points in finishing the cast. Shark jaws, barracuda heads, and 

 any other head which contains prominent dentition, which has 

 to be removed from the original head and inserted into the head 

 of the mount, should also be preserved. 



Big-Game Fishes 



For best results the mold should be made as soon as possible 

 after the fish is caught. However, big-game fishing boats are 

 usually too far out to sea to return immediately with a speci- 

 men. Also, nothing would be gained if the anglers did return 

 at mid-day rather than toward evening. A full, uninterrupted 

 day is required to construct a mold of a large fish such as a 

 marlin. 



When the fish is removed from the boat, it should be placed 

 on the dock, cleaned with buckets of water, and then wrapped 

 with a double layer of potato sacks which have been saturated 

 with water. If the weather is unusually warm, the abdomen can 

 be injected with a 10 per cent solution of Formalin to prevent 

 undue spoilage overnight. Buckets of water should be thrown 

 over the wrapped fish again before retiring. Of course, if a 

 large ice plant is handy, that is where the fish should be stored 

 overnight. 



Never leave the specimen in the water tied to the dock. Not 

 only will the action of the sea damage the fish against the pil- 

 ings, but decomposition will set in faster. Also, sea life that 

 is active at night may chew on the specimen. If the fish is not 

 covered with wet sacks overnight, it will shrink and shrivel and 

 be practically worthless for a good mold in the morning. Arise 

 as soon as the sun breaks the horizon and try to get the plaster 

 on the fish in the cool of the morning. 



If the curator or preparator is not a fisherman, he should, 

 none the less, be aboard the fishing craft every possible mo- 



