538 
Forest and Stream 
HOW TO SKIN AND MOUNT A FISH 
A KNIFE WITH RAZOR-LIKE EDGE, A PAIR OF SCISSORS AND 
A LITTLE PATIENCE WILL PRODUCE WONDERFUL RESULTS 
E very angler in his day captures 
his sockdolager of some species 
or other, and it invariably hap- 
pens to be gotten in a situation 
or time that is inconvenient to transport 
in fit condition to the taxidermist; or 
it may be, if a big fish were taken, they 
would not know hoiv to prepare it for 
transportation, especially in hot weather. 
A few are content to buy a big trophy 
already mounted, and after a time get 
to fancy it their own capture or one 
like what they really did get. 
I venture to think, however, there is 
a growing desire among many in the 
craft to learn for themselves its various 
bypaths, and this one — of mounting a 
fish, which may be done at a little trouble 
to give a lot of pleasure. It’s easy 
enough when you know how. I myself 
blundered through it without the aid of 
a taxidermist or books of instruction on 
the subject. Of course, being an artist 
has some advantage, such as shaping the 
1 Wood block. Dots show size to carve 
2 Side view of carved wood 
3 Top view to show body width 
form of fish and of coloring. That is 
the part I hope to describe in this paper 
in words and diagrams so plain and sim- 
ple that anyone may do likewise fairly 
well enough. 
With this preliminary we will now 
proceed to skin the fish ; best done, im- 
mediately after its demise, even at the 
riverside, the only requisite being a knife 
with hlade of razorlike edge and a pair 
of scissors strong enough to cut through 
fin bones that lie in the flesh. It is 
possible for the work to be accomplished 
after you get home or at the hotel, but 
in a few hours the skin becomes hard 
and the flesh more difficult to strip away. 
The same thing applies to animals and 
birds which are much easier to skin 
while the body is warm. 
. Of the various species of trout, we 
shall experiment on the brown trout, be- 
cause the skin is thicker, not so slippery, 
and the scales are larger than the brook 
or rainbow. Furthermore, the glutinous 
substance which covers the skin does not 
By LOUIS RHEAD 
How many times have you wanted 
to preserve the big fish you finally 
succeeded in landing, but couldn’t 
do so because you didn’t know how 
to go about it? 
This article explains in a clear and 
concise way every step in the 
process of game-fish mounting from 
the moment you lift your prize from 
the water until it reposes above your 
fireplace. 
dry up so quickly as on the other species 
mentioned. 
Your first care is to never mind how 
much the body flesh is mutilated or cut 
up; your object is to strip the skin with- 
out mar or blemish. I know some an- 
glers are content to just strip one side 
of the fish and stitch it (Indian fashion) 
on a curved board, but that is a job 
which inadequately suggests size and 
weight and does not produce so artistic 
a trophy. 
The work should be done upon a plank 
board. Begin by cutting out the eye- 
balls and through the sockets of which 
you drive a good stout nail which will 
hold the fish from slipping while you 
do the work. The illustrated diagram 
will show where to make the first in- 
cision on the opposite side you want to 
show and the side which is least pre- 
Top cut shows stitched half skin 
4 Top view of fish mounted on board 
sentable. Slide the blade upwards to- 
wards the back till you get a fair hold 
on the skin and cut along the fish till 
you come to the dorsal fin E, the bones 
of which go some distance down in the 
flesh to join the backbone ribs. See 
and be careful not to cut the skin from 
the fins. After the entire length of the 
fish is stripped from the incision in back 
along to tail and head (skull bone), you 
then slide the blade downwards to the 
belly, which requires a little more care 
over the softer flesh than it does on the 
back. When you get to the pectoral 
fin A, which is at side near the gills, 
and also the ventral fin B, carve around 
slowly to the fin bones, then cut with 
scissors to be more free to cut the shoul- 
der bone, which must be retained with 
the skin to give proper form around the 
throat, getting the inside flesh from the 
bone, working round under the throat 
as far as you can up the other side. 
Under the pectoral or throat fin and 
under the jaw it is most important to 
have no cut in the skin. Leave that part 
to attend to the tail, where you cut 
through the vertebrae, the last ones of 
which is at the sprout of tail, where 
you cut through with the knife to sever 
A Pectoral fins, B Ventral fins, C Anal 
fin, D Caudal fin, E Dorsal fins 
Dotted lateral line (F) shews where to 
cut the skin, starting at shoulder just 
above pectoral fin. Fin dots show where 
to cut bones under skin from the flesh 
with scissors and at caudal tail fin, cut 
through backbone with knife 
backbone and flesh; then bend the tail 
down, you begin to work back on the 
other side till you come to the small 
fleshy dorsal fin E on the back and the 
anal fin C below, close to the vent. Each 
finbone, of necessity, must be cut with 
scissors. However, before the fins are 
cut you should take the fish oft' the nail 
and turn it over, then drive the nail right 
through the fleshy part of the tail from 
where the skin has been stripped. 
You now have the greater part done 
past anal and ventral fins, then up to 
the dorsal on past to the back near the 
skull. Here you will have to cut away 
flesh to get near the first vertebrae that 
connects skull with backbone, which 
should be cut through with the knife- 
blade leaving the body only connected 
by the gills and throat attached to the 
entrails. 
When the head is cut from backbone 
it is easy to cut away gill attachment at 
top of skull, then at the bottom where 
the gills are fastened to lower jaw is 
the last cut to separate the entire skull 
and skin from the body. If you wish to 
have the body for food slit along the 
