need question answered.... by someone! lol.

[redneck666]

so..... how exactly did they make "trophies" back in the day for fish... say a big ol' musky or speck. did they use the actual fish or did they do what the company's do nowadays? are "trophies" from about 20 years ago made of the REAL fish or were they made to look like the real thing?

 

 

someone help PLEASE!!!!

 

thanks,

 

by the way im kinda in an argument with my friend over this. lol. someone prove him wrong! haha.

 

JP

Edited February 19, 2010 by bigredneck

[Lunatic]

Real fish

[danc]

The replicas are made from casts of real fish as far as I know. How they'd make a replica of a world record, I don't know.

[uglyfish]

yes, for the most part... they were skin mounts. not sure how long replicas have been goin on for, advanced taxidermy ha been doin them for about 25 years i think.

[redneck666]

ohh...... dang, haha. well thanks!

[uglyfish]

lol i take it u lost the arguement? lol

[redneck666]

yup! and damn proud of it!....... well.... not really haha. i thought "back in the day" they just made it from a cast or something.... i was kinda right. but they also used the "skin" too i guess. lol

[Muskieman]

I have 10 SKIN mounts on the wall of my "Man Cave" all are real fish.

The early ones like the 40 yr+ Rainbow is filled with CEMENT and weighs more now than when it was caught.

The rest are filled with styrofoam.

RFS

Foam

Cement

[craigdritchie]

The old mounts were usually real fish skin stretched over a Styrofoam core. The taxidermist would take careful measurements of the real fish, including tracing its exact body shape over a large piece of paper. Then, they would use sanding blocks and X-acto knives to carve a Styrofoam core to the same size and shape as the real fish. Once the form was complete, the taxidermist would slice the real fish open length-wise, along what would become the back side of the mount, and delicately fillet the skin off it, fins included. That was the tricky part, and it took some real skill to do it well. The skin was then treated in a preservative, then stretched over the Styrofoam core and either pinned or stapled into place along the back where you don't see the seam. The preservative used for the skin usually left the fish looking pretty discoloured and faded, so they would finish the mount by painting it to look like a live fish. Automotive spray paint worked really well. Some of the better taxidermists used airbrushes for more lifelike finishes, and gave the painted mount a shot of clear-coat so it looked more natural.

 

The heads were always the hardest part, because they were nearly impossible to skin well and almost always dried up and shrank, so they wound up looking like a giant raisin. The taxidermist would then have to touch it up with auto body filler, and hope for the best. Some guys just gave up and began making plaster casts of the real fish head instead, which were then screwed onto the styrofoam body core right by where the gill covers ended. These looked much more realistic, and greatly reduced production time for the taxidermist.

 

There are many, many ways to stuff fish, but that seemed to be the most common way to do it back in the 70s.

 

Now, replicas have pretty much taken over the market, mainly because you don't have to kill the fish to get a stellar mount.

Edited February 19, 2010 by Craig_Ritchie

[Lanebros]

I just got a replica of a 55" and got it last week. This looks real.

[MuskyGreenHorn]

Wow that is gorgeoues, who did the work for you?

[Lanebros]

joe fittante taxidermy, said it was the only replica he'd ever seen with a closed mouth.