Evolution Of The Red Fish Taxidermy

[Sand Rat]

Not too bad Erik, you're right no two are ever colored the same. I remember one fish I caught when I was much younger and poorer that had five spots on one side and seven on the other. I've kicked myself for years for not having a mount done and no I don't have a picture for a repo mount. I also like Buck's method of getting the blue tale hue that most of them have.

 

[curtism1234]

It's a great start, far better than I could ever do.

Present company excluded on the following

As an old taxidermist once told me, "Any idiot with half a brain can make a deer turn out ok. Very few people can do fish right". I agree with that 100%, though he may have given people too much credit on deer...

Personally I think a skin mount looks a lot better - especially a flat or satin finish. It seems high gloss is the standard.

Fiberglass fish to me seem stiff, lifeless and fake. There's only about 2-3 in the country that I would have a reproduction done with, though I'm sure there are hidden gems everywhere. That being said, it's a lot easier to have a reproduction done. There's no wrapping a fish in a wet towel, running to the freezer hoping not to crush it when a pile of frozen roasts avalanches down, then finding time to get to your taxidermist. All you do is call up the person of your choice, scan some photos, and have the final product delivered to you. Easy Peasy

 

[gizmo]

It's a great start, far better than I could ever do.

Present company excluded on the following

As an old taxidermist once told me, "Any idiot with half a brain can make a deer turn out ok. Very few people can do fish right". I agree with that 100%, though he may have given people too much credit on deer...

Personally I think a skin mount looks a lot better - especially a flat or satin finish. It seems high gloss is the standard.

Fiberglass fish to me seem stiff, lifeless and fake. There's only about 2-3 in the country that I would have a reproduction done with, though I'm sure there are hidden gems everywhere. That being said, it's a lot easier to have a reproduction done. There's no wrapping a fish in a wet towel, running to the freezer hoping not to crush it when a pile of frozen roasts avalanches down, then finding time to get to your taxidermist. All you do is call up the person of your choice, scan some photos, and have the final product delivered to you. Easy Peasy

Just goes to show you different strokes for different folks. Taxidermy is art and as such it's always subject to interpretation. As such people will always disagree on what's the best method. My philosophy is to do the absolute best job I can on ever animal in my shop and as long as I'm happy and most importantly the client is happy mission accomplished. I tend to be my biggest critic tho.

 

[ArmyGrunt]

I had the same ideology when I did the building trades. If I don't want it in my house, it's not good enough for this job.

 

[gizmo]

I don't know if I like it or not I'll probably keep fiddling with it for a while. But I built the base and added the habitat.

 

[Bullthrower338]

I say no on the base and habitat, if it was caught in the gulf the habitat should include beer bottles and crude!

 

[gizmo]

I say no on the base and habitat, if it was caught in the gulf the habitat should include beer bottles and crude!

Lol

 

[gizmo]

Well I've figured out why I don't like the base. It looks like a middle school art project. I tried to make something out of a bunch of scrap stuff laying around. Lesson learned. I also figured out how I would do it again to make it right now. It's not for anyone so my son will be happy with it. Oh well lessened learned.

 

[thi9elsp]

Here's a goal for you @gizmo. There are more mounts on the other side of the wall / display in Miami International Terminal D. Quite impressive.

Keep working at your trade. It will be fun to see how you grow with it over the years.

 

[buck wild]

Well I've figured out why I don't like the base. It looks like a middle school art project. I tried to make something out of a bunch of scrap stuff laying around. Lesson learned. I also figured out how I would do it again to make it right now. It's not for anyone so my son will be happy with it. Oh well lessened learned.

BINGO - You are learning

Lose the blue box. Use a hair dryer and straight edge and bend your grass all into one direction as if the tide is pushing them the same way (remember how to curl ribbon in grade school?). Build a 2-3" oval foam base with a plywood bottom. Create lines of ripples in the sand as the wave action would do naturally. Drop all the shell junk unless you want to put a few less decorative shells in. Try sealing the sand and then glossing it to give it a wet look.

Check you PMs.

 

[gizmo]

BINGO - You are learning

Lose the blue box. Use a hair dryer and straight edge and bend your grass all into one direction as if the tide is pushing them the same way (remember how to curl ribbon in grade school?). Build a 2-3" oval foam base with a plywood bottom. Create lines of ripples in the sand as the wave action would do naturally. Drop all the shell junk unless you want to put a few less decorative shells in. Try sealing the sand and then glossing it to give it a wet look.

Check you PMs.

Thank you very much and I sent a pm back. I think I'm going to scrap the base and build a new one. It's really irking me. Lol

 

[CAustin]

Fish turned out well sir!