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I have developed
some very unique methods of skinning and mounting
fish. By removing the entire skull and skinning down into the fin
butts, I have eliminated the problems of grease
bleeding and minimized shrinkage in the head and fin
junctions. I have skin mounted hundreds of
trout, including lake trout and salmon, catfish and
saltwater fish using this method. It is a
technique that I began learning when I worked for a
taxidermist in Idaho. It is simple to use on
trout & salmon, but I have adapted the technique
to bass, pike, walleye and other fish traditionally
mounted with open gills. (Click here to see a photo of
a skinned out trout.)
This method requires me to carve each fish body
myself, since there are no commercial forms available
for this method. The fish dry fast, often in less than
a week for a large pike or musky and there is very
little shrinkage to fill in. Since the entire
mouth interior is also removed, I must sculpt
the mouth back into the mount just as I would do on a
reproduction fish.  
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