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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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