How to Store before Taxidermist gets it!!

[slabbandit]

Hey MDB, That is one fine slab to get mounted! The fins look perfect, no damage that I can see. Those are the kind that taxidermist love to take in!

[MacDaddyBrown]

Any recommendations where to take it and get it mounted? In Missouri..

[slabbandit]

Ask to see some of their crappie that they have mounted or at least some pictures. A crappie is one of the more delicate fish to mount due to ease of scale loss but a good taxidermist knows how to deal with it.

[joejv4]

my taxidermist recommends covering it with borax before freezing - it helps set the scales and maintain color patterns, then wrap in a wet towel, and seal the fish in a plastic bag then freeze.

It's also a real good idea to provide your taxidermist with a good photo of the fish. They have to paint them, and if they've got a good photo to work from, it will turn out better.

[TapOut64]

Does the taxidermist use any part of the original fish?

[slabbandit]

All that they use is the skin with the fins attached. They replace the eyes and body with glass eyes and a foam body. Then the fish has to be airbrushed back to it's original colors.

[Crappiefanatic]

In a fish that is on a smaller scale in size (not saying yours is) but compared to a bass or catfish it is, I have had crappie freezed dried by a taxidermist. Most fish are too big to freeze dry. They take the gut out and stuff it with a cotton filler and the eyes come out and are replaced with glass eyes. This leaves the entire fish except for gut and eyes intact. It is the best way I have seen done and there is actually very little shrinkage.