Preserving fish to be mounted?

[riverrat56]

Caught 2 URL crappies this weekend (only 2) 14 1/2 and 14 3/4 in, 1 lb 7oz and 1lb 10 oz, want to put them on the wall, I wrapped them in wet cloth towels after folding down all the fins and making sure the tail was flat, then put them into a cardboard box and into the freezer, where should I go from here, or did i do something wrong in the process, only put in the freezer an hour ago so I could change it. Thanks for any help

[cybermuskie]

I guess I am not sure you did anything wrong, but here's what I do. Make sure the fins aren't going to get broke, then I rub Borax(powder) all over the fish. This helps hold the colors and I am told they do this when you bring it in anyway. Then I just freeze it in a dry towel, and tape it up. I don't know if they pealed a frozen towel off the fish if you run the risk of losing scales or not.

For Pike I do the same steps, but put it in a clean nylon stocking after the Borax. Keeps the fins tight to the fish, then put cardboard on the tail fin! Good luck!

[riverrat56]

well I guess my thinking was that they would thaw the fish first? anyone know if im wrong I just checked and the towel wasnt frozen yet so still time to change, just kinda paranoid this will by my first mount and really want them to turn out well.

[hanson]

I think your OK. I've never wrapped mine in a wet towel and they've turned out fine.

I make sure the fins are down first. Stick the fish in a plastic bag. And then tightly wrap the fish up with some tape.

He's more than likely going to paint your fish anyway so I wouldn't worry about losing color. Do you have any good photos of the fish while it was fresh? Might be a good idea to furnish your taxidermist with the photos as well so he doesn't give you a "typical" paint job.

And yes, he will defrost your fish first.

Congrats on the crappies. We pulled 29 of them on Fri & Sat and only hit the 14 1/4" mark. I'm still looking for a few more upper 14 inchers to put on the wall.

[ironman]

Any good taxidermist will wait to thaw the towel before peeling off. I took a taxidermy class right out of high school, i didn't do anything with it but it was fun. They taught us to wrap them in layers of wet paper towel or newspaper, I'm sure a towel would work too. The basic reason behind the wet towel is an extra layer of moisture to help delay freezer burn if you cant get the fish to the taxidermist right away or if the taxidermist cant get to it right away. The few fish that I've done were all wrapped in newspaper and I never had a problem, although I dont know how long they were frozen like that, they were school stock. I wish I wouldv'e paid closer attention and kept up on it, be alot cheaper for me to do things myself. Oh well, probably wouldn't have the time anyways. Good luck on your mount. I'm still waiting to catch something worth putting on the wall.

[SomethingFishy*]

I briefly spoke with a taxidermist and he said to take an old towel get it wet and then wrap the fish in it and put it in the freezer.

[riverrat56]

Thanks for the info hanson and others, no I don't have any pictures of these 2, but I have a picture of 2 from last year that I am thinking of giving him, same color on the fish. Wish I would have gotten a picture but did not have a camara till I got home.

[harvey lee]

Riverrat

The fish are fine.Main thing is to make sure you protect the fins.When they thaw the fish out,towel will come off the fish fine,you just set it in the water until totally thawed.This is the way I always froze the fish before I did it for customers.Usually I will lay the fish down on cardboard and lay the fins flat,wrap it in a towel and put another piece of cardboard on top and then tape it all together.No way you are going to damage a fin.

If you have any pictures of the fish,take them with for the person that is going to mount it.He can use them as reference as some lakes the fish have a little different color varaition.

You have to be carefull with crappies as thier scales will lift or fall off very easy.

[cybermuskie]

Quote:

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He's more than likely going to paint your fish anyway so I wouldn't worry about losing color. Do you have any good photos of the fish while it was fresh?

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I guess my thinking on the Borax was that I didn't need to bring a pic in with the fish...he can see the colors right there in front of him. I am sure they thaw the fish and towel first, but I was was thowing out the "just incase" factor. If the guy was in a hurry. But I am sure your fine!

I had a guy take off with my 16 1/2" crappie (skipped town) and other peoples mounts! Yes it was that big...weighed 2.6 lbs....if I am lyin', I'm dyin'. I still hope I run into that guy some day!

[LaVoi]

I had a bass mounted a couple years ago. I soaked a cotton bath towel, carefully wrapped it around the fish tightly and then put a plastic bag over it and kept it my freezer for six months before giving it to the taxidermist. It was in the freezer for about a year before the taxidermist worked on it and he said it was well preserved. Good luck to you and congrats on the nice crappies, they will look great on the wall. In my opinion make sure you spend a couple extra bucks and have them put on driftwood. It just seems to add so much character to a mount.

[Walterwontfalter]

I sometimes help my buddy in his taxidermy shop and we tell customers to wrap in wet newspaper or a wet towel, after smoothing all the fins against the body, then stuff in a plastic garbage bag and freeze it solid. I wouldn't put any borax or anything other than clear water on it. We use borax as a preservative and the first thought in my mind is that if you have spots on the fish that have a lot of borax and spots that have little it might preserve it or dry patches of the skin out. You also don't want to get the skin freezer burnt. If it is, it can still be mounted but it's better if it's not. The wet newspaper/towel helps protect it from that as well as giving it a "second skin" when the paper or towel freezes. the color doesn't matter because it turns grey when the fish is skinned. If you are worried about getting the exact color, take a ton of pictures on even a disposable camera and have them developed before you bring the fish in. You can never have too many pictures. Each species of fish is painted according to a certain color scheme. The end result as far as color depends on the skill/experience of the person who paints it.

[nytelyter]

i stuck mine flat on a cookie sheet in to the freezer over night and then placed into a seal a meal bag and vacuum sealed it before i took it to the taxidermists. he said that was a good idea as well and i have color digital photos for him to paint it by as well.

[Walterwontfalter]

That does sound like a good idea. Did you have any problem with it sticking to the cookie sheet? The vacuum seal bag would be great because your taxidermist likely has many fish to mount before they get to yours. All the air out from around it would keep it from getting freezer burnt.

[nytelyter]

no it did not stick i used a non stick sheet.