prior to skinning. I have tried nu-merous techniques to prepare thescales prior to mounting, andfound one technique to be superi-or in regard to efficiency and over-all results. My friend Steve Hen-thorn introduced me to thistechnique, which I tested and willrecommend throughout this arti-cle. This technique actually gluesthe scales together and holds them to the skin beforeskinning, so I will be referring to this process as the“glue technique.” Let’s get started on a crappie, oneof the worst fish for losing scales.

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NYONE WHO HAS SKINNED A LOOSE-scaled fish understands the problems of losingscales during the skinning process. Scale loss

leads to a mount with an inconsistent andrough finish. Once scales have separated

from the skin, there is little that can be done to fix thedamage. Some people try to glue the scales back inplace, however, I have not seen this process successfullyperformed. The end result is that there is no way youcan achieve an attractive, professional mount if youlose scales during the skinning, scraping, and mount-ing processes.

So, the answer to this problem is don’t lose scales!The success you have in keeping the scales attacheddepends on how you prepare and secure the scales

FISH TAXIDERMY

Dan Rinehart followed the advice of his friend, Steve Henthorn, and found ordinary Elmer’s glue to be indis-pensible in making loose scales tight throughout the entire skinning process.

Dan Rinehart is fromJanesville, Wisconsin.

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Step 1. On all fish, the protective slime coat-ing must be removed from the fish. Bacteria isplentiful in this coating, and will result in odorand the attraction of bugs if not removed com-pletely. I use a garden hose attached to a sinknozzle, and high-pressure-spray the slime fromthe fish. Many people like to use slime removerproducts, however, I find that simple high pres-sure water does the job just fine.

Step 2. Open the gills and thoroughly removethe slime from between each gill and the moutharea. Be thorough—slime remaining in this areacreates odor.

Step 3. Once the slime has been removed,completely dry the surface of the skin and gillswith a dry cloth. It is extremely importance thatthe surface of the fish is completely dry beforeapplying any glue to the fish. Since the glue weare using is water-soluble Elmer’s glue, it onlymakes sense that if glue is applied to a wet sur-face, it will be diluted and decrease the bond-ing capabilities. Again, dry the entire surface ofthe fish, starting with the gill and mouth areas.

Step 4. To dry the fish, place the fish on tow-

els and begin blotting with a towel. Do not wipethe fish skin! Wiping will result in loss of scalesand defeat the purpose of the entire glue process.Simply dab the skin surface dry with a dry towel.

Step 5. Once the skin has been blotted drywith a towel, use a hair dryer over the entire fishto finish the drying process. Be sure that theblow dryer is set on cold! If the blow dryer doesnot have a cold or cool setting, do not attempt todry the fish on a warm or hot setting. You willdestroy the fish if you apply heat to the skin!

Step 6. The fish needs to be hung head up sothat the glue can be applied evenly to all side ofthe fish. To hang the fish without making anyholes or causing any damage, just bend a wire inan S-shape and insert one end up through thegills and mouth.

Step 7. Hang the fish using the other end ofthe “S” as the hanging hook.Step 8. I like to begin by applying the glue inthe throatlatch and head areas, then continuingdown to the tail fin. I also coat the fins with thisfirst coat as it protects the fins once they dry.(All the glue will be removed later.)

Step 9. Once the throatlatch has been glued,move on to the cheek and head juncture. Thehead juncture is extremely important to coverdue to the fact that this is one area that is mostlikely to create scale loss.Step 10. Continue coating the fish with glueuntil the entire side and fins of the fish are cov-ered.

Step 11. Ilike to speedthe dryingof the glueby placingthe fish infront of afan. Re-member theguts of thefish havenot been re-moved andare in a con-

stant state of decomposition. Therefore, youwant to apply and dry the glue as quickly as pos-sible so you canget the fishskinned andmounted as soonas possible. Thefirst coat of glueusually takes 30minutes to dry ifthe fish is placed infront of a fan.Step 12. Thisphotos show thefish after 30 min-utes of dryingtime. You willknow the glue isdry when it be-comes clear andtransparent. There are usually some small areas

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FISH TAXIDERMYaround the tail that do not dry completely clear.This just means that a little too much glue hassettled in this area and will not completely dry.This area will be dry to the touch, but will notbecome completely clear. If it is dry to the touch,it’s okay to move on.

Step 13. Once thefirst coat of glue is dry,apply a second coat andlet it dry under the fan.Step 14. I do notapply a second coat ofglue to the fins. Thefirst coat is sufficient inprotecting the fins. Asecond coat will onlymake removing theglue from the fins moredifficult.Step 15. After ap-proximately 30 moreminutes of fan-drying have passed, you can pre-pare to start skinning the fish.

Step 16. To begin, place the fish on a dry toweland begin the back incision by severing the gillgirdle bone. Note: The towel must be dry! Adamp towel will rehydrate the glue and create asticky mess!

Step 17. As you make the back incision andskin the fish, you will find that fluids from thefish want to run onto the body. Use a dry towelto soak up these fluids and keep them off theglued skin.

Step 18. Here you can see that I have releasedthe lower flap of skin from the meat without theloss of a single scale! Believe me, without theglue securing the scales together, we would havea handful of scales by this point.

Step 19. As youskin, keep yourhands dry andavoid touchingthe glued scaleswith wet hands.Step 20. Nowthe fish is skinnedand ready forfinal scraping.

Step 21. Even though theglue technique has workedand no scales have been lost,there are a couple areas whereI notice the scales loosening alittle, mainly at the tail junc-ture and head juncture. Tostiffen these areas and protectthe scales, I apply one morelayer of glue specifically tothese areas.Step 22. Then I hang thefish one last time and let the

glue in the tail and head junctures dry. This takesapproximately 15 minutes under a fan. Oncethe glue in these areas dries, I can safely completethe scraping process.

Step 23. Once scraping has been completed,the skin needs to be preserved prior to mount-

ing. Usually, I soak fish ina solution of water, boraxand baking soda, but it’sobvious that if I submergethis fish in water, all theglue will liquefy and thescales will be unprotectedduring the mountingprocess. Therefore, I pre-serve this fish by omittingany water and rubbingborax and baking soda di-rectly into the inside sur-face of the skin, headjuncture and throat areas.Step 24. I then gently

shake out any extra preservative powders andthe skin is ready to mount over a mannikin.

Step 25. Once the skin has been mounted andsecured to the mannikin, run cold water overthe glued surface of the fish until the glue rehy-drates and turns white.

Step 26. Now that the glue has turned white,I can peel the glue away from the scales. Not all

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the glue separates as easily as shown in thisphoto. Some areas of glue will require more re-hydrating and peeling. Note: It is essential thatall the glue is removed from fins, body, head,everywhere!

Step 27. All the glue has been removed fromthe crappie. The eye sockets are now filled andthe Flex Eyes set.

Step 28. It is necessary to rehydrate the finsmore. Wrap the fins in wet towels and let sit for30 minutes. After removing the towels, the finshave regained flexibility and are ready to bespread and carded.Step 29. Position and card the fins as you nor-

mally would. Again, it is very important that allthe glue has been removed from the fins! If anyglue remains, the fin carding will adhere to thefins.

This crappie is now complete and all thescales remain attached on the show side. I havemounted hundreds of crappies without usingthis method, and I have to admit that I usuallylose a few scales here and there. This gluemethod has impressed me, and I find it to be avery effective technique for retaining all thescales on loose-scaled fish. Because this tech-nique increases the time it takes to complete afish mount, I recommend you charge $10.00to $15.00 more for loose-scaled fish, such ascrappie. If you explain the reason for this addi-tional charge to your customers, I bet they willunderstand. Give this technique a try, and I be-lieve you will be as impressed as I am. ■

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