Proper steps to take for getting a fish mounted?

1. Catch Fish

Depends on how long until you get it mounted, If you have the room, put it in a container and submerge it in water and freeze. It'll preserve it for a long time. I've heard wrapping in newspaper and freezing over a long period of time is sometimes tough to save the fish.

Lay the fish flat and freeze. Just make sure the fish isn't curved when you freeze it. Also make sure the taxidermist you choose does skin mounts for fish. A lot of them are going away from that.

I have only had 1 fish mounted. I wrapped it in a wet towel and froze it. I got it to the taxidermist in a week or so.

Don't need the girth really. Just get the approximate length and 1 or 2 good pictures and if the taxidermist is worth a shite, it will look great. I've looked into it a LOT, but haven't pulled the trigger yet.



Eta: DONT get a skin mount. Moldings are so detailed nowaydays, the replica mount look better and will look the same 50 years from now. Skin mounts are dumb IMO.

Do NOT wrap your fish in newspaper or any other kind of paper! Any kind of paper acts as a "wick" and will cause the moisture to be drawn out of the fragile fins, head, and gill area. Instead...press the fins tightly to the body of your fish and wrap (several wraps) the whole fish in Saran Wrap or similar product. This will minimize freezer burn, moisture loss in the head area, and moisture loss in the fins (dehydration). Lay the fish flat and freeze it in that position. Take care to protect the tail fin because it and the other fins will break very easily once frozen. I have secured cardboard on the outside of the saran wrap and completely protected the tail fins. You can then wrap your fish in a towel for more cushioning and protection. If your freezer is a "frost free" freezer (and most of them are nowadays), the longer you keep your fish frozen, the more body moisture the freezer will pull out of your fish and fins. Get it to the taxidermist as soon as you can. FWIW, I was a licensed taxidermist for 10 years before I became Mr. Mom to three grandchildren. I've mounted hundreds of freshwater fish.

Yep

Not much ...
I usually wrap them in a wet towel then into the freezer. Lady that mounted it told me it wasn't necessary. Some people use news paper.
Be careful not to break fins once they are frozen. And take a pic of the fish for the taxidermist to see the coloration...

And this is why we come to the outdoor board. BFIV dropping some knowledge.

If I were going to mount a red I'd want a skin mount just so I could say that the fish on the wall was (at least partially) actually the fish that I caught. Especially with a red, it's not like you're killing a 10lb bass. Just my 2 cents.

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Most replicas I've seen look like replicas. You can definitely tell the difference. JMO.

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Maybe BIG fish, but not a skilled artist with a good picture. Hell, check out the big red that was posted here recently, that thing was gorgeous and looked just as good, if not better, than a fish that would be noticeably aged after a few years in a camp or house. Replicas will last much longer period. There are some really talented taxis out there bro. Just sayin