Many people that enjoy fishing do not fish for purely for food but do it for sport as well. Taxidermy has grown out of this enjoyment of sport fishing and hunting and dates back hundreds of years. Though to many people it appears to be a brutal and inhumane spectacle, the art of taxidermy is highly specialized and requires education, training, and skill in order for the taxidermist to accurately replicate the animal’s unique features in a lifelike manner so that it can be enjoyed in the fisherman’s trophy room for years after the catch was made.
The process of taxidermy for catfish is a little different than that of most fish because catfish have skin whereas most fish have scales; though the differences are miniscule other than that.
In order to help the taxidermist accurately replicate the physical characteristics of the fish, it helps if you, the fisherman, take a picture of it almost as soon as it is brought out of the water. This is because some of the fish’s natural coloring can be lost after it has died and exposed to air. Be sure to keep the fish from floundering in the boat or in the cooler so that it does not damage its fins or bruise the skin. Put the fish on ice as soon as possible and wrap it in a cool, wet towel making sure to keep the fins flat on its body so that they do not break. Additionally, do not clean or gut the fish. Leave it intact for the taxidermist.
Once you have brought the fish to the taxidermist, he or she will carefully remove the skin from the animal and treat it with a series of special chemicals. If he doesn’t have one already made in a size that is similar to your fish’s size, he will make a new mold that most closely resembles that of your fish. Many taxidermists special order these molds from mold distributors as well.
Once the mold is cast, the taxidermist will then cover the mold with the skin of the fish and treat it so that it retains the correct aesthetic appeal of the catfish. Sometimes, airbrush and bristle-brush painting is necessary to touch up faded characteristics of the fish’s skin so that it appears as vibrant as the day it was caught. It is for this reason that high-quality color photographs taken of the fish right after it was caught are so important to have.
A growing trend in taxidermy is for sport fishermen to take several high quality photographs of the fish and then let it go, which is ideal for those that want to preserve the species for future generations of fishermen. The final product of this kind of wall mount will not be distinguishable from a typical “skin mount” but may cost a little more, as the taxidermist has to totally recreate the markings of the animal as it looked when caught.
Many of the best taxidermists are backlogged for months, but most people realize that it is well worth the wait to accurately preserve the memory of their fishing trip with a well-made, accurate representation of the fish they caught.