TROPHY CARE - FISH (SKIN MOUNTS)

  1. Carefully examine the fish for damage and determine the best or "Show" side.
  2. Take a good 35 mm color photo. Avoid bright sun and flash photos (too much glare).
  3. Keep the fish alive or get it cold. If placing the fish in a cooler, keep the "Show" side up and PUT NOTHING ON TOP OF THE FISH. (This is very important to keep the fish from getting blotchy.)
  4. If you cannot take the fish in to a taxidermist right away, then you must freeze the fish. Wrap the fish in clean, wet rags or paper towels, then place it in a plastic bag. Taking care to keep the fish as flat as possible, place it in a freezer.
             Some Donts...
  1. Never Gut the fish. While this damage can usually be repaired, it will cost you extra.
  2. Never Wrap the fish in newspaper. News print can be absorbed by the fish skin, which is difficult to repair. News paper also dries out the skin leaving the fins very fragile.
TROPHY CARE - FISH (REPRODUCTIONS)
  1. Measure the length from the nose to tip of the tail. Fan or spread the tail when measuring.
  2. Measure the circumference of the fish around the belly.
  3. Weigh the fish.
  4. Note the sex of the fish and whether or not it is spawning. (This is most important for members of the trout and salmon family.)
  5. Take several good quality color photos of the fish (35 mm pictures are best.) Don't take flash photos and avoid bright sunlight.
  6. Release the fish or fillet it.
TROPHY CARE - BIRDS
  1. Many birds are not feathered enough to make a good mount.
  2. Check for pin feathers by gently lifting backwards. The back of the neck, top of the head, rump and side are where pin feathers are commonly found.
  3. Look for feathers that are not fully grown.
  4. Look also at the size of the bird compared to other birds of the same species.
  5. Check to see how badly hit your bird was. If it has large holes, damaged wing feathers or more than just a few pellets in the head area, it should probably not be mounted. If you are in doubt, take the bird in to a taxidermist to check it out.
If you determine that it is a bird you want to mount, then,
  1. Rinse or wipe off as much blood as you can.
  2. Place a piece of toilet paper or other absorbent material, in the birds mouth to help absorb fluids.
  3. Tuck the head under or next to the wing and place the bird head first in a plastic bag.
  4. Keep the bird as cool as you can and take it to a taxidermist as soon as possible, or place it in a freezer.
  5. Turkeys and other large birds may need to be field dressed in order to keep them from spoiling. Make a short incision from the vent to the base of the rib cage. Remove the entrails and rinse the cavity with water, then place ice inside the cavity. Place it in a cooler or take it to the taxidermist as soon as possible.
  6. Handle the bird carefully. Avoid doing anything that might stain or break the feathers.
TROPHY CARE - MAMMALS

FOR ALL MAMMALS
  1. If possible,take it fresh, to the taxidermist to skin.
  2. Do NOT cut the throat of the animal.
  3. When field dressing the animal, make your cuts with the sharp edge of the knife UP.
  4. When field dressing an animal that you want to have mounted as a "Full Body" mount, you must leave the genitals and bung hole attached.
  5. If you must skin the animal yourself, make as few cuts as possible.
  6. Do not drag the animal unless you place something under it to protect the hide.
  7. Do not hang or drag the animal by the neck. This damages the hide and stretches the neck. Hang any animal with the head down and drag it only by the antlers or front legs.
  8. Place tags carefully in the hide, doing as little damage as possible.
  9. Keep every animal as cold as possible and take it to a taxidermist as soon as possible.
  10. DO NOT SALT the animal unless it's head and feet are completely skinned and fleshed.
  11. Freeze any hide that is not fully prepared.
FOR SMALL and MEDIUM MAMMALS

Check for damage. Head damage is particularly difficult to repair, so are very large holes. If you feel the animal is mountable, then,
  1. Place it in a plastic bag. Most small & med. mammals carry fleas, lice or ticks. So, if you have some bug killer, such as RAID, spray the animal before placing it in a bag.
  2. Take the animal to a taxidermist fresh or place it in your freezer.
  3. DO NOT GUT or SKIN it unless the weather is very warm and you have no access to ice. This is especially true if you want a full body mount because many carcass measurements are needed.
  4. If you must field dress the animal, then a make a cut from the bung hole up the center of the belly to the ribs. Do not cut past the rib cage. Remove the entrails. Do not remove the testicles, penis or bung hole.
  5. Fill the cavity with ice and take it to a taxidermist as soon as possible.


FOR LARGE MAMMALS

Follow the Basic Rules above when field dressing. Before skinning the animal, determine what type of mount you want to have done - rug, full or 1/2 body mount or shoulder mount. Take your time, keep your knife sharp and use a TAPE MEASURE.

     RUGS

Skinning an animal for a rug is a simple method. Take a look at this diagram.
  1. Make a normal cut down the center of the belly to the anus and field dress the animal.
  2. When you are ready to remove the skin, lay the animal on it's back. Continue the cut you made when field dressing up the center of the chest, stopping at the base of the skull.
  3. Starting from behind the front pad, make a cut down the inside of the front leg across the chest down the opposite leg to the base of other front pad. See fig. 1
  4. Make a similar cut from just inside the heel of the rear pad, across the inside of the rear leg, across the belly. Continue up the inside of the other, to the heel of the other foot.
  5. Carefully, skin the animal taking care to avoid cutting holes. Lift and pull the hide away from the meat as you skin.
  6. Cut thru the wrist and ankle joints by cutting the tendons. Leave the feet attached to the hide.
  7. When you reach the skull, carefully cut thru the meat until you reach the backbone and separate the skull from the neck, or use a bone saw to cut thru the spine.
  8. Do not skin out the feet or the head.
  9. Do not salt the hide. Salt only works if the head and feet are skinned and all the fat is removed from the hide.
  10. If you have a freezer, fold the hide up, place in a heavy plastic bag, and freeze.
  11. If you have no freezer and the daytime temperature is above 50 degrees, keep the hide as cool as possible and take it to a taxidermist as soon as possible.
SHOULDER MOUNTS

The following diagram and instructions should help you to skin the animal yourself. If the animal is too large to hang by the hind legs, then make the cuts on one side of the body and skin it as far as you can. Then lay the hide back over the meat, and roll the animal over. Make the remaining cuts and finishing skinning to the back of the skull.

  1. Make a cut around the body behind the front legs.
  2. Make a cut up the back of the neck from the base of the skull to a point 6 or 7 inches down the back of the neck.
  3. Cut off the lower part of the front legs, just above the knee. Pull the leg through the cut behind the shoulders being careful to not cut the hide while skinning.
  4. Lift and pull the hide toward the head as you begin skinning. Be careful in the armpit area to not cut any holes.
  5. Continue skinning until you are at the back of the skull, then stop.
  6. Using a cloth tape measure, (or a boot lace if you forgot the tape) measure around the neck, behind the ears and under the jaw. Measure on the meat, not on the hide, at the smallest point
  7. Make a second measurement 3" down the neck, on the meat, parallel to the first measurement
  8. Separate the skull from the neck, fold the hide flesh side to flesh side and place in a plastic bag to keep from drying out. Do not salt the skin. Salt should be used only after the cape is fully processed or it will prevent the hide from freezing properly and create excess fluid which can cause the hide to spoil faster.
  9. If you are still unsure about where to measure, leave at least 6" of neck attached to the skull and take it to a taxidermist. The head and cape may also be frozen now and brought in later. Keep in a cool, dark place like an unheated garage or a spare refrigerator. You must take the head to a taxidermist immediately if the temperature is above 60 degrees and within 2 days if the temperature is above 45 degrees or you need to freeze it. The hair will begin to "slip" if it is not frozen or processed soon after skinning. Follow the instructions for freezing mammals.
FULL BODY MOUNTS

Large mammals such as deer, sheep, goats and bear for a full body mount need extra care and attention in the field. If you are familiar with a dorsal cut or back incision, this is the best way to mount life size mammals. You may find it awkward and difficult to do in the field if you are not accustomed to skinning an animal this way.

Small and medium mammals are best left intact. Freeze them, if possible. Or, get them to the taxidermist as soon as possible. Specimen preparation is best left to the taxidermist. ie. Do not skin-out a squirrel, fisher etc., leave it to the taxidermist.

If your trophy is an antlered animal, you will also need to make a short "Y" incision from each antler and slightly down the back of the neck. See "Shoulder Mounts" above.

You will also need to take the measurements indicated in the diagram to the right.

Measurements A & C are taken BEFORE skinning.
Measurements B & D are taken over the meat after skinning.