Well, my european mount is done.: Steelheader.net- Steelhead, Salmon and trout fishing

Just finished my european mount. It was pretty easy.

Step one, skin out the head. As I learned, less work is better. Just remove the skin around the head and leave all of the cartilage in place. What you gain by this is all of the little bones in the nasal cavity. Sorry, no pic of this first step.

Step two, boil. A gentle boil for 6 hours worked for me. Make sure you add water along the way, and by adding a 1/4 cup of powder laundry detergent, you get rid of the oil easily.

Make sure to skim off the oil throughout the process, and keep the water level up to the top. After you are done boiling, most of the meat/guck will literally fall off, except where the muscles attach to the back of the skull. I just picked it off with a dental pick.

Step three. I bagged the skull and soaked it with regular 3% hydrogen peroxide for an hour and let it dry. This really whitened it up. Sorry, no pics. I did rotate the bag so that the rear of the skull got treated, as this was the most discolored before the treatment.

Step four. I covered the skull and horns with acrylic floor treatment. The brand I used was "FUTURE restore your floor" because it said it wouldn't yellow. Couldn't find Mop-n-Glo. I coated the skull and horns three times using spray, sponge, and brushes to apply. The spray worked well on the nasal bones, otherwise you would crush them, as they are VERY fragile.

Step five. I screwed it to a plaque that I got from a local awards shop. The plaque was slightly scratched, so I got it for a song. (Thanks Ken!) A bit of sanding, some teak oil and it looked like new. I attached the skull to the plaque where the vertebrae is at the base of the skull.

Actual time involved in the project was minimal, and the cost was less than $20. I need to work on the discoloration of the base of the horns, but I think that is just fat or detergent build-up. Not sure how to fix that, but I'll figure that out.

"Give me the anger, fish! Give me the anger!"

Be like Big Stick!

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