Video or photos showing caught with a successful catch pike fishing can be supplemented by a stuffed trophy heads instance of this strong predator.And although the process of creating such a masterpiece - it is painstaking and troublesome, if you want any angler can make yourself or a friend a keepsake.
How to make a stuffed head of a pike that it was stored for many years?Is it worth it to try to create a sufficiently realistic stuffed so that it corresponds to the most natural type of caught fishes, or better to order a work of an experienced taxidermist?It makes sense to understand this ...
Taxidermy - the art of making stuffed
Taxidermy (from the Latin - "skin treatment", from the Greek - "bringing order to hide") - is a craft or art of making stuffed animals, birds, fish,reptiles and other creatures died, representing some value as exhibits for museums.Demand is a craft and hunters and fishermen when they caught the creation of stuffed trophies.
In fact, taxidermists as specialists for processing leather or skins provide one of the most important steps in creating a scarecrow.But in addition to proper dressing and preparing the skin for long-term storage in the natural form, you need to create a framework which will need to pull the skin to end up stuffed maximally similar to the original sample.
But what if you are not near a taxidermist?How to make a stuffed head of a pike with their hands in the home, not having knowledge of this craft and practical experience?Do not worry, tips seasoned fishermen perpetuate their trophies in their hands created a scarecrow, to help cope with this task.
How to keep caught fish?
first step is to catch a big pike.When this miracle happened, and there is a desire to preserve the memory of a strong predator's head, it is desirable to immediately take a photo of the trophy alive in the form in which I want to remember it - in an offensive posture, possibly with a spoon or wobbler fishing efficiency in the open mouth.
When transporting the fish need to immobilize, wrapped in a damp cloth and keep it in a cool place.Skin and fins must not dry out.When removing the hook from the mouth should be careful, because you can easily damage the teeth of a predator.
Scarecrow head of pike is best to make once, without long-term storage and freezing.If this is not possible, you should keep the skin and fins wet as long as possible by wrapping his head with a damp cloth and placing the parcel before freezing it in a plastic bag.
cutting and gutting
before ripping the abdomen and gutted fish head should be cut off cleanly.Better to leave her body up to 3 cm behind the gills and fins front.So scarecrow will look more natural.The cut should be done at an angle, if you plan to hang the product on the wall.
Gills should not be removed if you plan to make a scarecrow with open mouth.Otherwise, they are cleaned, taking care to avoid injury.
How to make a stuffed pike from the head to keep the predatory gleam in her eyes?Eyes, unfortunately, will not be saved.They are best removed immediately using a crochet hook.Then, through the eye socket, remove the flesh of the cheeks, without damaging the skin.
medulla removed with a cotton swab using forceps through a hole in the eye sockets.It can be cut in the skull from the body with a scalpel or a knife and so clean the skull, after removing the meat behind the gills, carefully separating it from the skin.
Preparation
After cleaning head is carefully washed.At the same skin treated with caution, so as not to break the edges and do not stretch it unnecessarily, as after drying the scales would not stay on it.
How to make a stuffed head of pike, so it was kind of an attacking predator at the time of the throw?To do this, you should open immediately predator mouth and rasperet its wooden pegs or wire.Emphasis needs to be done in the bone tissue.But too much unnatural and should not fall open.
Some teeth may be held in the flesh loose and even fall out.In this case, it is desirable to record in some way.Once dry, they will stick better.The individual teeth can highlight by pressing in the gums with a screwdriver and fangs bared in all its glory prey.
Operculums should also be open and rasklinit.If it is decided to leave the gills and their straightened and uniformly fixed in this position.
to the head of a stuffed pike look natural, you should pay attention to the fins.They carefully laid along the body or straightened and fixed on any flat surface of paper clips.
from wood or styrofoam cap is made of a suitable size, which is tightly inserted from the cut body to prevent shrinkage and deformation during drying stuffed.
Canning
head pike for canning is placed in an enamel bowl, plenty of coarse salt falls out or is immersed in the cool brine (10-12 tablespoons per 1 liter of water).Salting cool lasts 7-10 days for the head of pike to 3 kg and up to two weeks for larger specimens.
conservation possible by immersing the head in an alcohol or alcohol-gasoline mixture for up to 10 days.The solution after the first 3-5 days of soaking, it is desirable to change to a fresh and repeat the process.
for conservation of fish heads, some anglers use an insecticide to control cockroaches.The powder was dissolved in water and the workpiece is soaked therein for one day.
original way of dressing the fish head in the summer - to leave it near the ant heap.Forest orderlies quickly remove all the pulp, leaving only bones and thick skin.
Drying
How to make a pike head (stuffed), so that it could maintain the appearance of a predator caught for years to come?After conservation it must be properly dried.Salt ambassador - the easiest and cheapest way of conservation.But after this process the salt will stand on the surface for several days.
All this time, the head should be washed every day, clean it with slime and serving of salt.This is best done with an old toothbrush.It is important not to miss the end of this process.After completion of the selection process of the salt drying accelerated.
At this stage, you need to fill in the cavities of the cheeks with clay, putty or sealing foam.The plug is inserted into the body section, jaw, gills and fins straightened and locked in position.In this form, the head is mounted vertically on a board or plate and allowed to dry in a ventilated area.
finishing
After drying possible defects better align the filler followed by painting gouache or acrylic paints.The plug is removed, smeared with glue and set in place, and the skin is gently pressed her for a tight connection.
Language always shrinks and shrinks.It can "build" filler, giving it a natural shape, followed by painting.Damaged fins can be corrected, glued to the back of the glass pieces.
podkrashivayutsya Gills red, dull skin and jammed the place as you can try to "update", guided by photographs taken on the spot yield.Making stuffed head of pike is almost over.It remains only to insert your eyes and cover your head with two layers of nitro lacquer.
eyes
Ideally, it is best to insert the eyes acquired in a specialized hunting or taxidermy shop.But if this is not possible, you can make them yourself.
eyes can come from an old children's doll after pre-stripping of paint from them.Spectacle lenses can grind to the desired diameter and then paint on the inside.
The easiest way - to fill the orbit yellow plasticine and stick the black-button of the pupil and then coated with varnish.Some masters grind out the eyes of plexiglass bar, others cast them out of epoxy or polyester resin.You can find the right button in the hardware store and paint it in the desired color.
Mount artificial eye on clay or putty, orienting them correctly and do not twist.
Securing on the medallion
is important to determine in advance where it will be placed stuffed: stand on a flat surface or hang on the wall - depends on what form the stand choose to mount the head.
Make a stuffed head of a pike can be fastened on the treated figured board, sawed and to thought-pattern.Well suited for this purpose medallion angular saw cut dry tree trunk with textured bark.
head mounted screws on the base of the vertebral bone through pre-punched and drilled a hole in the board.Stand well polished with fine sandpaper to varnishing and after the first of his bed.
real fisherman would make sure a label with the date, place trophy catches, the depth at which the predator attacked and lures, which she coveted.
