How To Collect Stuffed Fish
Taxidermy is the name given to stuffing wild animals. To some it is an activity not to be encouraged. After all, living things should not be paraded as trophies and everybody would agree that sports such as big game hunting have long since seen their day.
However, mounting specimen fish in certain circumstances is one way of preserving a record of the fish themselves which are more short lived and sustainable than endangered species of lion, zebra and elephant. Furthermore, it is possible to collect antique cased fish which does not involve present day taxidermy.
Whatever ones feelings towards the preservation and display of fish it is an excellent way for teaching the taxonomy of species and broadening youngsters knowledge of the living world. For a fisherman, finding a good quality stuffed fish in an old antique shop for a reasonable price is a true bonus for his hobby.
Stuffed fish are highly collectible items and it is unusual to find them for sale these days. So on the assumption that you do not want to have a dead fish mounted, where do you find these things? The best sources are auctions of old or antique fishing tackle. When collections come up for sale there are usually a number of cased fish of various species up for grabs. You can easily find these auctions from auction directories or advertised in the top end fishing magazines.
Alternatively you can visit the on-line auctions such as eBay where these items again often come up for sale. Of course buying from eBay brings with it its own risks – particularly the fact that you are not able to inspect the item for sale closely before deciding to make a bid. However, it is worth following a number of auctions and risking some low bids when appropriate – you never know you might just be lucky.
The value of cased fish as a collectors item can be very high. Examples can go from few hundred to several thousand pounds. It would cost you at least two to three thousand pounds to have a fish mounted these days. One alternative is to purchase plaster casts of fish – these are not the original fish and, in exactly the same way as the actual fish being stuffed – heavily rely on the ability of the artist used to color the fish before it is set into its case.
If you are an angler and are interested in collecting memorabilia, you would probably be better seeking antique fishing tackle such as carp fishing tackle or rare Hardy Perfect trout reels.