Gunther Hansel, 70, a German angler, caught the largest Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglosus) yet known, and he set the world record for sea-angling an Atlantic halibut with a rod and reel. In the month of August, 2010, I received a telephone call which I will never forget, to ask if I would be the taxidermist for a 219-kg (482-pound) halibut. After I had agreed and...

This will be the last in our series of photo studies of North American grouse. In our first grouse study in Issue 123, we also had 2 pages of reference on sage-grouse and 4 pages on ruffed grouse. Additional photos of ruffed grouse start on page 70 of this issue.   GREATER SAGE-GROUSE (Centrocercus urophasianus) are the largest grouse in North America. They were...

Many a taxidermist has skin-mounted lane snappers as they are worthy of skin-mount status. The fish I am painting in this schedule is a reproduction. The same colors apply, but skin-mounts will have details to guide painters while with blanks/repros, we have to find our way. My fish in this schedule photo was 17 inches and is the only mold I have, probably because of...

I've spent nearly thirty-five years of my life working in different studios across the country, and I’ve worked alongside many great people in the trade, from small studios to some of the largest. There is one common problem that seems to be universal in most shops: the taxidermist gets his clients’ deposits, complete the work, and then sit on the balance...