By John Dowd 

Out on his own

Fish taxidermist starts business

 

April 30, 2020

John Dowd

FISH ART - Jon Haun uses an airbrush (left) and paint brushes (above) on a pike mount

Taxidermy is a dying field, with fewer and fewer practitioners opening their doors each year. A Thompson Falls resident is hoping to continue the tradition, following in his father's footsteps. Jonathan Haun, originally from Plains, has recently started his own taxidermy business. His father has done big game taxidermy professionally for over 30 years, and Haun has been helping his father out since youth.

Until recently, Haun worked for the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation as a firefighter. However, after spending many summers working away from his kids he decided to take up a profession that would allow him to spend that important time with them when they were out of school. A side hobby for him has been taxidermy and since his father still has his own business in the area, Haun decided to take a different approach. Haun specializes in fish taxidermy and is most experienced with pike. In a year or so he would like to take a pike to the world taxidermy competition.


Haun has about five years of experience and is finding it hard to make ends meet just in fish taxidermy alone, saying that big game taxidermy is far more lucrative.

"Starting a business is not as easy as I thought and it's a seven-day-a-week long project," said Haun. He helps his father in his big game shop a few times a week to learn what he can, as well as to make some extra income. Haun explained that most people do not realize what goes into a good fish mount.

A pike can take Haun three to four days to complete and can cost him upwards of $125 per fish in materials, not including the time and effort he puts into each fish. In fact, one of the main reasons that he went into fish taxidermy is his belief that he could do a better fish. He was afraid that many who do taxidermy do not put the passion and effort into fish as could be done. He explained that the life and color that can be brought out in a fish is unlike any other animal. With that, however, comes different challenges that are not quite present in other forms of taxidermy.


Sanders County Ledger canvas prints

One different aspect of mounting fish is the amount of painting that must be done. With most other animals there is little painting involved, and the majesty of the mount comes mostly from the fur of the critter. With fish, the skin fades, and a poor paint job can result in a faded or flat looking finish. If done right a good paint job can bring the fish to life. With every fish Haun mounts he takes notes, especially on the painting process, so that he can look back and notate where he can make changes and improve. To Haun, for the most part, painting can be the fasted part of mounting a fish, but it is something many taxidermists skimp out on and do not do justice.


Customers can get either a pre-molded cast of the type of fish, or they can have the skin mounted. Often these pre-made casts come as a generic fish, and as Haun explains, pike in Montana have a girthy look. The casts of pike often look more like the skinnier eastern fish. Haun prefers to mount his fish in order to more represent his customers exact fish, right down to little marks on each scale.

John Dowd

Along with the painting, Haun has to de-oil the skin, carve out a body form, plaster it, and then seal it. Haun charges $20 an inch. He hopes one day to open his own shop and do taxidermy, mainly pike, for people all over the world.

 

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