I'm no taxidermist, but 2 of my buddy's are. I have learned quite a bit from them on field care of game, fish and what to expect when getting something mounted.
Yes, it looks like some of those fish you see on that ebay link were once real fish and are actually *Skin Mounts*, where the Taxidermist used the real skin from the fish. Skin mounts eventually look pretty ratty, but a taxidermist can usually give them a *tune-up* to extend the life of the mount.
I have a 1988 8 1/2lb bass skin mount that has been slightly repaired and tuned-up twice. Still looks ok to me, my wife may say otherwise ;-)
Additionally, most all of those skin mounts you see on that ebay link are Fresh Water fish, as Fresh water fish have thicker skin than Saltwater Fish. Saltwater fish skin tears so easily and I would imagine would be real difficult to work with.
In many cases today, the skin mounting process has been replaced with fiberglass molded fish blanks and are air brush painted.
When guys want a Saltwater fish mounted, just measure, weigh, take a picture of the fish if you want, (but it is not totally necessary), and pass the info along to a taxidermist. They will order the fish blank to match the size and weight, paint to match and turn it around in a matter of ~4 months.
Hope that info helps a bit.
