re: Yall ever try the “Ikejime” Japanese way of killing fish?

Dang, this would definitely change the way I watch the Bassmaster Classic..

when we keep redfish, we cut their throats and drain the blood. It makes a difference.

I don't do that but I do use a big chest, with plenty of ice. When I get to the saltwater ill dump a 5-gallon bucket of water in the chest. Throw my fish in, the swim down and get cold almost instantly. They also are all straight when you go to clean them. I find it makes a difference. If I fished offshore I would contemplate doing the Japanese method.

Cut the gills as soon as you catch any fish. It will bleed out and the meat will be blood free. It absolutely makes a difference

A thumped cobia tastes 100 times better than one thrown straight in the box.

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Ran across this over coffee this morning: LINK

Short version is that in Japan fisherman will kill the fish immediately after catching them by stabbing them in their brain and immediately draining most their blood out in cold water. It is said to dramatically improve the taste and preserve freshness due to less stress hormones being pumped through the fish’s body.

Yall think it’s worth it or a bunch of BS? Kinda want to try next time I’m out.

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Yes, bleeding fish makes all fish better eating. Its a pretty common practice. Its a simple process. It is required in most of Europe as it is a relatively humane way to dispatch a fish....far better than it suffocating. I do it with almost all fish I keep.

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I used to fish a lot offshore with a buddy that insisted we do it. Logically it didn’t make sense to me since we had just got finished fighting the fish in the fight of his life for 30-90mins what was one or two more mins after a clubbing gonna hurt.

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Without bleeding them the blood and the adrenaline and other hormones are still impacting the quality of the meat. It doesn't matter if it is a 1000 pound bluefin tuna or a 10 ounce bluegill they ALL fight to near death, the difference is they are overwhelmed by tackle as a one pound crappie where a 100 pound amberjack is not...but either way they have hormones cursing through their flesh which will hasten that flesh breaking down after death...unless it is bled out.

This is also true of releasing fish....catch and release is not nearly as effective as we would like to believe...fighting for your life, particularly in an environment thick with predators, is not conducive to long term survival. The act of catching and fighting a fish on light tackle, while certainly fun for the angler, is a life and death struggle for the fish even when handled and released properly....the aftermath is all too often the same for the released fish as the one released in the cooler....

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On redfish, you can put your finger right behind the pectoral fin. Super easy push.

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Redfish2010

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Now we know your weakness

I've never done the braining and bleeding of fish before reading this thread. Yesterday I got on the spawning bar fish thick like and did all of them this way. The few fillets I ate last night were great. Have no idea if the ikejime method made them better or not but I'll probably continue to do it like this from now on.

I will caution that braining gets kinda violent for a couple seconds so be ready. Most of the fish I was catching were males oozing jizz. The first few I brained in my kayak splashed that shite everywhere. After the first few I got tired of giving myself a bukkake I started holding them over in the water and brained them there.