Basically you use it to spike the fish in the brain, killing it instantly. I have seen through our own hit and miss attempts really mess this up and miss the brain, only having to repeat the task over and over again until you see the fish suddenly stop moving. I am a huge fan of Killing a fish as quite as possible, in fact if I intend on keeping the fish I will kill it before any high fives or photos – this is just a mark of respect I have for fish. Due to vague write ups and “general” descriptions on how to kill a Snapper affectively, I have decided to do my own research and dissect a Snapper Head. To show exactly where the brain is located and what the size is. It wasn’t till I opened up the head that I relised just how off I was and also it gave me a very good precise area for the brain – dispelling a lot of what others had said.

Let’s get into it.

Below are photos I took of a Snapper I chopped open to show where its brain really is. I don’t apologies for the graphic nature of these photos as I know gutting and killing a fish is not a clean process and if you are only use to finished clean fillets – killing and eating your own fish is not for you. Please also note this fish is well dead before I attempted to chop it up and was killed very quickly, it did not suffer. This is a Smaller Pan size Snapper and the reason I chose this is that it is often the size people catch and keep (best eating in my opinion and they aren’t breeding stock).

Snapper Before Dissection

Cross Section Snapper Head Brain

Iki going straight through brain

Snapper – exact iki spot to hit brain

So from these pictures you should get a good idea of where the brain is located and how to hit the brain when you are faced with a Snapper. There is no need to put any angle on the iki spike as this may lead to you missing the brain and not killing the Snapper. If you don’t hit the brain there is a good chance the Snapper will take 20 – 30 mins to suffocate to death. This has issues other than the basic disrespect you have for what you eat. Leaving a fish to die this way causes the meat to degrade in a huge way. A build up of lactic acid and other chemicals the fish’s body releases in an effort to combat the effects of suffocation result in bad tasting fish, come meal time. This is the same for any fish. The best practice is to kill the fish as soon as you have decided you will keep it.

The best way to know if you have hit the brain is that the fish will stop moving straight away and may start to have tiny spasms. You will also see that its gills aren’t moving anymore, if there is still gill movement or it is still flapping then the Snapper is still alive and you need to spike it again till it stops. Sometimes after killing a Snapper they may still flap the odd time, this is just nerve activity.

If you catch a Kahawai you will want to bleed it fairly quickly otherwise the meat will spoil or you might end up with that fishy taste. The best way to bleed a Kahawai is to cut up through the gill latch just past the gills (with a sharp knife) then up through until you reach where the spin and head met. This will cut through first the Ventral Artery, and then through the Dorsal Artery and Vein (found just under the vertebrate).

Next pull the top of the head back towards the spin and blood should start to squirt out. You can also cut up from the bottom of the tail through to the vertebrate (this cuts through the lower Dorsal Vein and Artery). If you are on a boat do this over the side since it can get messy. It’s a good opportunity as well to gut the fish and clean out any excess blood using the sea water. To keep the meat in its best form you should then put the Kahawai on ice.

Bleeding Kahawai is a good idea and the sooner you do it the better the result in terms of meat quality. A common mistake is that people don’t bleed Kahawai soon enough and the result is horrible tasting meat which might put them off eating Kahawai ever again. This is a common mistake with many newer fisherman and as a result Kahawai often get labelled as a second class fish for eating. If you bleed Kahawai and preserve them well then this is a great source of fish for dinner and since it’s a very easy fish to catch your dinner plate shouldn’t get empty.

For more information on the Fish Blood Circulatory System VISIT THIS LINK

Forum Topic can be found here: Discuss the Moki $1,000 Competition Here.

Moki Fishing Competition in Cape Palliser Organised by the Fielding Surfcasting Club

The Entry fee for this competition is $20 and entry can be obtained by emailing the following details to this email address: bryan@kairangaeggs.co.nz

Feilding Surfcasting Club
ENTRY FORM MOKI $1000 26th November 2011

Name ___________________________________________________

NZACA member Yes / No

Address ______________________________________________________________________

Contact number ____________________________________

Male Female Junior

Number of rods ______ @ $20 per rod
Entry fee attached $ Cheque or
Direct credit to 010625 0147731 00 Feilding Surfcasting Club
Entries to:
Bryan Snaith, President Feilding Surfcasting Club
4 Willhart Court
Feilding 4702
Or email entry to bryan@kairangaeggs.co.nz with direct credit payment details.
Office use: Date received M F J Early entry Yes / No
Entry number Receipt number Rods Confirmed

Bait and Berley will available for pre-order with early bird entries,also we will have a chiller/freezer at the briefing on the day(cash only) as no card access over there this will be a good comp,some of the area being fished has not had a line in the water for roughly 2 years so there will fish to be caught if I can help with info let me know as happy to help – Action Bait and Tackle

Andy and Dave had bought along a Kontiki, which in its self was a mission to launch in such narly conditions,this was deployed since the conditions were tough on any form of rod fishing.  A long cast was needed as the steep drop off caused good swells to dump right on any short casts.

Tally of the mish
Scuzzy~Lost four ledger rigs
Jordan~0
Andy~Wet chest from wave hitting Quad incident
Dave~Lost one Surfcaster
FreeSpoool~ Found one Dive knife sheath, found one Surfcaster belonging to Dave three hours later,and caught one ledger rig lost by Scuzzy.

Great mish, even though the conditions didnt play ball, great to be out and about. Nice to meet others from here, look forward to the next mish. More than likely stuffed up the pics but not to worry, had a great time and was good to catch up with a few of the guys, we will do it again.

Half kilo fish minced/ mouli’eed or otherwise mashed
1 stalk lemongrass finely chopped
2 birdseye chillies finely chopped
Handful of coriander roughly chopped
1 egg
1 cup mashed potato
1 cup breadcrumbs
Thai Fish sauce
Half teaspoon curry powder or paste equivalent

Mix together shape into fritters, pat into more breadcrumbs, shallow fry in quality oil

good with sweet chilli dipping sauce

Fish Blood Circulatory System.

Like in humans the reason for the blood circulatory system is to move blood around the body to keep the different organs and functions working. The system which moves the blood around is made up of arteries and veins. Simply put Arteries move oxygenated blood while veins move deoxygenated blood. In human’s blood is moved around the body using the heart, deoxygenated blood travels through veins to the lungs where it gets oxygenated and leaves through the arteries. It is similar with fish however the deoxygenated blood travels through veins to the gills where it gets oxygenated and leaves through the arteries. The main Arteries in a fish are the Dorsal Artery and the Ventral Artery. The Dorsal Artery runs underneath the vertebrate from the tail of the fish through into its head. The Ventral Artery connects the heart to the gills which is found underneath the gills back through the gill latch. The Dorsal Vein runs a similar line to the Dorsal Artery.

Diagram showing the Dorsal Artery and Vein and also the Ventral Artery

How to Bleed a Fish

First kill the fish, whether this is with a donger or iki spike. The heart will beat for several minutes after the fish has died, so there is no worry about the blood not coming out. If you catch a fish like a Kahawai you will want to bleed it fairly quickly otherwise the meat will spoil or you might end up with that fishy taste. The best way to bleed a Kahawai or other fish is to cut up through the gill latch just past the gills (with a sharp knife) then up through until you reach where the spin and head met. This will cut through first the Ventral Artery, and then through the Dorsal Artery and Vein (found just under the vertebrate). Next pull the top of the head back towards the spin and blood should start to squirt out. You can also cut up from the bottom of the tail through to the vertebrate (this cuts through the lower Dorsal Vein and Artery). If you are on a boat do this over the side since it can get messy. It’s a good opportunity as well to gut the fish and clean out any excess blood using the sea water. To keep the meat in its best form you should then put the Kahawai on ice. Bleeding all fish is a good idea and the sooner you do it the better the result in terms of meat quality.

Diagram showing the cuts made to bleed a fish

Baited Crab on hooks - Click for larger image - Thanks Carl for the image

Technique

- Pull off the limbs and shell and cut it in half down the length of it.

- Put 6/0-8/0 hook though leg socket in middle and angle it towards the back of the crab slightly and push it out through the underside of the crab.

- Wrap in bait elastic (what is bait elastic? Like cotton however it’s elastic so its very stretchy, it’s found at most fishing stores (even the Warehouse) and is used to wrap bait onto the hook so that it stays there. Essential if using fresh softbait like mussels or crab. )

notes: use frozen crabs as it is much cleaner and easier to do. Also with frozen crabs, when you make the cut, the white crab meat will separate from the guts and crap in the front of the crab leaving you with just meat (better with larger crabs).

Alternative Additions (Thanks Carl):
A couple of ways I like to rig up paddle crab baits, prepare as dj says above by removing the shell and legs.
- For half a crab bait I like to used a single 4/0 or 5/0 Gammy circle hook.
- Ensure your hook isn’t too buried in the bait otherwise you can drop fish.
- For small crabs I like to use two 2/0 Gammy circle hooks.

most fishermen already know how to fillet a fish, here i will tell you how to steak a fish… all you need is:
1x large knife depending on the size of the fish(may need a machette for groper, kingfish)
1x rubber mallet(can find these at most shops that sell camping gear or hardware)

clean your fish as normal, gutt, gill, scale… slice threw the fish with your knife untill you come to the spine, wack the tip of the knife with the rubber mallet then follow threw cutting it into a nice steak… you can also do this with the palm of your hand if its a smaller fish or just blunten the crap out of your knife sawing threw the spine…

yes you can buy a stainless steel fast fish smoking draw from warehouse, mitre 10 or a fishing shop, but these are usually in the range of $40 – $200. You can make one just as good out of normal kitchen items or pick up the missing piece for a few $ and they are just as good as the bought ones, all you need is a bbq or portable outdoor cooker.

What you need:
1x oven tray/roasting tray, deep dish.
1x cake cooling rack.
1x roll of tin foil.
1x bag of wood chips.

Method:
1. sprinkel wood chips in bottom of oven tray.
2. place cake cooling rack over the wood chips.
3. put in your fish fillets and cover the tray with tin foil.
4. place on the bbq or out door cooker on low temp and smoke your fillets. you can also do this inside on the stove if you dont mind your kitchen smelling like smoke for a day or 2.

BEER BATTER: Yield 450ml aprox.

Beer: 1 bottle(300ml so take a sip off the top)
Flour: 200g
Egg: 1
Salt: 1/4 tsp
Pepper: to taste(means to your liking)

Method:
1. Throw flour, salt and pepper in a bowl.
2. Make a well in center and pour in the beer.
3. Gradualy whisk in from sides to make a smooth batter.
4. Mix in the beaten egg.
5. Rest for 1hr befor useing.

TEMPURA BATTER: Yield 400ml aprox.

Flour: 45g
Cornflour: 95g
Salt: 1/4 tsp
Pepper: to taste
Ice-cold water: 180ml

Method:
1. Sieve dry ingrediants into a bowl.
2. Make a well in center and add the water.
3. Mix into a smooth batter and use while cold.

EGG BATTER: Yield 500ml aprox

Flour: 200g
Salt: 1/4 tsp
Egg: 1
Water: 250ml
Oil: 30ml

Method:
1. Throw flour, salt and pepper in a bowl.
2. Make a well in center.
3. Beat the egg and water togeather and pour into the well.
4. Gradualy whisk in from sides to make a smooth batter.
5. Stir in the oil.
6. Rest for 30min befor useing.

with all batters, lightly coat the fish in seasoned flour(flour+salt+pepper) befor dipping in the batter.

best way to cook with batter is to deep fry, to do this drop battered fish into heated oil aprox 160-180C.
if you get bored with the same old batter, try adding a bit of flavour to the mix, lemon pepper, herbs or spices.