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

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

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.

Tight lines
sherppa

Tight lines and shall see you all at the next weigh in.

Sherppa