SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – The way a fish is handled after it has been caught makes a tremendous difference in the quality and taste of the meat, and now there’s an app that will help you learn to properly handle fish as soon as you catch them.

The bobber of a patient fisherman sits in the water at Caddo Lake on Sat., Oct. 7, 2023. Image: KTAL’s Jaclyn Tripp.

When fish are stressed, such as when they have been hooked and reeled into a boat and thrown into a bucket of water or an ice chest, their body temperatures rise, and muscle tissue takes on a different texture.

This happens because the fish enters survival mode and excretes cortisol and adrenaline. Lactic acid excretions cause poor muscle texture that makes the meat taste terrible. However, those who humanely dispatch fish are rewarded for their kindness by consuming a higher-quality product later.  

So how do you efficiently and humanely kill a fish? One answer is to study Ike Jime. You can either memorize the way to kill each type of fish you may be able to catch, or you can download the Ike Jime app and learn on the fly while fishing.

This Ike Jime app shows all names of ArkLaTex fish, such as the largemouth bass. The app also demonstrates how to spike the fish humanely.

But don’t worry, flip phone lovers. You don’t need an app to practice or learn about Ike Jime. The ancient method is used to humanely euthanize a fish before it suffocates, and there are biological reasons why doing so has tremendous benefits both for the fish and the fisherman.

For one, the meat will look and taste better.

And because practitioners of Ike Jime have researched fish across the world to provide details on how to humanely kill fish from anywhere—even the ArkLaTex—it’s easy to learn how to humanely dispatch catfish, crappie, bass, and more. All you have to do is click on the type of fish you’re best at catching and learn how to use an Ike Jime spike.

Click on this link to learn how to humanely dispatch largemouth bass, crappie, catfish, bluegill, perch, and more.

When spiked correctly, the fish will open its mouth, and the fins flair. This lets you know that you correctly spiked the fish.

But remember that even the best tool is only as good as the person using it, and the best tool is utterly useless if you can’t catch a fish.

Click here for tips on how to catch a fish.

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