Catch. Dispatch. Consume. It's the idea behind everything IkiPik makes, and it sounds simple enough — but there's a lot packed into that second word, and what happens between the catch and the plate makes more difference than most people realise.
Here's the whole journey, step by step, and why each part of it matters.
1. The catch
This part needs no introduction — you already know how to do this bit. But it's worth saying that how a fish is handled in the moments right after it comes over the side sets the tone for everything that follows. A calm, controlled approach from the moment it's landed makes the next steps easier and less stressful for you and the fish.
2. Dispatch
This is where iki jime comes in — a fast, deliberate dispatch using a purpose-built spike, aimed at the brain. Done properly, it ends the fish's suffering almost immediately, rather than leaving it to struggle in a bin or on the deck. If you're new to the technique, our guide on what iki jime actually is is a good place to start, along with our guide on locating the fish's brain.
This is also the step where having the right tool within reach — rather than fumbling for a knife or a priest buried in a tackle bag — makes the biggest practical difference. The Original IkiPik is designed to be exactly that: quick to grab, comfortable to hold, and confidence-inspiring to use.
3. Bleed and destroy the spinal cord
If you're keeping the fish, this is the step that's easy to skip and genuinely shouldn't be. Bleeding — cutting the gills or a major vessel and letting the fish drain in clean water — removes blood from the flesh before it can affect flavour and shelf life. Shinkei jime, running a wire down the spinal column, stops residual nerve activity that would otherwise cause the flesh to twitch and burn through stored energy after death.
We cover the difference between these steps, and why order matters, in Iki Jime vs Shinkei Jime. The six-piece kit is built specifically to make this stage straightforward, with a dedicated coring tool, blood knife and spinal-wire gauges.
4. Chill, promptly
Once a fish has been dispatched, bled and wired, get it onto ice or into an ice slurry as soon as you reasonably can. Temperature is one of the biggest factors in how well a fish holds its quality over the following hours and days — the faster you bring the core temperature down, the more you lock in the benefit of everything you've just done. An esky with a solid bed of ice, ideally with the fish laid so it's in full contact with it, beats a warm deck or a loose bag every time.
5. Store and transport with care
Between the boat and home, keep the fish cold, keep it out of direct sun, and avoid it sitting in its own melted ice water for extended periods if you can help it — a drained esky or a slurry with fresh ice keeps things at their best. If you've got any distance to travel, top up the ice before you leave rather than assuming what's left in the esky will be enough.
6. Prepare and cook
By the time you're at the bench, the hard work is already done — a fish that's been dispatched, bled, wired and chilled properly is simply easier and more rewarding to prepare. The flesh holds together better under the knife, the flavour is cleaner, and there's less waste from soft or discoloured sections. Whether you're filleting for the pan, prepping whole for the barbecue with an IkiPik BBQ Fork and BBQ Scraper on hand, or breaking a bigger fish down for the freezer, you're working with the best possible version of what you caught.
Why the whole sequence matters
It's tempting to think of dispatch as the "humane" step and everything after it as just food prep — but really, the whole sequence from catch to plate is one connected process. Skip or rush any single step and you lose some of the benefit of the ones either side of it. Do the whole thing properly, even just most of the time, and the difference on the plate is genuinely noticeable — better texture, cleaner flavour, and a meal that does justice to the fish and the effort it took to catch it.
That's the whole philosophy behind IkiPik: practical tools, built by someone who actually fishes, for a process that starts the moment the fish is in the boat and doesn't finish until it's on the table.
Explore the full range — from dispatch tools to outdoor cooking gear — in our Shop, or read more in the Blog section.