New to jugging and catfishing and absolutely love it. Have a question and would appreciate any answers you guys can give me: Before filleting the catfish how do you "dispatch" him?

I do one of three things. I'll ring it around the tail all the way to the bone to bleed it without severing the tail.They go in the livewell till they're done. I'll ice them after that. I'll ice them directly. Sometimes I'll just have them in a tub. If they're going home, I don't make sure they're expired before I go to filleting them. Good luck.

Are you worried that you are hurting them?
or
Are you wanting them to stop moving while you fillet them?

mine have either been iced or they're still alive in a livewell.
if they're still alive i dispatch my wife to go inside (she hates that, and i'm not the biggest fan either, they flop and i feel bad about it)...
if i had them on ice then they've already been dispatched

ice em down

I ice em down when fishing but if i happen
to catch one a few minutes before i go in he
doesn;t get to be iced down for long but they
will get cleaned the same way and same time,
two seconds after they are cleaned they don;t
know a thing anyways.

Ice bath. I think the are easier to fillet when they are cold it makes the meat a little more firm.

+1 really like to leave um on ice till next day

Ditto on the ice bath!!

Naw, not really concerned about hurting them even though I respect the bounty I am fishing for. The answers about icing them down is what I was really wondering about. I do appreciate all the replies, Thanks, folks.

Maybe I am the idiot here, but what is "dispatching"?

Just a polite way or politically correct (take your pick)way of saying "killing them". Didn't want to ruffle any feathers when asking for advice. Thanks.

Politically Correct. I think those two words are going to be the demise of this country. Sometimes people need to hear the real deal. Back on topic. my fish are alive most of the time. I like to talk to them while I prepare to eat them

My Grandad would take them out of the live well, place them gently on the dock, then SMACK on the head with a hammer. It was entertaining when I was little. My brother-in-law's dad takes a knife, cuts a small hole in their head, then takes a coat-hanger and swirls it around till there done...I guess thats humane?

i just throw them in the box with a bag of ice. I would not mind cleaning them alive but it never fails, if i have had them on a stringer or in the live well, i always get stuck! so i let them die on the rocks, then filet dem boogers!