Marty - My wife spent an exhaustive amount of time on this subject when we were spending time in the Keys fishing. Someone told her that squirting vodka in the mouth of a fish would kill them instantly, so off we went to the local liquor store to buy some inexpensive Russian bonka
. This quick fish cocktail worked great, but they quickly sobered up and started flopping again. She then spoke with all kinds of animal rights people and came to the conclusion that a swift whack in their head was the most humane way. I now have one of those billy clubs on the boat and just before a fish goes in the cooler it gets a hard, swift whack just above the eyes. She is happier now...and this is important as you married guys will attest to. Another great benefit to killing them before they get in the cooler is that my cooler doesn't get all messed up
; they just lay there nice and quiet like...Don