Cut at the base of the gills at the narrow area closest to the mouth be sure you cut all of the gills off also as close to the mouth as possible where they all come together, when done the head will be attached only by the back. I use a pair of Sea Shears from Cabela's but Fiskers work well also, just be careful of the pointed ends on the Fiskers. Point the fish away from you as sometimes they squirt a pretty large stream of blood. Put the fish in a 5 gal. bucket of water or a live well full of water as this helps in the bleeding process and also keeps your other fish and cooler much cleaner. If done right there will be very little blood in your cooler and it seems to slow up the slime production as well.