I Can Fish Up Everything!

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Losing a Fish for the First Time

Fei’s Pompano, primarily distributed in the Indo-Western Pacific region, including the Red Sea, East Africa, and Madagascar.

This fish can reach a maximum length of 65 centimeters, though judging by its shape, its tail probably accounts for ten of those centimeters.

A fish at its maximum length certainly couldn’t compare in weight to a Large-spot Grouper.

But the fish had a very high flavor rating, an incredible six stars. Its price was even a little higher than the Large-spot Grouper’s, with a suggested selling price of 180.

Recalling the delicious taste and high price of silver pomfret, Gu Nan didn’t find the price of this Fei’s Pompano to be that outrageous. It was an import, after all, which made it more valuable.

The preparation methods were fairly standard; it could be braised in soy sauce or Steamed.

Gu Nan figured it was no different from preparing silver pomfret. He could even braise it with pickled vegetables. His mom loved to cook silver pomfret that way—good fish, and great flavor.

He closed the game interface and went back to changing his fishing reel.

After a little while, the reel was finally swapped out. Now his large fish bonus was at 20%, his rare fish bonus was at 12%, and his number of daily guaranteed catches had increased to 15.

Once he purchased the new fishing line and reel, he’d get one more daily guaranteed catch and one more daily quest.

With his equipment upgraded, Gu Nan cast his lure and waited in anticipation for the next fish.

Soon, the float started to move. It bobbed a few times before being pulled completely underwater.

Gu Nan felt a pull far stronger than the previous two fish and quickly yanked his rod upward.

SWISH—

The middle of the rod came up, but the tip was still being dragged down hard by the fish, causing the rod to bend even more sharply.

This fish was clearly much larger. Based on his understanding of the game, the 20% large fish bonus greatly increased the chances of hooking medium to large fish, and there was even a chance of landing a giant-class one.

It was a quantum leap compared to the small and medium-sized fish he had been catching before.

However, Gu Nan had only collected the two-piece set. His fishing line, which also boosted stats, hadn’t been upgraded yet, placing a greater demand on his actual fishing skills.

This fish was definitely over ten jin. It felt even more powerful than the long-jawed trevally and that Large Striped Rockfish, so much so that Gu Nan didn’t dare try to haul it in by force.

Of course, an experienced sea angler would instinctively start playing the fish, while someone who did more platform fishing would subconsciously yank the rod and try to match the fish’s strength.

Once Gu Nan realized the fish’s size, he quickly loosened the drag to let it run more freely.

He held the rod with one hand and supported its body with the other. The fish was running in a good direction—out into the open water, not diving for the rocks on the bottom. So, Gu Nan let the line spool out.

But after the fish had been running for two minutes and two-thirds of his line was already out, he frowned.

This fish was a bit too big. It wasn’t fast, but its pull was heavy, and it seemed to have excellent stamina.

Even though Gu Nan had loosened the drag, he was still holding the rod up. The fish was essentially running against a weight, which should have been draining its energy.

Yet, after running so far in one go, it didn’t seem tired at all.

He only had 120 meters of line; if it ran much farther, he’d never be able to reel it back in. Gu Nan tightened the drag again and applied more pressure, trying to slow the fish down or, better yet, stop it completely.

While using a daily guaranteed catch, his line and rod were indestructible, so he didn’t have to worry about them breaking.

But the fish was too strong. It suddenly surged, leaped from the water, and shook its head violently, spitting the lure right out.

”...” It was the first time a fish had gotten away from Gu Nan since he’d bonded with the game.

He’d wasted a guaranteed catch, and on such a huge fish. What a shame.

It was his first time hooking a fish this big, however, and his lack of experience really showed.

Just then, a notification popped up from the game.

[Spend 100 Gold Coins to re-attempt the catch?]

[Long-jawed Trevally. Length: 121 cm. Weight: 31.7 jin. Class: Giant.]

[Note: Re-attempting a catch can only be done with equipment from the Fengqi Coast. There is a risk of equipment damage if its grade is insufficient. Please consider carefully.]

’This... I can try to catch it again?’

He hadn’t expected to unlock a new feature just by losing a fish.

’So in the future, if I lose a fish I really regret, I can get a do-over. Not bad at all.’

It was a shame about that long-jawed trevally. At almost thirty-two jin, even if it were hard to sell, it would still be worth nearly 3,200!

But after thinking it over, Gu Nan ultimately decided to pass.

If he tried again, his rod and line would no longer be indestructible. The rod would be fine, but the line wouldn’t. It would definitely snap.

He could go to a tackle shop and spool on some real-world fishing line, but unfortunately, the game’s re-catch feature required game equipment. There was nothing he could do.

Losing a big fish like that was painful. Fortunately, Gu Nan was no longer the guy who always got skunked, so he didn’t just give up in despair.

’Looks like I need to be more careful when buying equipment in the future,’ he thought. ’I should buy the rod and line first. At least then I’ll have a chance for a re-catch if I mess up.’

He didn’t let losing the fish intimidate him and continued fishing.

The next twelve guaranteed catches went off without a hitch, mainly because he didn’t encounter another giant long-jawed trevally.

The largest fish among the others was a Black-striped Small Stripes Buri. Even a large specimen was only about eight jin, which wasn’t a problem.

On his last guaranteed catch, Gu Nan landed another Blue-striped Gidai. That made three for the night. It looked like he could make a delivery to the restaurant tomorrow.

When he opened the livewell to put the fish inside, he saw a silver fish had already gone belly-up. It was the Fei’s Pompano.

”So delicate?”

After putting the Blue-striped Gidai in, Gu Nan immediately took out the Fei’s Pompano and placed it in a foam cooler on ice.

Fish that were on the verge of dying needed to be taken out immediately. The main reason was to prevent them from soaking in the water, which severely impacts the meat’s texture and taste, making it far inferior to fish that are properly iced down.

Selling a waterlogged fish to a customer would ruin the shop’s reputation, so any fish that was about to die or had just died had to be taken out and iced immediately.

Gu Nan hadn’t expected that even a Fei’s Pompano from the game couldn’t be kept alive, just like a regular silver pomfret.

It seemed that 180 was the price for an iced Fei’s Pompano, not a live one.

After taking care of the fish, Gu Nan went back to fishing.

With his guaranteed catches used up, it was time to start fishing normally.

The chum he’d put out earlier had attracted plenty of fish, so it was the perfect time to start.

During his guaranteed catches today, he’d caught fewer Star Chicken Fish and Bushi Golden Needlefish, while the proportion of Ball-nosed Fish and Black-striped Small Stripes Buri had increased, much to Gu Nan’s annoyance.

He wondered what his luck would be like now that he was back to normal fishing.

He released the line and gently lifted his rod. The lure swung out over the chummed area, and Gu Nan lowered the rod tip to let it drop into the water.

He then turned the handle of the reel to let out a bit more line and waited for a bite.

After a moment, the rod tip began to twitch, and the float started bobbing restlessly up and down.

A fish was nibbling at the lure. Gu Nan’s focus sharpened.

Normally, this would suggest a cautious sea bream. But now that the game’s codex had unlocked most of the local fish, he knew several other species had the same timid bite, making it impossible to guess what was on the line.

With this type of bite, you couldn’t set the hook right away, even if the float was pulled completely under. It might just be the fish testing the lure. He had to wait for it to grab the float and run with it.

A running float meant the fish had taken the lure deep in its mouth and was instinctively fleeing from the pain. If he set the hook then, it would be a sure thing.