I Can Fish Up Everything!

Chapter 135: Chapter 115: Typhoon Eve, School of Yellowtail

Gu Nan checked the navigator’s destination. It was eighty-seven nautical miles away, a trip that would take about five hours.

The boat had Wi-Fi, so after connecting, he could play games or browse videos to pass the time.

Yi Chen’s second video had already been released, and Gu Nan’s face was in it again.

He found that after knowing his face was out there, the strange feeling he used to get in front of the camera had completely disappeared.

In the past, he might have been interested in making videos himself, but now he had no such thoughts. He simply didn’t have the time.

Wang Junhe cooked lunch. He and Guo Xiao would occasionally cook for their wives and kids, so their skills were decent.

The five hours passed quickly, and it was almost three in the afternoon.

Using the fish finder, Gu Nan discovered a massive school of fish swimming at high speed. On the surface, there were also seven sport-fishing boats and five commercial fishing vessels, each about fifteen or sixteen meters long.

It was currently the closed fishing season, so many boats were restricted from going out to sea. Otherwise, a school of fish this large would have attracted far more than just a handful of vessels.

Even the fishing vessels that could go out were not allowed to use nets; they could only use trotlines, longlines, or angling techniques.

The restrictions on sport-fishing boats weren’t as strict, but there were patrol boats on the sea. Any boat they encountered would be inspected for prohibited items.

”Let’s stop here and fish for now. The school could move at any time, and if it does, we’ll have to chase after it.”

”Alright. Brother Guo, do you have a spare electric reel I can borrow? I brought a boat rod with me today.”

”Sure thing. You came well-prepared. Let me see what kind of boat rod you have.”

The three of them went to the aft deck. After Guo Xiao looked at Gu Nan’s boat rod, he brought out a compatible electric reel.

He and Wang Junhe hadn’t prepared boat rods. They were just out to scratch their fishing itch. Unlike Gu Nan, they weren’t running a seafood business and didn’t need to ’stock up’.

They tied their rigs and each tossed in a few handfuls of squid to attract the yellowtail.

For bait, they opted for artificial lures. The small squid were just for chumming.

Meanwhile, Gu Nan fixed the holder from his Seven Star set to the gunwale and mounted the boat rod on it.

He pressed the button to release the line, and the lead sinker instantly carried the bait down into the water. When it reached a depth of about thirty meters, he pressed the button again to stop it. The school of fish was in that water column.

Next, he took out the purple Fengqi Fishing Rod and tied on a jig.

Just as he finished, the boat rod started showing some action.

Gu Nan pressed the retrieve button, and the electric reel began to automatically reel in the line.

From a depth of thirty meters, a large electric reel could bring a fish up in no time, but his reel wasn’t particularly big, and the fish on the line wasn’t small, so the retrieval was slow.

Gu Nan picked up the gaff and waited for a moment. After two minutes, a large fish a little over half a meter long appeared on the surface—a yellowtail weighing over ten pounds.

Gu Nan accurately gaffed the fish and hauled it aboard.

He first unhooked it. The small squid he’d used for bait was still mostly intact, just a little mangled from the bite.

Gu Nan didn’t bother changing it, simply sending the baited hook back down to the thirty-meter depth. Only then did he take a small knife to bleed the fish, inserting a hose into its mouth to flush out the blood with fresh water.

This was the moment he truly understood the value of proper chilling and storage.

The fish was processed quickly. He fastened one of the red tags Guo Xiao had given him onto it, then tossed it into a nearby plastic container filled with ice. Once the container was full, it could be moved into the boat’s refrigerated hold.

Seeing that a second fish wasn’t biting on the boat rod, Gu Nan washed his hands, put on his gloves, and picked up the purple Fengqi Fishing Rod. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the jig flying high into the air. It landed in the water with a PLOP and began to slowly sink.

As the jig descended through the water, it caught the attention of some nearby yellowtail. To fish, anything slowly sinking from the surface is very likely to be food, so they instinctively move in to investigate.

Just then, at least several dozen fish shot out from the massive school below.

Leading the charge was a Meter Level yellowtail. Despite its large size, it was the fastest swimmer of the bunch.

When it spotted what it thought was a small fish sinking, it charged forward ferociously, opened its massive jaws, and swallowed the lure in a single gulp.

The rod tip suddenly bent downward. With lightning-fast reflexes, Gu Nan immediately jerked the rod up to set the hook. The instant he did, the pull from both ends bent the rod into a deep arc, and he felt an immense force transmitted through the line.

”Haha, hooked a big one!” Gu Nan exclaimed, his face alight with excitement.

The larger the yellowtail, the higher its fat content, and the better the price it could fetch.

Wang Junhe and Guo Xiao had both hooked fish at around the same time. Just as they were pulling their catches to the surface, they heard Gu Nan’s shout from the other side of the boat.

Catching a glimpse of his deeply bent rod, they exchanged a look and immediately quickened their pace.

The fish they had on were about the same size, just over ten pounds each. Fighting them took some effort, but by now the fish were tired, making it relatively easy to reel them in.

Soon, they had both fish on the boat. They made a quick cut to bleed them and then paid them no more mind, immediately rushing over to Gu Nan’s side.

Wang Junhe: ”How big is that thing?”

Guo Xiao: ”Damn, man, how many times is that now? What is it with you and big fish?”

They hadn’t fished with Gu Nan many times, but on the few occasions they had, they’d always seen him land a huge catch. His constitution for attracting big fish was truly enviable.

”The pull is immense. I think it might be a Meter Level yellowtail.” For now, all Gu Nan could do was hold onto the rod, locked in a stalemate with the great fish, trying to wear down its stamina.

His enhanced physical fitness allowed him to handle a twenty-pound fish with relative ease, but a Meter Level yellowtail weighed at least thirty-five pounds, with fatter ones exceeding forty.