I Can Fish Up Everything!

Chapter 248: Chapter 154: Huff, Huff, Huff

The fish had some serious power. It wasn’t so big that it was impossible to fight, just strenuous—perfectly manageable for Gu Nan.

He quickly lifted his rod to set the hook, but before he could even turn the handle, the rod tip plunged downward. The great fish in the depths was putting up a fight!

The commotion was hard to miss, and of course, Yi Chen, who was right beside him, saw it.

”You’ve got a big one!” she exclaimed, her expression a mix of excitement and curiosity.

Seeing her boyfriend struggling just to hold the rod up made her realize this fish had to be huge.

Gu Nan could carry her in one arm without breaking a sweat, yet now, with the muscles in both his arms taut, he still couldn’t seem to budge the fish.

’Now I get why I have to use an electric reel,’ she thought. ’A fish this strong would’ve pulled me right into the water. I’m not built for this kind of fight.’

Gu Nan had never tested Yi Chen’s durability, but this fish was certainly proving to be resilient.

He worked the rod back and forth, steadily draining the fish’s energy, but it was still taking off like a rocket in the deep. ’Could it be an amberjack?’ he wondered.

When deep-sea fishing this far out, the chances of hooking into amberjacks or yellowtails were very high. Amberjacks, in particular, were a favorite among anglers because they were heavy and fetched a good price.

Gu Nan braced himself, yanked the rod upward with both hands, and seized the moment to turn the handle, gaining back a little line.

This fish had to be over fifty-five pounds. His purple Seven Star rod couldn’t absorb all of its power, so he had to put his own back into it.

Thankfully, after he’d played the fish for a little while, its strength began to wane. It would even take occasional breaks, and its resistance was growing weaker and weaker.

Yi Chen was just discovering how thrilling fishing could be. She was so engrossed in watching Gu Nan that she didn’t even notice her own rod twitching until Gu Nan glanced her way and pointed it out.

”Chenchen, your rod’s moving! Quick, reel it in.”

”Oh, oh, oh...” Yi Chen turned, quickly pressed the retrieve button, and managed not to hit the wrong one in a fluster.

The fish on her line wasn’t very big, so it was the first to break the surface.

It was a fiery red bigeye, looking to be about three or four pounds.

This time, without Gu Nan’s help, Yi Chen picked up the large landing net herself, reached down, and scooped the fish aboard.

”Hehe, another splendid alfonsino!” Yi Chen was starting to enjoy the thrill of the haul. She carefully removed the hook, then held up the fish and flashed Gu Nan a brilliant smile.

”That’s not an alfonsino. Look at its eyes. They’re pitch-black, not gold!”

Hearing Gu Nan’s correction, Yi Chen looked down at the fish in her hands and saw that its eyes were indeed black. She was baffled. ”Then what kind of fish is it? It looks so much like a splendid alfonsino.”

”It’s a similar species, but people usually just call them bigeyes. Take a look at the tail. Compare them. See how they’re different?”

The fish on Gu Nan’s line was completely exhausted now, so he finally had a moment to educate his girlfriend.

Yi Chen carried her fish over to the icebox. The moment she saw the alfonsino inside, she could immediately tell the difference between the two species.

The alfonsino’s tail was forked like a swallow’s, while the bigeye’s was shaped like a little broom. Without a direct comparison, she had completely overlooked these obvious features.

It was just a matter of inexperience. If she fished more often, she’d naturally be able to tell them apart.

This time, she baited her own hook with a live shrimp, tossed it into the water, and pressed the button to release the line. Clearly, she was already getting the hang of the electric reel.

Just as Yi Chen was landing her third fish, Gu Nan finally managed to pull his catch to the surface.

Her eyes widened in pleasant surprise. ”Wow, what a huge fish! It looks like some kind of tuna.”

Gu Nan chuckled. ”Haven’t you seen bigger ones?”

He was a little surprised himself when he saw the fish. He’d thought it was an amberjack, but it turned out to be a Dog-toothed Tuna.

It looked to be about four and a half feet long and weighed around ninety pounds.

The fish’s mouth was full of sharp teeth. A bite from that would be no joke.

But Dog-toothed Tuna wasn’t particularly expensive; its price was comparable to yellowfin.

In fact, it wasn’t a true tuna at all, but a species of bonito with the scientific name *Gymnosarda unicolor*.

The species could grow up to two and a half meters long, so Gu Nan’s catch wasn’t actually that large.

”But this is the first time I’ve seen you catch one in person!” Instead of rushing to re-bait her hook, Yi Chen came over to his side. ”It’s so big. How are you going to get it on board?”

”We’ll use the hoist!” The fish was spent. Gu Nan had her hold the rod while he grabbed the gaff and sank it firmly into the fish.

The fish immediately thrashed, and Yi Chen, caught completely off guard, was yanked forward. A strong arm instantly wrapped around her, steadying her.

She gritted her teeth, struggling to hold the rod up, her face quickly turning red with the effort.

’Now I see how hard it is to land a big fish,’ she thought. ’This is definitely not a job I can handle.’

Gu Nan couldn’t get good control of the fish while holding the gaff with one hand. Fortunately, it quickly went still, and Yi Chen let out a breath of relief. ”Whew! It was completely exhausted and still had that much fight in it. That nearly gave me a heart attack. I guess I’m not cut out for catching big fish!”

Gu Nan smiled at her words. ”When you’re fighting big fish like this, you’re supposed to brace the rod on the gunwale. All you have to do is focus on reeling. I only hold it like this because I have the strength for it.”

”Really?” Yi Chen’s big eyes instantly lit up.

She was now keenly aware of the prices these fish could fetch and could estimate their value at a glance.

This Dog-toothed Tuna was about ninety pounds. At fifty yuan a pound, it could sell for four thousand yuan, with almost negligible costs.

This revelation sent her enthusiasm for fishing soaring. Now she finally understood why Gu Nan, a perfectly successful shop owner, was always running off to go fishing.