Reborn in the Millennium: Building a Fortune from Fishing

Chapter 542 A Stylish Long-Range Shot

The car stopped at a beach near the greenhouse. There were five or six cars and two modified motorcycles parked around it.

This motorcycle is quite modified; it has storage baskets and stands on both sides, making it a standard setup for anglers.

There were four people fishing below, and seven or eight more in the rocky area next to them. It was quite lively in this desolate wilderness.

"Old Li," Uncle Qing called out, leading Qin Dahe downstairs.

"Hey Qing, you're not at work today?" A burly man in his forties with a dark face greeted him. His vest was soaked with sweat, revealing his broad shoulders and thick waist.

Well, below are all dark-faced men, and Uncle Qing is actually considered relatively fair-skinned.

"I quit my job a long time ago and now I work at my older brother's company. Let me introduce you." He pulled Qin Dahe over and said, "This is my older brother's nephew. You can just call him Dahe. He also likes sea fishing. You'll have to help him out when I'm not around."

He then turned to Qin Dahe and said, "You can call this Uncle Li. He's from a nearby village."

"Uncle Li." He politely stepped forward and began handing out cigarettes, one to each person, everyone who saw it got one.

Seeing how cooperative he was, Uncle Li nodded, indicating that as long as he was there, Qin Dahe could fish freely without anyone bullying him.

While the two were packing their things, Uncle Qing finally explained the man's background.

It turns out that Uncle Li was a Hakka, and he was a fishing boss at Shachong Wharf, with many fishing boats under his command.

Not to mention ordinary thugs, even the smugglers in Haifeng and Lufeng treat them very politely.

"In the southern coastal areas, fishermen are quite formidable and they stick together. Don't offend them easily in the future."

"I understand." Qin Dahe nodded.

No wonder they dare to fish in the middle of nowhere despite the terrible security situation; they must have someone protecting them.

"If you catch too much fish, just drive to Shachong to sell it. Just mention Brother Li's name."

It is currently the fishing moratorium period. Although there are fish rafts and illegal fishing in the open sea as a means of livelihood, ordinary fishing villages have almost no income.

Shenzhen's port is quite special, with very strict customs and border patrols, making it impossible for local fishermen to secretly cast their nets. At most, they can set up some shrimp traps and crab traps at the estuary.

The two were attaching bait to their lines, while Li Ge was preparing to cast his line.

"Take a closer look at what 'the waist and horse move in perfect harmony' means," Uncle Qing gestured for him to pay attention.

At this moment, Li Ge's strong body leaned back slightly, and his right foot was pointing diagonally backward.

In an instant, the footwork exerts force, the power rises from the ground, twists the hips, transmits to the waist, and the shoulders and upper arms move forward.

After the fishing rod is thrust into the sky at a 45-degree angle, the sound of it striking the air is extremely pleasant, and you can tell at a glance that it is quite valuable.

As the lead vehicle flew towards the azure sea, the wheels were rapidly clearing the air, and soon a crisp "ding" sound rang out.

"Brilliant."

"Damn, the 200-meter cup is over, freaking!"

That's awesome.

Qin Dahe opened his mouth wide and threw a 200-meter ball. Was he even human?

"Does Uncle Li practice martial arts?" Judging from his movements, you can tell he has a very stable lower body.

"Haha, Brother Li is really good at this, but long-range shooting is something that really makes people tough guys." Uncle Qing said smugly, and started baiting his own hook.

Long-distance casting is not something the average person can do. Don't be fooled by how cool a casting looks; the fishing rod and reel together cost at least 15,000 yuan.

When it flies out with a "ding," the force is frightening. If the line gets caught, the fishing line, leader, and sinker will all be gone, resulting in a loss of at least 200 yuan.

There were about a dozen people on the beach, but only four of them were doing long-distance throwing; most people don't have that skill.

Everyone else was fishing for small fish in the rocky area on the side; quite a few people could already be seen.

Qin Dahe watched with great envy and immediately prepared to start his long-range shot.

"If this is your first time playing, turn off the spool after casting it 70 or 80 meters, or the line will break."

"I do a lot of lure fishing regularly." He nodded, seemingly unsure whether to admit it or not.

It's just a spool of fishing line. He'll just put on a 110-gram sinker and cast the first time a long distance, with 150 meters of fishing line.

Uncle Qing, who was standing nearby, also started preparing. He brought two long-casting fishing rods, which he usually kept in the trunk.

On my first cast, the air crackled, and after casting 170 meters, the sinker hit the water. The line broke because I didn't turn off the spool in time.

With only about twenty meters left, it was quickly sorted out. The fishing rod was planted directly in the ground, and then a new fishing rod was used.

Qin Dahe thought for a moment, then took a long-casting rod and a lure rod and went to the reef area.

The reef is higher, so you should be able to throw it farther, but the terrain is a bit complicated and it's easy to slip and fall.

"Dahe, watch your step when you go over there."

"got it."

The rocky area he went to was quite far away. He huffed and puffed as he climbed over, carrying his fishing box. He stretched out his four legs and sat on the fishing box to catch his breath for a while.

He took out a cigarette and offered it around, while also checking on the other people's catch.

"Brother, what kind of fish is this?" he asked curiously, seeing a small, ugly fish.

"Stonefish, they're poisonous, be careful not to get pricked." The person being questioned didn't seem to mind, and instead proudly said that the fish cost over a hundred yuan per kilogram.

"sharp."

He knew Shi Jiugong, as well as some small sardines, mudskippers, pufferfish, and so on.

He had never seen most of the fish before, and he was too embarrassed to keep asking.

He knew that sea fish were poisonous, and he had specially brought wire gloves today to prevent being pricked.

After finishing a cigarette, I had rested enough to start preparing for the long-distance casting operation.

There are a lot of steel nails driven into the reef, so someone has probably been down there. We'll just hang the fishing rod's safety line on the nails later.

Although he's never played with a long-distance casting rod, he's a master of the art of waist and hip coordination, and even though his back strength has declined somewhat after marriage, it doesn't affect him.

I deliberately found a flat spot with few people, and as I shifted my hips and twisted my waist, the fishing rod crackled in the air.

A typical fishing rod costing a few hundred yuan simply doesn't have this effect; the spool clears the line at lightning speed.

Finally, a "ding" sound caught the attention of other anglers. Another formidable person had arrived?

"Done drinking?" The person next to him turned around and asked loudly, his voice so clear that it could be heard from afar.

"It's all gone, but it's only 150 meters." Qin Dahe chuckled as he hung up the safety line and placed the fishing rod aside.

Then I started fishing for sword shrimp in the rocky area as usual. I threw half a shrimp brick into my spot without breaking it apart, so that the shrimp brick would stay in the spot longer.

The first hook used a string of hooks, and all six shrimp were caught. The bottom sinker was a teardrop-shaped sinker that he made himself.

The sinkers used for sea fishing are long and thin, which reduces resistance when pulling them up, but they tend to snag on the bottom when they fall down. He specifically modified them to be longer.

The reef area has a structure, and both freshwater and saltwater fish, especially small fish, like the structure. Large fish like to eat the smaller fish around the structure, so there must be a lot of fish here.

Otherwise, why would so many people go through all that trouble to climb up here? It's all for fishing, isn't it?

You can actually use floats for sea fishing, such as the "Apo" float, which is a flat, round float with a movable buckle at the bottom.

The wind and waves weren't too big today, but because of the reefs blocking the way, there were still some white waves below, so I could only fish with a flat rod.

Everyone else was at least two or three meters away, so there was enough space.

He had only been in the water for a short while when the rod tip bent, and he immediately began to reel in the water and lean back.

He used quite a bit of force, and after the pressure was released, the clear, ringing sound of the rotating wheel rang incessantly.

When they finally scooped the fish up, they discovered it weighed about a pound.

With its gray-black scales and dorsal fin spread out, it was firmly grasped while wearing wire gloves.

"Brother, what kind of fish is this?"

"Black sea bream, you don't even know that?" Someone nearby walked over. "Where did you buy this box?"

"This is my first time rock fishing," Qin Dahe said with a smile, casually tossing the black sea bream into his tackle box.

I didn't catch any black sea bream when I went to the East China Sea last time. I caught mostly mullet back then, and the fish described in the book are a bit different from the fish in reality.

During the conversation, I learned that the other person's name was Awei and that he often hung around the area.

"I made the fishing box myself in my factory. It keeps things warm and can also hold fishing gear." He opened the box and showed it to the other person.

"The fishing box is pretty good, bro, can you buy me one?" He said, pulling money directly from his pocket. "I'll give you a little extra for your trouble, how about you do me a favor?"

He was very direct and sincere, simply asking for help to get some equipment.

Trust is the most important thing among anglers. Besides, if you can afford to cast long distances, you're unlikely to be short of money.

"Haha, I'll bring you one tomorrow. Come fishing again tomorrow." Qin Dahe pushed the money back directly. "Forget about the money. Just bring me a 200-meter No. 5 Dyneema tomorrow."

After saying that, he invited the other person to stand on the side and fish together.

It's always good to have someone to go with when you're new to sea fishing.

Without further ado, Awei brought his fishing gear with him, and the two chatted and fished at the same time, with Awei even helping him correct some of his mistakes in sea fishing.

The long-casting rod stirred; the tip was trembling slightly, indicating a fish had taken the bait.

Qin Dahe quickly put down his lure rod, attached a safety line, and then went to raise his long-casting rod.

"Wow, that's strong!" He excitedly started reeling in the line. The reel used for long-casting rods is special; you turn the hand one revolution and the spool reel in three revolutions to save time.

Otherwise, if someone were playing on a 200-meter track, it would take them ages to bring it back.

"Another black sea bream! This one's huge, at least three pounds," Awei said enviously. "You've already caught a big catch before the tide even comes in. Impressive."

Qin Dahe happily put the black sea bream in his fishing box and weighed it down with ice, planning to take it home that night and cook it.

"Awei, is this a high tide or a normal tide?"

"It's a normal tide; spring tides are still a few days away."

"You can just subscribe to a local weather forecast via text message later; it will send you the tide times every day."

"Okay." I didn't expect that the weather forecast for coastal cities would include this feature.

Hang the sandworms again, and in one smooth motion, twist your hips and waist, the distance to the cup is just right.

He thought to himself smugly that he seemed to be using 150 meters of cable quite easily, so maybe he should switch to 200 meters next time.
I've already caught two black sea bream, and I can just fish anywhere else to make a meal, which is just right for my uncle's family as well.

I tugged the lure rod once, but when I felt there were no bites, I put it back.

The shrimp in the fishing box were starting to lose their vitality. He had bought a little over a pound in total, and he and Uncle Qing each took half. Once they ran out, they would have to use oysters or sardine chunks for fishing.

Most of the anglers nearby had these; they could just exchange a few hooks and sinkers for a few coins, and that would be enough. This was what Uncle Qing taught him.

Currently, sea fishing is quite expensive and is a niche hobby, but the atmosphere among the participants is quite good.

Especially on this beach, almost everyone knows each other, and you can borrow fishing line if you don't have enough.

That's why Awei just gave him money to help buy a fishing box.

For the next hour, there were no bites, and Qin Dahe was quite frustrated. He hadn't realized that sea fishing could have such a long period of no bites.

He thought the fish would keep coming.

I changed the lure again for the long-distance casting rod. Although the casting motion looked cool, it was really tiring.

Waiting for the mouth is fine, but if you have to do the big jump on the iron plate, you'll probably be exhausted by the end of the day.

At this moment, the tide began to surge slightly, and the four people on the other side of the beach also came up with their fishing rods.

"Dahe, how is it?" Uncle Qing came to his side first.

"Two black sea bream, and then nothing else."

"I'm lucky." He nodded slightly, then said smugly, "I caught a grouper today, a good one."

"Let me take a look." Qin Dahe immediately became interested, opened the fishing box, and found that the green-spotted mandarin fish was actually quite similar to the spotted mandarin fish, which was quite amazing.

"sharp."

"Haha, alright, take a break. The tide's coming in soon, so put the long-casting rod away."

The four of them came up to wait for the tide to come in. At this time, you can catch big fish with a long-casting rod, but it's not as fast as using a lure fishing rod, so they all came up.

People started handing out cigarettes, and Qin Dahe got one too, lighting it right there in front of them.

The rules for smoking should be uniform across the country. Lighting a cigarette in front of someone is a sign of respect, while tucking it behind your ear is somewhat disrespectful.

Many people came over to ask where he bought the fishing box and then asked him to bring one back for them.

Qin Dahe was both amused and exasperated. He told them to register on the spot and that he would ask his father to send over twenty more fishing boxes later, since the garage could hold them all anyway.

There's nothing we can do about it; using silver carp and bighead carp bait isn't suitable for fishing in the south, as it attracts too many small fish.

The fishing tackle shop in Shenzhen received two shipments, but sales were poor, so they didn't mention the idea of ​​sharing a rental.

I'll enjoy fishing for the next couple of days, then I'll see if I can continue to cooperate with fishing tackle shops and also take care of the shrimp brick issue.

A 600-gram shrimp bait brick costs 20 yuan, which is still too expensive.

The cost of processing shrimp into powder is close to 170 or 180 yuan per kilogram, so we need to talk to a major supplier.

Thinking of this, he asked Uncle Qing, who was tying up the leader.

"Hey, the biggest supplier of shrimp bricks around here is the Li family. I'll get their phone number for you later."

"Thank you, Uncle Qing."

"No need for thanks, the tide is coming in, hurry up and cast your line."

The people around were doing the same, hanging shrimp or sandworms on the rocks, and the more extravagant ones were hanging live white seals.

Most of the time, it's definitely a loss, but catching fish is really fun.

Uncle Qing is hanging sandworms, six live ones on a string, which is quite expensive.

This thing is like a centipede; it can wriggle in seawater, similar to the effect of a freshwater loach.

Many people chose sandworms, while Qin Dahe himself chose small sword shrimp. He had just finished eating a few sandworms and was waiting for a bigger bite before hanging more.

A dozen or so people gathered on the rocks, creating quite a lively scene. As the tide came in, someone would catch a fish every now and then.

Uncle Qing also caught a yellow-legged sea bream weighing about eight ounces. It was similar to a black sea bream, but the pelvic fins and the lower half of the caudal fin were slightly yellow.

"A grouper has appeared, damn!" someone shouted. A man in the corner pulled up a grouper with tiger stripes all over its body, weighing at least four or five pounds.

"Damn, a tiger grouper costs over a thousand yuan. I'm so lucky."

"Could it have escaped from the fish farm?"

"The fish fillets don't look like this; they're obviously wild."

Qin Dahe also caught a fish, but he still watched enviously as others caught grouper. They were so lucky!

Unexpectedly, I ended up with three flights, three Shi Jiugong.

This thing is as insignificant as freshwater catfish.

He angrily removed the fish and threw it into the fishing box. This time, he switched to sandworms, and Uncle Li also brought over a few mantis shrimps.

"This is my first time here. I'm hoping to catch a couple of groupers."

"Thank you, Uncle Li." He politely accepted the mantis shrimp.

Live shrimp are not cheap and are hard to find. I didn't see any mantis shrimp when I bought fish bait.

Live seafood, including white octopus, is sold at high prices as soon as it comes ashore, making it difficult to find any to use as bait.

Shenzhen is still relatively new and can't compare to Shanghai. The sea fishing market there is larger, and it's close to Zhoushan, so seafood is plentiful.

There were four mantis shrimp in total. Qin Dahe caught two on his first cast, and the remaining two were caught on the next cast.

Just a few minutes after casting the bait, I suddenly felt a heavy weight in my hand. I had caught a big fish, and I couldn't help but get excited.

"The catch has arrived." He chuckled and started reeling in the line, hooking the fish right away.

This time it's a size 5 Dyneema rod, capable of carrying a 10-pound fish, as long as the rod can support it.

Tilt the fishing rod downwards slightly to prevent it from snapping and allow for easy pulling.

"Wow, they even caught a conger eel, weighing four or five pounds! That's impressive!" Everyone was surprised when the fish was brought in.

The magnificent colors give the moray eel a mysterious and unpredictable aura.

There are indeed moray eels in the reef area, but they are not easy to catch.

Once it swallows the hook and burrows into the cracks in the rocks, it's impossible to pull it up. It's even more troublesome than a grouper, and in the end, the line always breaks.

"Dahe, just smash it to death, otherwise it'll bite people if you put it in the fishing box," Uncle Qing shouted. He had fish on his own fishing rod and didn't have time to pay attention to him at the moment.

"Okay." After looking around and finding nothing suitable, he simply picked up the knife and stepped forward.

Not feeling safe even with the wire gloves on, he wrapped a piece of cloth around his hand and deftly held the eel down.

After gutting and disemboweling them, they were hung up to bleed.

The remaining entrails weren't wasted either; they were hung on the hook and used for fishing.

This thing smells very bloody, making it perfect for sea fishing.

Uncle Qing also pulled the fish up; two stone nine-headed fish, which were the most abundant type of fish in the area.

"I'm lucky today, the stone fish is big." He happily put the fish into his fishing box.

"Is Shi Jiugong also delicious?" Qin Dahe asked curiously, having never tried it before.

"The taste is just as good as grouper, but it's a hassle to clean."

This strategy is really just like an IOU.

The taste of the white strip is just as good as that of the upturned bean, and even a bit better, but it takes a lot of effort to prepare.

In the past, he would get scolded every time he caught small fish by setting fish traps.

I borrowed a bucket from a fellow angler nearby and threw it down to collect some seawater. I washed my hands with the water and will buy a new bucket later.

I was missing a lot of things today, I'll make up for it next time I go fishing.

After rinsing the eel and throwing it into the fishing box, the two black sea bream were already dead. It's very difficult for sea fish to survive once they're brought ashore.

Seeing the lure rod start moving again, I was delighted and started reeling in the line once more.

(End of this chapter)