Reborn in the Millennium: Building a Fortune from Fishing

Chapter 575 Golden Threadfin Fish

In Boss Li's words, a real man should be able to withstand a hundred-pound object; using an electric winch is useless.

The electric winch will only be turned on if the fish finds a huge underwater object.

Qin Dahe agreed with this statement. Fishing is all about the fun. He brought his own heavy surf rod, lure rod, and boat rod, which can catch fish of all sizes.

The other frequent fishing boats that came to the Li family's fishing village were the same; only one rich second-generation named Guo Shao didn't bring a lure rod and had to rent one.

He bought the lure rod, which cost 15,000 yuan, on the spot. It would have cost 300 yuan a day to rent.

The bait was also brought out. In the afternoon, each person received half a pound of mantis shrimp and sandworms, as well as three pounds of fish chunks. They didn't need to worry about the groundbait; the crew had already prepared one hundred pounds of "fish bricks."

These fish bricks are feed bricks brought back by ballast from ocean-going fishing vessels; they're also usable for baiting.

As the fishing boat moved forward, a platform could be seen standing in the sea in the distance.

"Everyone go back to your fishing spots and prepare to fish. Those who are not fishing can rest and not disturb others." Boss Li picked up his walkie-talkie and started shouting, and the voice also came from the loudspeakers around the boat.

"The water depth here is between 120 and 150 meters. I recommend a 1.5 kg sinker. I hope everyone catches a lot!"

According to the fishing boat's plan, the target spot for catching big tuna will be at least tomorrow or the day after. Today is just a warm-up. However, everyone is enthusiastically starting to log in and tie up their lines.

There's still plenty of time. From a distance, the platform looks like just a black spot, but it will take at least twenty minutes to get there.

Qin Dahe went back to get his equipment. The water depth here was alright, but if the fish were aggressive, a lure rod would be faster, so he started fishing right away.

Using No. 2 braided line, plus the drag from the reel, it's a sure thing for catching sea fish weighing 20 to 30 pounds.

I also upgraded my heavy surf rod to a 300-meter No. 5 Dyneema rod; I switched gears as soon as the big shipment arrived.

It's not fishing season now, so I went to the refrigerated storage room, got some ice, put it in my tackle box, and waited at my fishing spot.

The gunwale is 1.3 meters high, which provides leverage and prevents the boat from falling overboard.

"Uncle Qing, let's have a competition and see who catches more." He lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. The first competition was about to begin. He wondered what kind of fish could be caught in the open sea.

"Okay, a pack of cigarettes." He was using a heavy surf rod, aiming for a big catch.

The "black spot" grew larger and larger, and soon it was right in front of me.

There were people coming out from above waving and greeting us, so they probably already made contact.

With the anchor down, Boss Li let them officially start fishing. Then he launched a sampan into the sea, bringing a lot of food and seasonings to the drilling platform.

If someone comes here to fish regularly, they'll definitely develop a relationship.

"Damn it, the water's boiling over, damn it." Qin Dahe was quite annoyed. In this situation, there were many small fish, while the big fish were preying on the surface.

"Dahe, you didn't bring your surfboard?" Uncle Qing put his things down; he was going back inside to get his equipment.

"No." He's only been sea fishing for a short time; he doesn't even have all the equipment yet.

Popping is similar to freshwater float fishing; in this kind of fishing situation, popping can result in a very successful catch.

He can also use his Shimano rod in the same way, but the rod is too short and not stiff enough.

Heavy baits won't create splashes or ripples, while light baits can't be cast very far.

After thinking about it, I went to ask the crew on the boat, but it turned out there were no wave climbing poles on the boat.

Although they are recreational fishing boats, they can't be like fishing tackle shops, selling multiple sets of every kind of rod.

Several people on the boat didn't have wave-climbing rods and could only watch enviously as the experienced riders lined their reels.

Well, Qin Dahe didn't dwell on it. Seeing his partner pour a bucket of fish bricks down, he immediately started baiting the hooks.

There are both big and small fish below. Half a pound of sandworms and half a pound of mantis shrimp are definitely not enough. So, with six hooks, we'll use fish chunks first.

There must have been a lot of small fish here, so I tried fishing 30 meters deep. Sea fishing doesn't necessarily mean bottom fishing; just go wherever there are fish. As soon as I went in, there was action. Those who hadn't been fishing for long were already eagerly reeling in their lines.

Qin Dahe waited calmly, ignoring the trembling rod tip. He set the drag to 10 kilograms and waited quite a while before starting to reel in the line, as it seemed to be getting going.

The first cast resulted in three catches, two different kinds of fish. One was a red snapper, and the other was a different kind he didn't recognize, but its rainbow-colored body was quite attractive.

He casually tossed it into the fishing box, and cast the second line with another piece of meat.

I'm still using small fishing hooks; I'll catch some fish to eat tonight.

Boss Li said he would notify us when a big fish comes. Right now, the fish within 200 meters underwater are all small. We'll catch a big one later.

Three fish flew in again, and they were all rainbow-colored ones. It felt so good to catch them.

"Uncle Qing, what kind of fish is this?" He couldn't help but ask as he cast his line again.

The rainbow fish under the sunlight are colorful and incredibly beautiful.

"Golden threadfin bream are quite expensive on land, costing forty or fifty yuan per pound. Fishing boats don't bring back any of these small fish they catch in the first three days."

"Oh." Hearing that it wasn't worth much, he wasn't discouraged and continued with the hook-up work.

Because the fishing was in a shallow area, the hooks were pulled very frequently; as soon as I felt I had caught more than two hooks, I would start reeling them in.

It's not just redwoods and golden threadfin bream; there are too many other unidentified fish.

The various colors and shapes are breaking the conventional understanding of freshwater fishing.

Uncle Qing's fishing method has also caught its first big catch, a knife fish that looks like a large cleaver, with colors even more vibrant than the golden threadfin bream, and it has a strange name, "ghost knife".

It has a large fish head and a golden body; it looks very nice.

It's worthless and doesn't taste good. After Uncle Qing caught it, his buddy immediately started cutting the fish with a knife to bait the area.

The same goes for Qin Dahe. Unless it's a very rare fish, all the other fish caught are cut up by the staff and used for baiting.

This area is close to the continental shelf, and the drilling platform acts as a natural fish magnet, making fishing here incredibly enjoyable.

Ten people were fishing on a large boat over twenty meters long, and shouts and cheers could be heard from all sides, filled with barely suppressed joy.

I cast again, and ten minutes later, I pulled up a big red fish that weighed over ten pounds.

"Is this a red snapper?"

The red snapper I ate on Hong Kong Island last time looks a bit like this, so it should be right, it's so easy to recognize.

"Yes, Mr. Qin, would you like some extra food tonight?" the waiter asked politely.

"Alright, everyone, please have some." He waved his hand dismissively.

Fish caught for less than 100 yuan are now either eaten or used for baiting; there's no way they can be taken home.

Without placing the fish in an ultra-low temperature freezer for seven days, it would be worthless to bring any fish back.

The fishing boat is also equipped with an ultra-low temperature freezer, which can hold four tons of fish. However, only fish of particularly high value can be put in; ordinary fish are not eligible and are simply eaten.

An exclamation came from the stern: "A giant grouper!"

At that moment, a loudspeaker announced, "Congratulations to Mr. Jin at fishing spot number nine for catching a nine-pound grouper."

"Brilliant!"

"Gold Tooth, have some tonight."

"Haha, everyone's having hot pot tonight, it's on me."

(End of this chapter)