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墨書 Inktalez
Is Tianhai Gull that productive? Picking up the binoculars from the table, I looked towards where the seagulls were flying, only to find it wasn't just seagulls; a large flock of seabirds was circling above.
"Brother, there are fish schools at two o'clock. Get the rod ready; we’re going to play catch and release!"
I reminded everyone below, "Shut off the Top Flow Device. Shi Tian, prepare to adjust the course; we’ll head out at two o'clock."
"Hold on, let me check the current and see where we can anchor." Scallion Ginger Fishy was peering through the binoculars at the distant shoreline, where a group of seabirds was fluttering. "There must be fish activity over there."
"No need to measure; the panel shows it. Just pull it up from the menu!" With a push on the throttle, we sped up, planning to slow down and find the fishing spot as we got closer.
"As long as there aren’t any whales or dolphins, we should be able to catch something decent," I said.
"Shun Shun, get ready with your rod. You know how to set up the fishing gear, right? Use the carbon line without lead weights and just go with the sea fishing hook." I shouted towards the deck. Shi Tian could already see the seabirds in the distance; we needed to slow down soon.
The speed limit on Feiqiao is thirty knots; any faster and we'd have to stay inside.
Even at thirty knots, getting close to the fish schools could scare them away. We needed to find a good fishing spot and reduce our speed gradually as we approached.
"Master, I can set it up! Leave the fishing gear to me. I’ll prepare a bigger setup for you later in case we encounter a big fish; this rod might be too small!" After replying to Shi Tianyi, Hong Shun dove into the cabin, busy preparing live bait for the fishing gear.
The current here isn’t strong; how can we play catch and release without it? We need to wait until the bait fish swim close to the school before it gets dark.
Checking the wind direction, I determined our fishing spot based on that; without a current, we had to rely on the wind.
Once the boat was anchored properly, I turned around and stepped down onto the deck, reaching out to stop Hong Shun as he came out of the cabin. I took the rod from his hands.
"Shun Shun, you’ve tied this fishing gear beautifully! You’ve learned well!" After inspecting the fishing setup and confirming everything was in order, I decided not to return Hong Shun's rod. After all, I had finally taken on an apprentice—wasn’t he meant for me to tease?
"Master, I’ve prepared your rod too! I’ll get it for you right now!" Seeing Shi Tian getting ready to attach bait fish onto his hook, Hong Shun quickly grabbed another rod from the rack and handed it over.
This kid is quite diligent; not only did he help tie his own fishing gear, but he also prepared setups for Shi Chui, Yi Laotou, and Scallion Ginger Fishy.
But he only prepared one rod for himself—does he think too highly of himself? Are there really that many big fish here?
"You use that one; I'll stick with this one!" Walking towards the stern, I connected the power supply and inserted my rod into the boat's side.
Shi Tian found his spot while Hong Shun hurried over with his rod and stood next to him at their fishing spot, skillfully connecting his power supply. After several outings at sea, they had become quite proficient at this.
Catch-and-release fishing may seem simple but involves various techniques. There’s float fishing and bottom fishing; depending on different weather conditions and target fish species, it can be further divided into several categories.
"There are balloons in the fishing box; grab a few." With such a light current here, we could only rely on wind power.
Once I got some balloons, I tied one onto my fishing setup so that when the wind blew it would carry my bait fish out. Generally speaking, ten meters is sufficient for this kind of setup.
With everything ready, I tossed my bait fish towards Hai Li and slowly drifted towards the fish school. Hong Shun immediately followed suit and began learning from me.
They had previously engaged in catch-and-release, and had played with balloon releases as well. A few of them had already formed a group to blow up balloons. The school of fish was not too far away, just about ten meters. At this rate of line release, it wouldn’t take a minute for the balloon to drift to the edge of the fish school.
When releasing the line, it was important to loosen the drag. When a fish took the bait, it needed to be able to pull the drag easily. After hooking a fish, one had to tighten the drag before lifting the rod to set the hook.
With thirty meters of line released, once the drag clicked, one would tighten it slightly and then quickly lift the rod; if done slowly, the hook wouldn’t penetrate through the fish's mouth and into its bones.
As soon as the hook set, a fish over one and a half meters long leaped out of the water, confirming Shi Tian’s guess that it was a Sailfish. This fish was somewhat lackluster; it wasn’t particularly big or small, weighing at most seventy or eighty pounds—too easy of a challenge.
“Shun Shun, you’ve hooked a fish! Did you see that big one on the surface just now? That’s the one you’ve got!”
“This fish is yours; let’s see if you have the strength to reel it in!” Glancing at Hong Shun beside him, Shi Tian thought that the rod he held looked quite good. The time with this school of fish was limited; he figured this fish would take at least twenty minutes to tire out. If he didn’t want to struggle, he would have to let go of his line; he certainly didn’t want to part with this long line.
“Gifted to me? Thank you, Master! Don’t worry, I’ll definitely reel it in!” He quickly set his rod down and ran over to grab Shi Tian’s rod.
Having previously challenged a Tuna of similar size and managing to reel it in himself made this feel like a piece of cake for him!
After handing the rod over to Hong Shun, Shi Tian turned back towards Hong Shun's earlier fishing spot.
Once he opened the line release switch again, the line continued to run out. The balloon on this rod had already drifted to the outskirts of the fish school; he had released even more line than when he first hooked a fish.
“Now let’s hope it doesn’t bite! I can’t afford to lose that seventy-pound little fish.”
After releasing another twenty meters, he closed the line release switch and glanced at Hong Shun. “That’s a Sailfish on your rod; keep an eye on it! This type of fish can leap out of the water and attack people on board—several have already jumped aboard. Be careful not to let it hurt anyone.”
“Don’t worry, Master! I won’t bring it back until it’s exhausted!” Hong Shun replied immediately.
If the line loosened, he would quickly warn others and then crouch down behind the boat’s side; that would shield him from any attacks from this fish.
As soon as Shi Tian finished speaking, Yi Laotou hooked a fish as well. Judging by its leaps out of the water, this fish was not much different from Hong Shun's—at most seventy or eighty pounds.
Once Yi Laotou hooked his fish, Scallion Ginger Fishy immediately rushed over to help. However, Yi Laotou didn’t need assistance just yet; after all, this was his first Sailfish catch and he wanted to enjoy every moment!
After struggling for half an hour, Hong Shun finally dragged his fish close to the boat. Frowning at his unmoving balloon, he sighed and approached with his hook in hand. With a powerful swing, he drove it deep into the flesh of the fish, venting his frustration.
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