As a Fisherman, My Fish Can Level Up

Chapter 145: Chapter 136 Zhang Wei: Did I catch a fish? I did not!_2

Chu Mingcheng knew what he meant and smiled, shaking his head, “Don’t be in such a hurry, let’s talk about it after we return. Maybe there will be better fish by then!”

When Chen Yang heard him say this, he felt more anticipation.

The three of them continued with their tasks, as Chu Mingcheng swam back to the same spot.

However, when he passed the first trap, he was surprised to find that it had already been triggered.

Pulling out the bamboo stick, oh, what a find, a Ban Qin shrimp as big as a small arm was pulled out.

It twitched a few times, wrapped up in the fishing line, but unfortunately, it couldn’t break free.

He flipped the shrimp over to check its belly, and a clear streak of roe appeared in his line of sight—it was a female.

This was quite valuable, worth a full one hundred yuan more than a male.

With the shrimp in hand, he reached the side of the boat and placed it into a jar.

Because the jars were in the water, it did not disturb the two on the boat.

Catching shrimp turned out to be much easier than Chu Mingcheng had expected, so he didn’t plan to look for other creatures while searching for small openings.

He swam quickly along the surface, setting traps whenever he found a hole.

After about fifteen minutes, he had used up all his traps.

He then checked on the first trap, and surely, a shrimp had been caught there as well.

Catching shrimp was going smoother than expected, but when he collected all the traps, there were only five Ban Qin shrimp measuring over twenty centimeters, while the smaller ones, he released back.

Checking the time, it was already eleven o’clock, but he didn’t plan to go back. Instead, he headed to another unexplored area and set down seven more traps.

Having caught ten Ban Qin shrimp earlier, he had gained some experience.

The openings of shrimp burrows were quite small, but in reality, based on the size of the shrimp, the diameter inside could be much larger once the entrance was dug out a bit.

So this time, he dug each opening a little wider, setting traps in the larger ones and ignoring the smaller ones.

This time, the first trap hadn’t been triggered, so he returned to the boat.

Chu Mingcheng grabbed the fishing line and with the other hand, he spun the jar containing the Ban Qin shrimp around a few times before taking it down.

He swam to the steps of the boat and yelled to the two fishers, “Whoever is free, fill up a fish box with seawater, then put this jar in there and turn on the oxygen pump.”

Zhang Wei had just hooked a fish and was occupied.

Chen Yang was free at the moment, so he walked over, looked at the shrimp in the jar, and was a bit astonished, “When did you catch this? I had no idea.”

“The jar was underwater, so you guys couldn’t hear anything.”

“Alright then!”

Chen Yang filled the fish box with seawater, took the jar, placed it inside, and turned on the oxygen pump. Chu Mingcheng continued to dive and brought up the other four jars containing shrimp.

“Nice one, you’ve caught five and they’re all so big!” Zhang Wei also came over, his hands, as always, holding a small fish.

Black and blue stripes—it was clearly an ornamental fish.

Chu Mingcheng was taken aback, “Hold on, you’re at sea and you’re still fishing for small fish?”

Zhang Wei felt greatly mocked and immediately protested, “What do you mean I’m at sea still fishing for small fish? It’s just that this spot is so bad, there simply aren’t any big fish, okay?”

In response, Chen Yang added dryly from the side, “I just caught a three-pound Black Sea Bream.”

“I swear…” With a “thud,” Zhang Wei tossed the small ornamental fish he had just caught back into the water, “Are you blind? When did I ever catch a fish?”

“…” Chu Mingcheng and Chen Yang exchanged looks and simultaneously gave him a thumbs-up.

This was a man who would rather go without than be insulted by a tiny fish!

It was noon, and all three of their stomachs were growling with hunger.

After Chu Mingcheng returned to the boat, he had them take out the electric stove, pot, and seasonings, as well as the meat and vegetables they’d bought in the morning.

With some dipping sauces prepared, they could simply blanch the ingredients in the pot and eat them. They didn’t spare the Sea Snails and scallops caught in the morning either.

They ate their fill at noon, about eighty percent full, and after taking some time to digest, Chu Mingcheng once again dived into the water to check on the traps.

All seven traps had caught something, and his method was not wrong—five of them contained catches over twenty centimeters long. Only two were a bit small and were released.

Unfortunately, the fish resources around this area were average. Aside from the Clear Water Grouper caught in the morning, no other valuable big catches were encountered.

Not even a lobster, perhaps because this place wasn’t too far from the dock, and it was often frequented by others!

Only the Ban Qin shrimp that hid in caves were usually overlooked, so no one bothered to dive specifically for them.

Chu Mingcheng didn’t know the specifics either. He wiped his body with a towel, didn’t bother to wash off the sea water completely, and started the boat toward the next destination.

The next destination was a set of rocky reefs with a quite extensive range.

It was a bit of a distance, taking nearly an hour to get the boat near the reef area.

The water here was far from the dock, the surface appearing blue-green and clear.

But a questionable point puzzled Chu Mingcheng. Although there were many boats at the dock, he noticed that since setting out to sea, no matter where he went, he hardly ever encountered any other fishing boats. He wondered where those people usually went to fish.

Without a clear idea of those fishing men’s routes, he could only search for suitable spots on his own.

Chen Yang and Zhang Wei continued to fish, while Chu Mingcheng dived into the water once again.

If the seawater looked blue-green from above, it meant the actual clarity of the water wasn’t great.

The best condition for seawater is blue. When it’s even slightly green, it means the water is somewhat turbid.

The greener it gets, the muddier it is. Hence, green should be avoided, as it’s a warning from nature.

The waves were a bit strong in this area, and Chu Mingcheng had to exert some effort to balance himself after diving in.

The current’s speed must have reached about three to four knots, an environment only seasoned fishers and hunters would dive in.

He submerged into the water, noticing the visibility was around ten meters—pretty good.

He had intended to swim towards the reef cluster, but then, to his surprise, he discovered that the underwater fish resources were exceptionally rich.

Wait a minute, it seemed like he had checked the fish finder earlier… He hadn’t noticed any fish then!

So, he swam back to the boat and called out, “Zhang Wei, go inside and check the fish finder, see if there are fish on it. Also, bring my spear gun, I’m going fishing!”

“Oh, okay.” Zhang Wei quickly went into the cabin, and when he came out, he was holding the spear gun, “Ah Cheng, there are fluctuations on the fish finder, and there are some thick red dots. Does that mean there are fish?”

Chu Mingcheng nodded, “Yes, I saw a group of Red snappers and Red Friends underwater. You guys hurry up and bait the spot to fish.”

“Got it!” Zhang Wei handed the spear gun to him, his expression filled with excitement as he went off to fish.

Chen Yang had heard their conversation the entire time and now put away his small fishing rod in exchange for a larger one with a thicker line setup.