As a Fisherman, My Fish Can Level Up

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Fishing in the Mountain Pool

For the next two days, Chu Mingcheng continued to fish for softshell turtles in the abandoned pond, but the catch dwindled, netting only eight turtles in two days, three of which were under four pounds and were released by him, leaving only five.

Together with the seven he caught the day before yesterday, he now has twelve wild softshell turtles at home.

The smallest is just over two pounds, with the largest weighing five pounds.

Chen Qing and the others will be coming to the island this afternoon, and all twelve turtles are spoken for by the three of them.

They can’t eat them all themselves, so they can also give some away.

Today, as usual, he went for a run. There had been rain last night, leaving the air on the island exceptionally fresh, which made Chu Mingcheng’s running feel even better today.

He returned from breakfast just around six-thirty and began to get ready to fish for softshell turtles at the reservoir. Just as he was about to leave with Xiao Mi, Yao Xin, a female fishing buddy he had met a few days before, sent him a message.

“Little bro, today a few of us are going to fish for stream rockfish. Are you coming?”

Stream rockfish?

It was another fish species he was unfamiliar with, and naturally, Chu Mingcheng was intrigued.

Why else would he have made a point to build good relationships and join the group? This was precisely the reason!

Being guided by someone in fishing is certainly better than groping alone.

“Of course, I’ll come. Send me the address.”

“Sure thing! Oh, and you just need to bring a 4.5-meter pole, preferably a carbon one, light enough. The line configuration should be 1+0.6, with a size 3 barbed hook.”

“You don’t need to bring bait, I’ve got a secret concoction here. I’ll give you some when you get here. Commercial bait doesn’t really attract stream rockfish, they don’t bite.”

“OK, I’ll get ready and head out.”

Yao Xin must go fishing often since she seemed to know the terrain very well, so there was no need for him to bring several rods to match the location’s conditions randomly.

Moreover, he had a 4.5-meter carbon rod, which was exactly what he had bought at the beginning, usually used for fishing for Crucian Carp. Now it could be used for other fish as well.

Still, he made a trip to the fishing store. The owner thought he was there to inquire about the two sea rods he had ordered.

“Little bro, your rods haven’t arrived yet. I specially leveraged a connection to order them from abroad for you. The quality is definitely better than the domestically outsourced ones. Just wait a little longer.”

“I’ll call you when the rods arrive.”

“No rush, no rush. I’m here today to fish for stream rockfish; I need to buy some line and hooks,” Chu Mingcheng explained his purpose for the visit.

He had been happily fishing for softshell turtles lately and hadn’t yet contemplated sea fishing. Purchasing the rods was just about being prepared in advance.

After buying the line and hooks, Yao Xin also sent over the location, a place called Stone Town.

Chu Mingcheng had never been there; he only knew it was across the river from Wen City, and that there were many mountains around.

The trip there was quite a drive, taking about forty-five to fifty minutes by car. @@novelbin@@

Around 7:20, Chu Mingcheng arrived next to a supermarket called Sunlight Supermarket in Stone Town, which was the location Yao Xin had sent him.

Since he was fishing with others today, he didn’t bring Xiao Mi along.

Just as he was about to get out of the car and look for Yasun, the co-driver’s window of the nearby Toyota Land Cruiser rolled down, revealing Sister Yao’s face.

Chu Mingcheng quickly rolled down his window and greeted her, “Sister Yao!”

Sister Yao smiled at him and said, “Follow this car in a moment; we’re setting off now.”

“Got it.”

The Toyota started and began to lead the way, with Chu Mingcheng following behind, making mental notes of the route.

If the place they were going to turned out to be a good fishing spot, he could come back on his own next time or bring Zhang Wei along.

Soon, they arrived at the foot of a hill next to a stream.

The Toyota Land Cruiser stopped in an open area, and three people got out of the car.

Besides Sister Yao, the other two were men.

The driver was a man who looked to be about the same age as Yao Xin, and he was somewhat handsome.

The man who got out of the backseat was dark-skinned but quite charming, and older than the rest of them, probably over forty.

However, when Chu Mingcheng got out, both men were momentarily taken aback.

The older man didn’t seem to mind, but the younger one started to feel uneasy.

In terms of looks, physique, and height, he didn’t seem to have the advantage. The only advantage he might have was financial strength, after all, the other guy’s car wasn’t much to look at.

Yet seeing Yao Xin’s enthusiasm for this person, his sense of crisis only increased.

Times have changed, women don’t place much importance on certain aspects anymore.

When they meet a handsome guy, even if they don’t consider a relationship, they definitely wouldn’t mind something happening, because they don’t feel like they’re losing out, especially women who are over thirty.

“Ah Cheng, let me introduce you. This is He Zheng, Brother He, and Brother He has a boat, you know!”

“Hello Brother He, I’m Chu Mingcheng. You can just call me Ah Cheng.” When he heard He Zheng had a boat, the smile on Chu Mingcheng’s face became a few degrees more sincere.

He Zheng was outgoing and slapped Chu Mingcheng on the shoulder, joking, “Kid, are you sure you chose the right hobby? With that face of yours, wouldn’t fishing bury your talents?”

“Just trying to raise the average attractiveness of us fishermen!”

“Haha, how interesting!”

Then Yao Xin introduced him to the younger man beside them, whose name was Xu Fang.

When Chu Mingcheng greeted him, he could feel that Xu Fang was polite on the surface, but somewhat distant in reality.

However, he didn’t mind, assuming that after today, this chance encounter would mean they wouldn’t see each other again. It didn’t matter.

He Zheng naturally noticed this scene, but he turned around to fetch his fishing box from the car, as if he hadn’t seen anything.

Yao Xin understood what was going on but didn’t show anything.

Then, the group all picked up their own fishing boxes and walked along the creek up the mountain.

Chu Mingcheng then realized why Xu Fang volunteered to carry Yao Xin’s fishing box—it dawned on him what was going on. This guy was a little fish in the pond!

The destination wasn’t too far; after about twenty minutes, they arrived.

Chu Mingcheng hadn’t expected the small stream he saw at the foot of the mountain to become so wide after climbing, with a large pool as well.

But this wasn’t a stagnant water area; after last night’s rain, the stream was flowing quite quickly today.

Yao Xin then asked, “Ah Cheng, have you ever fished for stream rockfish before?”

Chu Mingcheng shook his head: “Sister Yao, I just got into it during the National Day break. I don’t even know what stream rockfish are, so how could I have fished for them!”

“So, there are stream rockfish in this pool? How do you catch them?”

Seeing that he really didn’t know, Yao Xin started to explain.

“When fishing, we first need to understand the habits of our target fish. Stream rockfish, also known as light-lipped fish, require a lot of oxygen, so they like to live in flowing mountain waters.”

“At the same time, they are very alert and cautious fish, usually preferring to hide under rocks or in crevices. If you catch a stream rockfish in clear water, the others nearby will scatter and no longer bite.”

“That’s why we’ve chosen this pool, because the current is neither too fast nor too slow, and the water is murky—perfect for the stream rockfish to hide.”

“Additionally, there are specific times for fishing stream rockfish, with early summer in May and June and late fall being the best times. Mornings to midday are the prime time to catch them.”

“After midday, when the water temperature rises, stream rockfish will swim to deeper waters, and they’re not as easy to catch.”

Chu Mingcheng listened intently, gaining a deeper understanding of the habits of stream rockfish through Yao Xin’s explanation.

“Earlier you mentioned not to buy commercial bait, does this fish have specific requirements for bait too?”

Yao Xin nodded: “That’s right. The best bait for stream rockfish is river shrimp from this stream, followed by rockworms found under stones.

“However, these baits are not easy to obtain, so I got a homemade bait recipe from some experienced people. It’s also very attractive to stream rockfish. If you’re interested, I can send you the recipe later.”

Chu Mingcheng replied with a shy smile, “That would be really kind of you!”