As a Fisherman, My Fish Can Level Up

Chapter 42: Chapter 42 Mackerel Isn’t Valuable

The fishing season brought more and more people to the wharf, where anglers fished and net casters spread their nets, creating a lively scene.

Zhao Jun could only net the small mackerel that swam in the upper layer; they weren’t very large, each measuring roughly fifteen centimeters.

Chu Mingcheng fished for the bigger mackerel in the deeper waters, which were also plentiful, but every single one was over twenty-five centimeters with large, fat bellies.

Within just twenty or so minutes, he had already caught nineteen, nearly one every minute. The fish were biting incredibly fast.

There was still at least forty or fifty minutes left before the sun would completely set, and the schools of mackerel weren’t going to leave during this time.

This meant that if his luck held and he kept getting continuous bites, he could reel in at least thirty kilograms.

Of course, such a large number of mackerel not only attracted the attention of humans but also more predatory creatures living in the sea.

Large fish occasionally appeared near the wharf since the area was prone to gathering small fish, attracting them to come and hunt.

Right then, in the lower water level invisible to the people above, several large fish had appeared.

Despite the size of the mackerel in lower waters, these predators could swallow them in a blink, biting half the body of a mackerel over twenty centimeters and then gulping down the rest in another swift motion.

There were also some smaller predators that couldn’t swallow such big mackerel, so they swam to the mid and upper layers to hunt for smaller ones.

Chu Mingcheng was oblivious to the commotion beneath the water; his sinking minnow was enticing fish to bite as it swayed gently along the seabed!

Originally, he had hoped to attract mackerel, but the movement at that moment caught the attention of a large grouper nearby.

It was drawn by the mackerel, but they were quick swimmers, and it wasn’t easy for the grouper to catch them.

However, the current speed of the sinking minnow was slow, which made it an immediate target for the grouper.

Standing on the boat, Chu Mingcheng lightly shook the fishing rod and turned the handle with his right hand, winding in the line slowly.

“Whoosh~”

The fishing line suddenly tensed, and Chu Mingcheng instinctively lifted the rod to set the hook, as the line zipped across the water surface, creating a pleasant slicing sound.

“Ei, ei, ei~”

The force this time was unlike any before, nearly pulling the unprepared Chu Mingcheng off the boat; fortunately, his timely reaction and foot braced against the gunwale steadied him.

“What’s going on? What’s going on?” Zhao Jun, noting the commotion, hurried over to ask.

“Nothing, I’ve hooked a big one!” Chu Mingcheng replied while grappling with the fish in the water.

Line from the spinning reel was intermittently being pulled out, but he dared not exert too much force, for fear of either breaking the line or exploding the rod.

From the moment he regained his composure, he knew he had caught a big fish, one that was exerting more force than the twenty-kilogram green spot lianyong he had fished for before.

This put Chu Mingcheng on edge; as a fishing novice, he only knew that bigger fish required sturdier rods and thicker lines.

He had no confidence in catching big fish with a light rod—not because it was impossible but because it required skill and understanding of the fish’s movements, both of which demanded ample experience!

But now, like a duck forced onto a perch, Chu Mingcheng had no choice but to do his best.

The tight fishing line continued to convey heart-pounding strength, and the reel kept letting out line.

The rod was now curved into a full moon shape, making him anxious yet exhilarated. @@novelbin@@

“Hold steady, take it slow!” Zhao Jun, who had stopped casting his net, stood beside him, barely daring to breathe loudly, looking even more tense than Chu Mingcheng.

“Squeak, squeak, squeak~”

“Woo~”

“Squeak, squeak, squeak~”

After five or six minutes, as the force of the fish in the water grew weaker, Chu Mingcheng started to pull back the rod and then turn the handle to wind in the line.

The fish’s initial burst of strength had passed, easing the tension in his heart slightly.

Although the fish’s power had taken him by surprise at the start, by now, Chu Mingcheng realized that the fish he had hooked might not be as big as he had imagined.

“As long as you pay attention, you should be able to reel it in,” Ah Cheng thought.

The angle of the fishing line, originally slanting downwards, was now gradually becoming parallel, indicating that the fish had been pulled up from the lower layers to the upper surface of the water.

With a “splash,” a huge wave arose on the sea surface twenty-some meters away, attracting the attention of many people on the shore.

“Darn, there’s still a big fish? Hurry up and change the rod and line, stop fishing for mackerels!”

Some of the seasoned Fishing Men, equipped with full gear, immediately switched their targets upon seeing the big fish and brought out their equipment for landing big catches.

Chu Mingcheng naturally saw the huge splash and the fleeting glimpse of a brown shape, and a smile of surprise spread across his face.

But now was not the time to be happy, the fish hadn’t been reeled in yet!

For safety’s sake, Chu Mingcheng didn’t rush to bring the fish back in. The fish was still putting up a strong fight, so he chose to keep “walking” it.

After about fifteen minutes, the big fish was finally walked near the fishing boat.

The two people on the boat could now clearly see what kind of fish it was, a speckled grouper, also known as green spot.

“Haha, Ah Cheng, your luck is spot on. You said you came for mackerels, but what do you get? A grouper,” Zhao Jun swiftly clamped the fish gripper accurately onto the green spot’s big mouth and then exerted strength to lift the fish onto the boat.

Since Chu Mingcheng hadn’t expected a big fish, and for mackerel you could just lift the rod, he hadn’t brought up a landing net.

Luckily the fish gripper was small and portable, so they kept it directly in the tackle box.

“Not bad, this green spot weighs thirteen jin three taels.” The green spot seemed to be about sixty centimeters long, with a round belly.

Zhao Jun weighed the fish with the gripper and sounded a bit envious.

Wild green spots could sell for eighty yuan a jin, making this one over one thousand yuan.

He had just spread his net for so long, nearly filling two baskets with mackerels, totaling about one hundred jin. He had no idea if it could sell for even half the price of this single fish.

“Haha, I didn’t expect to be this lucky!” Chu Mingcheng felt pretty good catching a big grouper for the first time, and now he was suddenly looking forward to his new sea rod.

Fishing for these big fish with a lure rod made him somewhat jittery, fearing that any wrong move might cause the line to snap or the rod to blow up.

Upon removing the sinking minnow from the grouper’s mouth and seeing the heavily worn leader line, Chu Mingcheng broke out in cold sweat.

It really was lucky to have landed this green spot, if it had been dragged on for a few more minutes, not only the rod but also the line would have snapped.

Chu Mingcheng decided that when he got back in the evening, he would look up online which kind of fishing line was durable and abrasion-resistant, as it would be a shame to finally catch a big fish and then have the line not hold up.

The green spot was temporarily stored by Zhao Jun in the fish box on the boat, at least ensuring it would still be alive when sold.

Chu Mingcheng changed the leader line without wasting time and continued fishing for mackerels.

In the following period, some people onshore were also lucky enough to catch big fish, including groupers and other predatory species.

But there were also a few who had less luck and blew up their rods.

It continued until the sun set, and the school of mackerels moved away.

Zhao Jun could hardly catch a few with his net, and Chu Mingcheng also had several strikes without catches.

“The school has dispersed; let’s go back and sell the fish!”

“Okay!” Chu Mingcheng had no objections. He estimated that he had caught about fifty jin of mackerels. They were all quite big, with the smallest being around twenty centimeters, mostly above twenty-five centimeters.

He had specifically set aside those mackerels with particularly big bellies, nine in total, which weighed about fifteen or sixteen jin.

He planned to try some himself and give the rest away.

Back onshore, many vendors were buying fish.

Chu Mingcheng inquired around and learned that the medium- and small-sized mackerels that Zhao Jun had netted were only going for four yuan a jin, which was too cheap.

However, they needed to be frozen for sale in the market for about ten yuan or so; the low price wasn’t surprising.

For his larger-sized catch, the price wasn’t much better, at eight yuan a jin. It was outrageously low.