sinovels Chapter 73: The screen went completely red.
Chapter 73: The screen went completely red.
Zhou Miao originally thought he would have to fight the fish for several rounds, but when he tried to lift the fishing rod after setting the hook, he found that the rod did not move at all.
Could I have misjudged? Is this a fish even bigger than a sea bream?
But he's even handled a giant grouper, so how could this fish be bigger than a giant grouper?
He refused to believe it and gritted his teeth, lifting up with all his might.
The fishing rod was bent like a bow, creaking and looking like it was about to burst at any moment.
But the fish at the bottom of the water didn't move at all, as if it had hooked onto a big rock, pressing down heavily.
If Zhou Miao hadn't felt the fish struggling when he hooked it, he would have thought he had gotten stuck on the bottom.
Wait, is it hanging off the bottom?
Yes, bottom hanging!
Zhou Miao suddenly realized that some fish will quickly hide in caves or bury their heads in the mud and sand to play dead the moment they are hooked. This trick is called "piling" by fishermen.
Sure enough, if you fish often, you'll inevitably encounter all sorts of situations sooner or later.
Now, forcibly pulling will only cause the hook to come off or the line to break, so Zhou Miao no longer tries to do it recklessly.
He flicked his finger, giving the taut fishing line a quick tug.
The vibration is transmitted through the fishing line to the hook, causing the fish to feel pain and pull out on its own.
This is one of the best and most commonly used methods for dealing with fish staking.
Whether the fish will come out depends on luck.
Lu Xiaoxiao, watching from the side, was completely confused and couldn't help but ask, "Brother Miao, why are you constantly flicking the fishing line? Is it some new fishing technique?"
"The fish are hiding in caves or burying their heads in the mud and sand. This is how I get the fish moving, otherwise I can't pull it out," Zhou Miao explained.
He didn't mention things like "piling" or similar terms, which are just fishing jargon and Lu Xiaoxiao wouldn't understand anyway. If he did, she would have to explain it.
Lu Xiaoxiao blinked, finding the story fascinating: "Fish bury their heads in the mud? Isn't that like an ostrich, hiding its head when it's in danger?"
That's roughly the idea.
Zhou Miao smiled and then continued stringing.
At first, there was no reaction at all underwater; the fish just stood there motionless.
But as he persisted, the fish hiding at the bottom of the water gradually began to give out.
The vibrating fishhook kept drilling and drilling into its mouth, causing it to shift its body slightly, trying to relieve the stinging pain.
Zhou Miao immediately sensed the fish's movement through the fishing rod, and was delighted, knowing that it was working, so he flicked the rod even more vigorously.
The fish at the bottom of the water couldn't take it anymore, so they pulled their heads out of the mud and began to struggle violently.
It's finally out!
Zhou Miao immediately seized the opportunity, pointed the pole at his stomach, and lifted it up sharply.
The force was too great for the fish to resist. It tried to burrow to other places, but was pulled away from the bottom of the water.
The big fish panicked and tried desperately to dive down, but after several attempts it found it was no use. Instead it was stuck in place and began to dart around aimlessly.
Zhou Miao knew that now was not the time for him to exert his strength, so he simply held the fishing rod and pressed down on the handle, trying his best to prevent the fishing line from being pulled out.
This is the time to wait for the big fish to exhaust itself; acting recklessly will only lead to accidents.
Three or four minutes later, he felt the pulling force from the bottom of the water gradually weaken.
Take advantage of its exhaustion and kill it!
Ignoring the pain in his stomach from the fishing rod, Zhou Miao used his waist and abdomen to lift the fishing rod up again.
At the same time, the handle rotated rapidly, and the fishing line was quickly reeled in. In just one round, the fish was pulled up two or three meters.
Fishing without a waist belt is indeed quite painful. Zhou Miao braced himself a couple of times before letting the rod tip leave his belly and resumed normal fishing.
At this point, the fish has been pulled to a position close to the middle layer of the water, where the surroundings are open, so if you fish slowly, you don't have to worry about the fish getting away.
So he played the fish while reeling in the line, and after a few more minutes, he finally exhausted the fish and pulled it to the surface.
However, the fish's appearance surprised Zhou Miao; it didn't look like a grouper.
As the fish was pulled closer, Zhou Miao was finally able to see what it looked like under the lights of the fishing boat.
It looks like a very large sea bream, about 70 or 80 centimeters long.
Her bright red skin was very eye-catching, but upon closer inspection, it seemed to have three darker vertical lines that, when combined, resembled the Chinese character "川" (chuan).
"What kind of fish is this?" Lu Xiaoxiao asked, voicing Zhou Miao's thoughts.
"It looks familiar, like I've seen it somewhere before, but I just can't remember." Zhou Miao scratched his head, pulled the fish to the side of the boat, and quickly scooped it up with a large net.
"Even you didn't know!" Lu Xiaoxiao said in surprise.
In her memory, there seemed to be very little about sea fishing that he didn't know.
"There are countless marine creatures; how could I possibly recognize them all?"
Zhou Miao smiled and squatted down to remove the fishhook from the fish's mouth.
"Actually, I haven't been sea fishing for much longer than you. It's just that I watch more videos, so I recognize most common fish. This fish is clearly not a common one."
"I see. But it looks quite valuable."
Its resemblance to a sea bream and its fiery red skin both indicate the fish's value.
Zhou Miao agreed with Lu Xiaoxiao's words.
This big fish is especially lively and can be kept in the live fish hold.
He used a fish gripper to lift the fish and checked its weight; it was a whopping 21.3 jin (approximately 16.5 kg).
No wonder it's so hard to catch. At first, he thought it was about the same size as a grouper, but he didn't expect it to weigh twice as much.
I happily put the fish into the live fish hold. Even if this fish only costs 100 yuan per jin, it can still sell for 2,000 yuan. I've already secured my minimum income for today.
Zhou Miao stopped changing the bait and continued to test the bottom, hoping for another big catch.
However, even as the night wore on, he didn't catch a second big fish; he really only had one guaranteed win.
"Let's stop fishing for now, let's rest and have something to eat."
Seeing that it was already 12:30 a.m., Zhou Miao put down his fishing rod and walked towards the cabin.
One reason was that his arms were very tired from tapping the bottom for a long time, and the other was that he needed to eat something to replenish his energy in preparation for the upcoming "battle".
Seeing him return to the cabin, Lu Xiaoxiao quickly reeled in her fishing line and followed him, taking out all the fruits, snacks, and drinks she had bought.
"Brother Miao, would you like an apple? I'll peel it for you."
"Sure, half for each of us." Zhou Miao nodded, tore open a packet of dried meat, and sat in the driver's seat to enjoy it slowly.
With the fish finder in hand, he can spot the pufferfish as soon as it comes near.
After eating half an apple, several packets of dried meat and bread, and a bottle of juice, Zhou Miao felt that he had recovered to his peak condition.
I'm feeling a bit sleepy and want to go to sleep.
Lu Xiaoxiao next to her was already yawning incessantly. For someone who doesn't usually stay up late, staying up all night occasionally is quite difficult for her.
If Zhou Miao doesn't go to sleep, then she won't rest either.
Just as it was approaching 1 a.m., the previously sparse red dots on the fish finder screen were suddenly filled with a large area of red.
Zhou Miao's drowsiness vanished instantly, his eyes widening in disbelief.
Is it really necessary to go to such extremes?
Isn't the number of fish a bit too terrifying?
Especially since these fish were all located in the middle and upper layers of the water, it means that he doesn't need to go through the trouble of bottom fishing, which will reduce a lot of unnecessary time spent playing the fish.