As a Fisherman, My Fish Can Level Up
Chapter 318 - Chapter 318 Chapter 273 A Good Start

Chapter 318: Chapter 273: A Good Start Chapter 318: Chapter 273: A Good Start Jiang Luoluo quickly stood up upon noticing the situation with the fishing rod and skillfully grabbed the rod and yanked it upwards with both hands.

“Swoosh~”

The hook had set!

But she couldn’t relax yet, as after hooking a fish it was usually necessary to rapidly turn the reel to wind in the line. If the line wasn’t taut enough, and had some slack, there was still a chance for the fish to escape.

Therefore, Jiang Luoluo immediately pressed the button to activate the electric reel to work on its own.

The fish was big, and the reeling speed of the electric reel was unprecedentedly slow; there were even moments when the fish’s surges would cause the line to be pulled out bit by bit.

The electric reel became very hot in just a short while.

Seeing this, Jiang Luoluo had no choice but to turn it off and quickly picked up a block of ice she had previously prepared in the cold storage to cool it down.

When using an electric reel to fish for large specimens, cooling is a necessary consideration.

Seizing the opportunity, the big fish in the water burst forth in an attempt to escape, and Jiang Luoluo’s small hands clutched on the reel handle, powerless to stop it, her small face turning red with the effort.

Fortunately, she could at least ensure the line was taut, preventing the big fish in the water from getting the chance to “breathe” through its gills.

Once the electric reel cooled down a bit, she immediately turned it back on and resumed the tug-of-war with the big fish.

During the struggle, the big fish, unable to swim away, could only move back and forth from side to side.

Chu Mingcheng frowned at this scene. Despite being several meters away from Jiang Luoluo, a small lapse in attention could lead their lines to cross.

If that happened, there was a risk that both lines would snap, allowing the big fish to get away.

So, he stood up holding his rod and pulled it to the left.

The fish underwater, outmatched in strength and instinctively swimming towards the left due to the pain in its mouth, was dragged in that direction.

Only someone with Chu Mingcheng’s great strength could force a big fish to move where he wanted it.

Under normal circumstances, anyone, including seasoned golden spearfish anglers, would barely be able to contend with the big fish.

Wherever the fish ran, they would follow, appearing to walk the fish, but in reality, it was the fish walking them.

A little while later, Chu Mingcheng arrived at the left side of the boat, leaning against the rail for leverage. Fishing this way wasn’t necessarily more tiring than sitting, just less comfortable.

But by being positioned away from Jiang Luoluo, there was no longer a concern about their lines crossing.

Another twenty minutes passed, and Chu Mingcheng felt that the force transmitted through the fishing rod had significantly lightened.

He knew that the big fish’s first burst of energy had passed, and now it was his turn to shine.

Stepping back from the rail, he rested the fishing rod on the harness at his waist and let out a light shout, starting to lift the rod and wind in the line without stopping.

Each pull, powered by his strong core, reeled the big fish back a meter, and, combined with the quick turning of the handle, he gathered the retrieved line.

The fish was about 150 meters away from him at the moment, and at the current pace, he would need to repeat this action 150 times.

Of course, that was if the fish’s strength hadn’t completely run out.

If the fish lay flat, he wouldn’t need to lift the rod at all, just reel in the line directly.

Chu Mingcheng completed a lift of the rod every two seconds, and with reeling, it took no more than five seconds.

But the big fish wasn’t willing to just give up; it would occasionally burst forth, which considerably extended the time.

Even with Chu Mingcheng’s strength, it still took half an hour to pull the big fish up to the side of the boat.

Only then did the true appearance of the fish reveal itself: a yellowfin tuna nearly one and a half meters long, weighing a little over two hundred pounds.

It wasn’t very big, but it wasn’t bad, and was roughly in line with Chu Mingcheng’s estimate.

In terms of value, it was around ten thousand Big Coins, and Jiang Luoluo probably had a similar catch.

If she could reel it in, then they would have earned close to twenty thousand Big Coins from a bait cost of around four hundred, a high-profit industry indeed.

Of course, other costs had to be factored in, but that would be calculated comprehensively once back on land.

Chu Mingcheng, although sweating profusely due to the hot weather, leaving a damp patch around his collar, didn’t feel too exhausted after reeling in a two-hundred-pound golden spearfish in under an hour.

The benefits of his physical enhancement were once again apparent.

Chu Mingcheng placed the fishing rod into the rod holder on the rail, locked the drag on the reel, and then hurriedly picked up the gaff that was placed near Jiang Luoluo.

The yellowfin tuna, pulled savagely to the side of the boat, didn’t seem to have as much vitality as expected.

With the drag locked on the reel, the fish hadn’t swum out far just now. Chu Mingcheng grasped the reel handle, giving it a few turns, and easily pulled it back.

Clearly, the yellowfin tuna had expended a lot of energy against his brute strength, seemingly no better off than other fishing men’s catches after two hours of being played.

Holding the reel handle in his left hand, Chu Mingcheng controlled the fish, preventing it from escaping, while his right hand wielded the gaff. Timing his move, he hooked the golden spearfish’s head area in one swift action.

He wasn’t actually that precise; his target was anywhere on the back or head of the golden spearfish, but it just so happened that he caught the head.

Blood immediately spread across the surface of the sea, and the tail of the golden spearfish swung wildly like a small electric motor, splashing water onto his face.

Chu Mingcheng let go of the reel handle with his left hand and gripped the long handle of the gaff with both hands to control the fish. For a two-hundred-pound spearfish, he only used the gaff.

When the fish’s strength was within his control, using the gaff was more convenient.

If it’s over five hundred pounds, Chu Mingcheng now couldn’t compete, and would have to use a fish spear like a flagpole to kill it first before being able to pull the fish up.

After a little while, the golden spearfish that was hooked stopped moving.

He moved to the small door on the left side, opened it, adjusted the position of the hook, reached out through the door, and then exerted his force to pull the golden spearfish onto the deck, without the need for a crane at all.

Having dealt with one golden spearfish, Chu Mingcheng didn’t bother with it for the moment but set the hook aside and went to check on Jiang Luoluo’s situation.

The electric winch was operating, and she was coordinating by turning the handle.

As the temperature was gradually rising, Jiang Luoluo was now drenched in sweat.

As for the distance of the fish, the electric winch displayed three hundred and fifty-seven, obviously, it might take more than an hour to reel it in.

Seeing him approach, Jiang Luoluo complained with a bit of speechlessness, “The more I fish on my side, the further it gets, while the fish on your side is already up; who’s really using the electric winch here!”

“Speaking of which, is your strength a lot greater than before? You used to get pulled into the water by a hundred-pound fish, but now you’re so quick with such a big golden spearfish.”

Chu Mingcheng was startled, almost thinking she had discovered he had an “external assistance.”

But realizing she was just casually complaining, he calmed down and explained with apparent nonchalance, “As for strength, it must be inherited from my dad! When my dad was young, he was a great laborer, able to carry an object weighing four hundred pounds.”

“I originally thought I couldn’t compare with him, but I didn’t expect my body had such high potential. After long-term exercise, my strength has increased significantly, so of course, I’m better than the electric winch when fishing for a fish.”

“After all, a boat rod is different from a hand pole; a boat rod has a reel with drag, when the fish gets strong, it just pulls the line to run, it’s not pulling me.”

“Besides, fishing is mainly about endurance. Whether my stamina is up to snuff or not, you know that, don’t you?”

The last sentence made Jiang Luoluo roll her eyes involuntarily, afraid that he would continue to tease her with some racy comments, she immediately dropped the topic.

And after all, it was just a complaint, without the slightest hint of suspicion.

She was aware that Chu Mingcheng often exercised by swimming, and his physique had also changed gradually in her view.

Of course, Jiang Luoluo had never seen him subdue a three-meter saltwater crocodile nor witnessed his sporadic outbursts of strength, so she didn’t think too much about it.

In her presence, Chu Mingcheng had always been careful in this regard, showing no more than what was within normal limits.

Jiang Luoluo continued to fish earnestly. It looked like it would be quite some time before the fish was up, so Chu Mingcheng decided to bleed the golden spearfish first.

He picked up the fish-killing knife, opened the golden spearfish’s belly, and took out all its intestines.

He kept the edible parts like the fish liver and stomach and cleaned them and placed them aside, while he disposed of the inedible intestines completely.

Then he drained the blood from the golden spearfish and used the crane to move it into the cooling chamber, where he adjusted the temperature to the lowest setting.

In the sweltering summer, stepping into the cooling chamber was like entering the Arctic–a stark contrast of ice and fire. Even Chu Mingcheng couldn’t stand it after a while and quickly left after arranging the golden spearfish.

This kind of job was up to him. Jiang Luoluo might catch a cold just from spending a bit too long inside.

Before coming out, Chu Mingcheng deftly carried out a plastic box, which held a large block of ice; he crushed it all and placed the golden spearfish’s liver and stomach on the ice.

These weren’t for his consumption; when he had gathered more, he could feed them to cats or sea lions.

Glancing over at Jiang Luoluo’s side, there was still a distance of three hundred meters. He checked the fish finder again and saw that the thick red line at the bottom of the water was still there.

He hurriedly returned to the deck, picked up the fish-killing knife, and chopped a bucket full of mackerel chunks. Then he threw half a bucket on the left side of the boat to chum the waters and hung a frozen mackerel, waiting for another golden spearfish to bite.

Although it was still three hours before noon, the temperature at sea was already very high.

With the current weather, even in Wen City, one could feel the heat waves on the streets, let alone in the southern waters of Treasure Island.

Fortunately, with the sunshade and sea breeze, the two of them were not too hot.

After a short while, Chu Mingcheng’s rod signaled activity again; the tip fluttered twice with a “swoosh,” the bending not very pronounced.

He grabbed the rod and made a stab. The fish wasn’t big; it felt very light.

Chu Mingcheng immediately knew it wasn’t a golden spearfish, but a fish on the line still had to be brought in.

A quick reeling in, and a slender fish was pulled up onto the deck.

At first, Chu Mingcheng thought it was a ribbonfish, but after a closer look, he identified it as a belted needlefish.

The needlefish, though similar in appearance to the ribbonfish, had a long and slender mouth.

Theoretically, with the size of the mackerel bait, this fish wouldn’t be able to swallow it.

But with sharp teeth and a fierce look, this fish was just unlucky to bite on the mackerel right where the hook was and got its mouth stuck, allowing Chu Mingcheng to easily pull it up.

The fish measured over a meter in length, about one meter three, but weighed just over seven pounds after being weighed.

Chu Mingcheng tossed the fish into the live fish tank, planning to try its flavor in the evening.

If it tasted good, he and Jiang Luoluo could enjoy it; if not, it was doomed to become pet food.

Having caught an unexpected needlefish–but with the mackerel bait almost entirely intact, save for some tooth marks–Chu Mingcheng believed the golden spearfish wouldn’t mind.

So, he threw the mackerel back into the water, dropped some more chunks, and continued to attract the attention of the golden spearfish.

The golden spearfish at the bottom had already been drawn by the chum he had scattered. The next moment, the fishing rod signaled once again.