I Can Fish Up Everything!

Arriving at Tail Island, they could see quite a few fishing boats anchored nearby—even more than when Wang Junhe had last visited.

The bites are good during the spring tide, and it seemed all the fishing fanatics had turned out for it.

It was a shame that during the closed season, nothing but fishing was allowed. Otherwise, Gu Nan would have tossed at least a dozen crab pots into the water.

"It’s pretty lively here." Xu Zhina, wearing a sun hat and a sun-protection shirt, was leaning against the window and looking out.

The three women in the cabin were all dressed similarly. They had even helped each other apply sunscreen on the way over.

They had no desire for their delicate, fair skin to get several shades darker after a day out on the ocean.

Gu Nan checked the time. They had set off a little after 1:00 PM, and it was exactly 2:00 PM now that they had arrived.

He first brought the boat to a stop, then turned to the three women and asked, "Do you three want to go sea foraging on the island, or stay on the boat and fish?"

"I want to go sea foraging!" Yi Chen raised her hand, the first to speak up.

Gu Nan nodded. ’That’s what I expected.’ He then looked at the other two women.

An Jun’s girlfriend was named Jin Enfei. That’s right, the name sounded very... peninsular.

The culture over there seemed to place a great deal of importance on appearance, a fact she embodied perfectly.

Fitness, makeup, and fashion—she had all three down.

However, she was a girl from the peninsula who loved Chinese culture. She had come here as a university exchange student and studied Mandarin for over three years. Now, apart from a slightly odd accent, she could converse normally.

Hearing Yi Chen wanted to go sea foraging, she quickly raised her hand as well. "I want to go too."

Seeing this, Xu Zhina threw up her hands. "Looks like I have no choice but to go."

"You could also stay and fish with us!" Ye Jing said with a laugh from the side.

"No way. I have my own little group," Xu Zhina huffed, squeezing in between the other two women and linking her arms with theirs.

"Since you’re all going sea foraging, Ah Jun, Ah Jing, you two move the small stools and sun umbrella to the beach. That way, they’ll have a place to rest when they get tired."

Gu Nan restarted the fishing boat and maneuvered it to the access point by the reef. He directed Ye Jing to climb up first to help the women get onto the reef.

He then had them move some of the necessary items onto the reef. Later, when the guys took the rubber dinghy to the beach, they wouldn’t have to carry so much.

Once that was done, An Jun and Ye Jing returned to the boat, and they took out the fishing rods Gu Nan had prepared.

In addition to his own Fengqi Fishing Rod, he had brought along two lure rods and an iso rod that he had bought previously, specifically for moments like this.

His friends often hung out together. Now that he had a boat, they would definitely want to come out to sea with him, so these rods were bound to be used sooner or later.

As for the beginner’s set the game had given him, Gu Nan had no intention of letting anyone else use it. ’Better to just let that thing stay sealed away in my game inventory!’

"Ah Nan, are we bottom fishing or float fishing today?" After a few days, An Jun had become a proper fishing rookie. Having taken out his rod, he prepared to rig his line first.

Ye Jing, on the other hand, had no idea where to start. He was a complete fishing novice.

"Hold on, let me find the fish first." Gu Nan slowly steered the boat toward the other fishing vessels, glancing at the fish finder from time to time.

With so many fishing boats gathered in one area, there was a good chance a school of fish was nearby.

Soon, he stopped the boat on the water’s surface, about 150 meters directly opposite the small beach on Tail Island.

The water here was just over fifty meters deep, and sure enough, there was a large school of fish at the bottom.

Tying on a bait cage stuffed with some Antarctic krill should be enough to attract the fish.

The nearby fishing boats were mostly concentrated in this area as well. They had clearly been drawn here by this school of fish.

Gu Nan went to the aft deck, picked up the new binoculars that had arrived this morning, and scanned the surroundings. He noticed several fishermen pulling up a type of fish with a somewhat square-shaped head. He rejoiced internally, ’Looks like I’ve stumbled upon a valuable school of fish!’

"This is the spot. The fish are on the bottom, so we’ll be bottom fishing."

The fish appeared to be in the one-to-three-pound range, so all the rods Gu Nan had brought would work.

However, the lure rods were a bit shorter than the iso rods, making them better suited for boat fishing.

Gu Nan rigged a line for Ye Jing, hooked a single Antarctic krill, and went to the side of the boat to demonstrate. "Ah Jing, just release the line like this. Once it hits the bottom and the line goes slack, close the bail arm, and then reel in two or three meters of line."

"Hold the rod steady and don’t move it around. When a fish bites, you’ll feel a pull. When that happens, lift the rod firmly, and then you can start turning this handle to reel it in."

Ye Jing nodded repeatedly. He even practiced closing the bail arm and adjusting the drag himself. Only after he had a general understanding did he take the rod from Gu Nan.

An Jun didn’t need to be taught, so Gu Nan picked up his own rod, switched to a bottom-fishing rig, attached a small metal jig, and started fishing.

It was just past two in the afternoon, not yet the peak time for fish activity.

On his first cast, Gu Nan slowly tapped the bottom with his jig, but it didn’t attract any attention from the fish for a while.

After all, with a beginner on board, beginner’s luck had to take priority.

And just like that, a fish attracted by the Antarctic krill found Ye Jing’s bait first and swallowed it in one gulp.

Ye Jing immediately felt a pull on the rod in his hands, and the tip bent downward.

He wasn’t as panicked as An Jun had been on his first time fishing. Instead, following Gu Nan’s instructions, he firmly lifted the rod.

The fishing line instantly went taut. At the same time, he felt an even stronger force, so powerful that for a moment, despite his adult strength, he had the illusion that he couldn’t pull it.

"Whoa, so this is a sea fish? It’s so strong!"

Ye Jing exclaimed while forcefully turning the handle, slowly reeling in the line.

"Of course. Fishing is hard work," An Jun said. He wasn’t envious that Ye Jing caught the first fish; he’d had the same luck his first time.

Gu Nan was on the other side. The aft deck of the fishing boat wasn’t as spacious as one might think. Although the three of them could fish side-by-side, one person had to squeeze into the walkway.

He glanced back and saw that Ye Jing had successfully become a fishing rookie. He felt a small sense of accomplishment. ’I’ve dragged both my buddies into this hobby now!’

He continued to slowly tap the bottom. After a short while, the tip of his rod suddenly twitched twice. Gu Nan’s focus immediately sharpened. ’A fish.’

Sure enough, the next moment, the rod tip bent down. The fish had taken the hook.

He decisively lifted the rod. The arc of the bent rod deepened as it took the strain from both ends—it was clear he had successfully set the hook.

At a depth of over fifty meters, reeling it in would require a bit of effort.

Gu Nan turned the handle a couple of times, then lifted the rod to pull the fish up a little, then resumed reeling, his hands working in practiced coordination.

But by the time he had reeled his fish halfway in, Ye Jing had already successfully pulled his to the surface, with An Jun helping to scoop it up with a landing net.

They weren’t wearing gloves, so it wasn’t a good idea to grab the line directly to lift the fish.

It was a red fish with a somewhat square head. Due to the change in water pressure, its stomach had been forced out of its mouth.

It was indeed a school of red tilefish at the bottom, just like the ones Gu Nan had seen through his binoculars.

The fish has tender flesh and isn’t too expensive. Freshly caught and iced, it sells for about seventy yuan per half-kilogram at Yangjiang Port.

After the fishing season officially opens, the price would drop a bit, maybe to around fifty-five or sixty, so it’s very popular in the market.

"This fish has a kind of square head, it looks so weird. Ah Nan, what’s it called?" An Jun asked after taking the fish out of the landing net.

"It’s called a Japanese tilefish, but around here, we usually call it red horsehead or red tilefish," Gu Nan explained while reeling in his line. "It tastes great. We can grill one tonight to try."

Hearing this, An Jun shook his head repeatedly. "No, no, no. You already brought two fish, so we’ll eat yours today. We’ll store the ones we catch at your shop, and we can go get them whenever we feel like eating them."

Gu Nan sneered, "Heh, if you store them at my shop, they become mine. If I sell them, you’re not getting a cut."

"Damn it, if you’re going to be like that, then we’ll just have to take them home."

"Fine, fine. Then pay me the boat fee for the afternoon. Just for you, 250!"

"What the hell, who are you insulting?!"

While Gu Nan and An Jun bickered, a smile played on Ye Jing’s lips. He tried baiting a hook with an Antarctic krill himself and cast it into the water to continue fishing.

The three of them caught fish sporadically. The bite was mediocre at best, and they had to wait a long while for each potential hookup.

When it was 3:30 PM, the bite improved a little, but not by much.

Still, with three people fishing, the foam cooler was more than half full, with what looked like around fifteen fish already.

"When are we going to the beach for our cookout?" Ye Jing asked after reeling in another two-pound red tilefish. He then put his rod away, ready for a break.

Pulling the fish up from the bottom was tiring work, and his arm was sore from reeling.

"Why don’t you guys go ahead first?" As a dedicated angler, Gu Nan couldn’t bear to leave while there was a school of fish around.

"What about you, Ah Jun? Are you going to keep fishing or...?" Seeing that Gu Nan had no intention of going to the island, Ye Jing asked An Jun.

"I’ll go to the island with you. I can help the girls out a bit," An Jun said after thinking for a moment.

He noticed the three women were already back on the beach. Yi Chen and Xu Zhina were chasing each other and playing around, clearly done with sea foraging.

Besides, they were here to have fun today, not get completely lost in fishing. So, An Jun was also ready to try the joys of sea foraging.

Since both of them wanted to go to the island, Gu Nan had no choice but to ferry them over, bringing the rest of the supplies with them.

As they were moving the supplies, An Jun suddenly realized something and asked, "Ah Nan, you brought us up here, but what about you?"

"I have a rubber dinghy on the boat. I can land on the beach with it later."

"Damn it, you have a dinghy and you made us climb the reef to carry stuff?"

"Your physical fitness is terrible. You’re already tired after catching just a few fish. You need to exercise more."

"Why, thank you so fucking much!"

An Jun gritted his teeth, and Ye Jing wore a look of helplessness.

But they were already up there, and they had brought a lot of things. They couldn’t possibly move it all back down!

A thought seemed to cross their minds.

Gu Nan suddenly had a bad feeling. He decided not to move the remaining water tank and charcoal, making a hasty retreat instead.

He drove the boat back to the original fishing spot and continued fishing.

After all the back-and-forth, it was now 4:00 PM. The bite seemed to be excellent at this time, and he caught seven fish in a row, each weighing over a pound.

Red tilefish don’t grow very large. Their maximum length is about forty-six centimeters, and a three-pound one is considered huge.

A five-pound one is extremely rare. Three-pound ones are more common, but to reach just two pounds, a red tilefish has to grow for at least ten years.