I Can Fish Up Everything!

Chapter 288: Chapter 188: A Duo’s Far Sea Journey

The opening of the fishing season meant that nets and cages could now be used, as well as various types of bait that were normally prohibited, like live shrimp or loaches.

Of course, only those like Gu Nan who had a commercial fishing permit could use this bait. Recreational anglers were still forbidden, and if caught, they would have their gear confiscated and be fined.

In some places, enforcement wasn’t strict, or there was no one to enforce the rules at all, like back in Gu Nan’s hometown.

But here at Yangjiang Port, the rules were stricter, and there were frequent patrols.

Today, all the docks at Yangjiang Port were bustling with activity, especially the fishing docks. Thousands of small fishing boats set out together, beginning to cast their nets in the various inshore waters.

The slightly larger boats headed for offshore waters, where it was less crowded.

At eight in the morning, dozens of large fishing vessels had already departed for the deep sea, or even international waters. Smaller trawlers and fishing boats followed, with the small boats from the fishing docks bringing up the rear.

But Gu Nan wasn’t with them today. From now on, fishing in the inshore waters wouldn’t be as freeing as before; he figured all the good spots would be packed with boats.

For now, though, that didn’t matter. He had specifically rented a luxury Category II fishing yacht over fifteen meters long and was currently loading crab cages onto it.

September was prime time for swimming crabs. He had ten crab cages, mainly for targeting deep-sea crabs or large prawns.

He also had five ground traps specifically for catching swimming crabs.

This fishing yacht had a hoist, which was why Gu Nan had specifically chosen it. Without a hoist, how would he pull up the crab and shrimp cages?

Meanwhile, Yi Chen was in one of the boat’s cabins, changing the freshly washed, newly bought quilts.

Gu Nan’s little scheme could finally be put into action. ’But preparing only one set of bedding would be a dead giveaway,’ he thought. So, he prepared two sets, letting his girlfriend assume they would be staying in separate rooms.

There was no need to prepare ice; the boat had a small refrigerated hold. It wasn’t huge—it could barely fit four three-meter-long tuna, or a maximum of twelve if they were stacked.

The livewell space was decent, but if they caught a lot of swimming crabs, it probably wouldn’t be enough to hold them all.

Gu Nan’s parents had taken over the seafood shop for now. They had spent two days at the shop getting familiar with the routine under Yi Chen’s guidance, and with the price list she gave them, there wouldn’t be any problems.

Gu Nan had also prepared vegetables, fruits, and various meats, nearly cramming the refrigerator full. There were also ice cream bars and some drinks.

This hardly looked like a fishing trip; it was clearly a vacation.

Gu Nan planned to return from this trip on the third. The new shop would be ready to move into on the fourth. He had already gone over a couple of days ago to cycle the water, placing some clownfish in the pools and tanks.

He had plenty of them in his aquarium anyway. Even now, there were still seventy or eighty he hadn’t moved, all from his previous fishing trips.

Over the next few days, Gu Dacheng would find time to check on the new shop, mainly to monitor the condition of the clownfish in the tanks and pools.

The rented boat had a small mobile signal booster, so they could stay in contact even when they were in the deep sea.

With the delivery of five large jugs of mineral water and ten boxes of frozen sardine bait, all of Gu Nan’s preparations were finally complete.

The boat had a freshwater converter, but the water it produced wasn’t potable, so they still had to bring their own drinking water for the trip.

After moving the five large jugs of mineral water to the kitchen and the ten boxes of bait to the refrigerated hold, Gu Nan finally untied the mooring lines. He then entered the cabin, started the fishing yacht, and prepared to depart.

The vibration of the hull let Yi Chen know they were about to leave. She came out of her room and went to the helm. "Is everything ready?"

Gu Nan nodded and then teased, "Everything on the list is ready. Our deep-sea honeymoon is about to begin. Are you excited?"

Yi Chen rolled her eyes prettily. "You’re all talk. We’re not even married. Who’s going on a honeymoon with you?"

They had already agreed on a date for the engagement, setting it for the third day of the National Day holiday in October. They planned to get their marriage certificate at the same time and hold the wedding banquet before the end of the year.

The bride price wasn’t much, mainly because Yi Linfei didn’t intend to accept it, nor did he plan to provide a large dowry.

To put it bluntly, he didn’t oppose Yi Chen’s marriage, but their relationship was just so-so. He wasn’t as close to her as he was to his other "little sweethearts" at home.

Yi Chen herself hadn’t expected much money or any gifts from her family. She had managed to save a good amount over the past six months, and combined with her previous savings, she could afford her own dowry.

The fishing yacht slowly pulled away from the dock. The start of the fishing season made a huge difference. Before, you would hardly see any boats at sea, except for a few at well-known fishing spots. Only during a major fish run would you see dozens or even hundreds of them.

It was different now. As far as the eye could see, there were boats everywhere.

Most were setting nets, while a few were using trotlines at spots dotted with reefs.

Gu Nan had specifically rented a Category II fishing yacht to avoid the crowds.

An hour later, the number of boats around them had thinned out considerably. They were now about to enter the deep sea.

Gu Nan steered northeast. His first stop was the oil rig he had visited before.

His main focus was still fishing; the swimming crabs were secondary.

There were dedicated crab grounds for swimming crabs. Although it was crab season and they could be found everywhere, the density varied.

If Gu Nan went there right at the start of the season, he estimated that in just one night, the boat would be completely filled with swimming crabs.

But he didn’t want his plans to be derailed by swimming crabs. Catching a hundred pounds or so to sell slowly at the shop would be enough.

By then, the market would be flooded with swimming crabs, and his seafood shop wouldn’t have a competitive edge.

They had set out in the morning but didn’t reach their destination until four in the afternoon. Even though Gu Nan had left early, others had left even earlier.

There were over twenty fishing yachts at the oil rig. And this was the deep sea, which required larger boats. The inshore fishing spots were probably even more packed.

No boat got too close to another. This was an unwritten rule at sea, a tacit understanding everyone shared.

Each boat found its own patch of water and generally wouldn’t encroach on another’s fishing grounds. Whether it was for line fishing or net fishing, trying to snatch someone’s spot was a sure way to make an enemy.

Back in the sixties and seventies, when people fought over resources, it wasn’t unusual for a person or a boat to go missing. Things were better now; the worst you’d get was a shouting match over the radio. There wouldn’t be any physical fights.

Gu Nan stopped in an open area of water southeast of the oil rig. Using the fish finder, he observed that the underwater resources were excellent. The depth was over 120 meters, with fish at both mid-water and bottom levels.

’Twenty-something boats can’t take up that much space,’ he thought. ’This is the advantage of being one of the first to arrive.’

"Ah Nan, are we going to fish first?" Yi Chen asked, eager to get started.

Gu Nan had told her that any fish she caught on this trip were hers. She could sell them to him in one go at his wholesale price, or she could leave them at the shop to be sold slowly.

Their engagement day was not far off, and Yi Chen wanted to buy him a gift, but she was still short by over 50,000 yuan. This trip was a great opportunity.

She wasn’t expecting to make tens of thousands of yuan in just a few days at sea; she simply wanted to close the gap a little. It would be best if she could give him the gift before their engagement.

"No rush. It’s already past four. Let’s make dinner first. We can eat, rest for a bit, and start fishing after the sun goes down."

Gu Nan checked the time. At this hour, if they started fishing, they’d have to stop for dinner soon anyway. It was better to take care of their hunger first.

Yi Chen heard him and agreed that his plan was more practical. She quickly went to the kitchen and started preparing dinner.

They had plenty of time, so there was no rush. She decided to make a rather sumptuous dinner for their first night.

Braised pork belly, sour and spicy baby cabbage, scrambled eggs with scallions, spicy stir-fried beef, and a soup to go with it all.

The two of them were a bit like people from South Guangdong—a meal without soup just felt incomplete.

Gu Nan wasn’t idle either. This area was deep enough that ground traps were not ideal, but the crab cages and shrimp pots he’d bought could be deployed.

The ropes for the crab cages and shrimp pots were both five hundred meters long, capable of catching deep-sea creatures at that depth.

He also had a spare thousand-meter rope, but this rented fishing yacht was a bit too small. It got very crowded with too much gear. His own twenty-meter boat would have handled it without a problem.

However, three of the shrimp pots had shorter ropes. Marine shrimp were actually more numerous in the mid to upper water column, and he wanted to catch some large prawns to taste.

Even if he only caught small miscellaneous shrimp, they could be used as bait.

Gu Nan took out a box of sardines. The bait for the crab cages and shrimp pots didn’t need to be whole. He grabbed a hammer and slammed it down on the block of frozen bait, which instantly split into three irregular pieces.

Gu Nan grabbed an old cutting board, placed the bait on it, and picked up a filleting knife. With a flurry of chops—KAK KAK KAK—bits of ice flew everywhere, and the frozen sardines were reduced to irregular chunks.

He chopped up the entire box and put the pieces into a bucket. Then, he carried the bucket over to the crab cages, grabbed a handful, and started stuffing it into their bait pouches.

He filled all ten crab cages and five shrimp pots with a large handful of bait each. A little less than half the bait remained in the bucket. Gu Nan set it aside; he could use it later in a chum cage to attract fish.

He first took a crab cage to the stern and tossed it into the water, then took another to the bow and dropped it in. The cages weren’t that large, so spacing them fifteen or sixteen meters apart was about right.

After dropping two of them, he turned on the faucet on the boat’s gunwale to wash his hands, then went into the cabin to move the boat.

He’d drive a dozen or so meters, stop, and drop another pot, continuing until all the crab cages and shrimp pots were in the water.

Once he was done with that, he went into the kitchen to help Yi Chen. After dinner, Gu Nan took out his fishing rods and began rigging them with lines and hooks.

He gave two golden electric reel rods to Yi Chen; she could easily handle two rods by herself.

He himself used the blue Bering Sea rod, which was good enough for catching ordinary deep-sea fish. Of course, it would be even better if a school of fish appeared on the surface.

However, instead of using a metal jig to hit the bottom as he usually did, he switched to a hook, preparing to use the twenty pounds of South American white shrimp he had readied that morning.

The sun was still hanging in the west. Gu Nan set up the rods in their holders and stuffed bait into the chum cages.

Only after the sun had completely disappeared below the horizon did he lead Yi Chen out onto the deck to start fishing.

That night, they both used live shrimp as bait. With the fishing season open, they had no restrictions.

Gu Nan grabbed a new small bucket, went to the stern and filled it halfway with seawater, then scooped some prawns from the live bait well and placed the bucket between them for easy access.

Yi Chen skillfully grabbed a large prawn, pierced its back with the hook, and left the hook’s point exposed.

After baiting the hook, she dropped it into the water and pressed the line release button. Without waiting, she turned to her other rod and baited its hook with another large prawn.

Gu Nan did the same, but he planned to try fishing the mid-water column first, as he had checked the fish finder again when he came out.

If the fish in the mid-water column were valuable, it would make his fishing much easier.