I Can Fish Up Everything!

Chapter 358: Chapter 237: The Sailfish Are Too Dangerous, Changing Spots

As Gu Nan and the others fished with all their might, the sea’s surface was a scene of constant activity.

Sure enough, about a hundred meters in front of them, the water suddenly exploded. Countless giant seabirds took flight in alarm, scattering away from the dangerous surface.

A massive great white shark leaped from the water, its cavernous mouth clamping down on a seabird.

Gu Nan recognized the species of seabird. In fact, there were a few resting on their boat right now. They were huge, with an estimated wingspan of two meters.

But against the great white, it was gone in a single bite. This shark was clearly even bigger than the one Gu Nan had cut the fin off of before.

’Hunting birds on the surface instead of fish in the water? Is this great white looking for a change of pace?’

Regardless, it was a scene straight out of a nature documentary, and Yi Chen wished she were holding a camera instead of a fishing rod.

Gu Nan, however, was a little worried. The great white was too close. If it decided to attack the fish they were reeling in, they’d probably end up with a collection of fish heads.

But that was an inherent risk of fishing amidst such a feeding frenzy. There was nothing to be done about it.

Fortunately, with his assistance, the fish on his line was almost reeled in. There were only about twenty meters left.

Gu Nan was wondering what kind of fish he had hooked when a long spear pierced the surface as the fish leaped into the air on its own.

The dorsal fin, like a massive banner on its back, made its identity perfectly clear.

"A sailfish?" Yi Chen gasped, a hint of panic in her expression.

Compared to marlins, sailfish have slenderer bodies, making them more agile and mobile.

Plenty of anglers had been "counter-killed" by sailfish, but you rarely heard of it happening with marlins. This fact alone highlighted the dangers of fishing for sailfish.

Anglers generally didn’t like to mess with them, but Gu Nan had already hooked one. There was nothing for it but to bring it in.

Not every sailfish would charge and try to skewer a human, and at least the one he was reeling in now wasn’t doing that.

After leaping from the water, the sailfish thrashed its body wildly and shook its head to clear its gills, but Gu Nan just lifted his rod to set the hook, leaving the fish with no recourse.

Besides, the rod had already drained most of the sailfish’s stamina. He wasn’t really worried about it leaping up to counter-kill him.

For the last bit of distance, the sailfish lay obediently on the surface as it was dragged closer. Gu Nan quickly said to Yi Chen, "Chenchen, watch this rod for a moment. I’m going to grab the gaff and kill the fish."

He wasn’t worried as long as the rod was draining the sailfish’s stamina.

But the rod Yi Chen was helping with would automatically lose that function. A sailfish that hadn’t exhausted its stamina was still very dangerous.

Once Yi Chen left, the rod’s function would return. It didn’t matter if the reeling was slow; draining the sailfish’s energy was the priority.

Thankfully, even though sailfish were long, they weren’t particularly heavy. Their stamina reserves were no match for a marlin or a tuna.

Yi Chen obediently went over to the rod Gu Nan had been assisting with and grabbed the line with both hands to control the fish. Gu Nan immediately picked up the gaff and viciously sank its hook into the sailfish’s head.

The sailfish instantly began to struggle, splashing water everywhere, but after a short while, it went still.

This Indo-Pacific sailfish was about three meters long and weighed around 110 pounds, maybe even less.

Seeing the fish was still, Yi Chen immediately looped a rope around its tail and hoisted it aboard with the crane.

"Chenchen, you bleed and process the fish. I’ll handle the other two."

Gu Nan didn’t cast his baited hook back out. Instead, he planned to reel in the other two fish first.

He needed to see if the other two were also sailfish, and what kind of fish An Jun and the others behind him were catching.

If they were all sailfish, he was prepared to move the boat.

He was fine fishing for sailfish himself, but it was a bit risky for the others.

Who knew if some sailfish might go berserk and charge, putting a hole in a person or the boat?

「About forty minutes later.」

The refrigerated hold now contained six Indo-Pacific sailfish, ranging from just over three to three and a half meters long.

The six of them had caught six fish, making An Jun the only one to come away empty-handed—his line had snapped.

It was obvious that a school of Indo-Pacific sailfish was hunting the schools of fish here. Gu Nan went to start the boat and change locations. Let someone else deal with these dangerous fish!

Indo-Pacific sailfish didn’t fetch a high price—only forty to fifty yuan per jin. If they weren’t perfectly fresh, they’d only sell for twenty to thirty. Plus, they weren’t heavy enough to be worth the trouble.

They were worse than mackerel, which at least weren’t dangerous.

It would be better if they moved and caught some yellowtail amberjack or greater amberjack. Catching tuna would be the best-case scenario.

He drove the boat in a wide arc, stopping on the northeast side of the school of fish. Seeing this, everyone returned to their fishing stations and resumed fishing.

Gu Nan had used the fish finder to locate a school of large fish here. Based on the display, the school was moving extremely fast, which suggested they were one of the species he was hoping for.

’If it’s sailfish again, I’ll just have to accept my fate.’

But after waiting for a short while, not a single person on the boat had a bite.

"Ah Nan, what’s going on? Why aren’t they biting?" An Jun asked, looking back.

"I’m not sure..." Gu Nan thought for a moment, then an idea struck him.

"Right. This school of big fish is probably more interested in easier prey. A few small fish won’t get their attention. Let’s throw this batch of freshly dead sardines from the deck in to chum the waters."

"And while we’re at it, let’s take out some live ones, put a slice in their side, and toss them in too."

The school was huge. Simply tossing in a batch of dead fish might not attract the larger predators, but the scent of blood from the cut, live ones might just draw them over.

As long as they could attract the fish and the chum kept them around, they should be able to get some bites.

Everyone did as he said. The three women were in charge of tossing in the freshly dead small sardines.

Gu Nan and the other men netted the live sardines, slicing each one’s side before throwing it overboard. They didn’t toss in too many, though, as they needed to save some for bait.

His idea was spot on. Never mind the injured sardines attracting the big fish; the feast falling from the sky was reason enough for them to make a special trip over.

Gu Nan’s luck was good this time. Just as they arrived, a school of bigeye tuna had driven off the school of mackerel that was originally there and taken over the spot.

They had been weaving through the schools of smaller fish, hunting with great effort, and never expected a feast to suddenly rain down from the sky.

Why even hesitate with such a great opportunity? The school of tuna immediately swam over and started devouring the food that was so easy to swallow.

The injured sardines, and of course the dying bait on the hooks, could not be ignored.

"CREEEAK~"

The unprecedented bend in the fishing rod immediately told Gu Nan just how big this fish was.

"Chenchen, quick! Reel in the middle rod!"

Just from the rod’s behavior, Gu Nan judged the fish to be at least 220 pounds—definitely a huge catch.

It was possible to reel it in with just the electric reel, but who knew how long that would take. Furthermore, with three rods out at once, even with two stations between them, the lines could easily get tangled. So, it was essential to bring in the middle rod.

Yi Chen hadn’t gotten a bite yet, so she hurried over and pressed the button to reel in the line.

"Is the fish big?"

"Huge. It might be over 330 pounds." Gu Nan had now set the hook and was fighting the fish. He found its pull was extremely powerful, much stronger than he’d anticipated.

"Yes, yes, yes! We finally hooked a monster! I hope it’s a bluefin tuna," Ye Jing said from behind him, his face alight with excitement.

He could finally take a crack at a tuna. This was his first time encountering one since he’d switched careers.

A catch over 330 pounds... landing just one would be worth tens of thousands of yuan. How could he not be excited?

An Jun was happy too. Other fish might not be a big deal, but tuna was an ingredient his restaurant could use in large quantities. How much would it save him to catch it himself?

Just then, the rod in front of him suddenly bent violently. The line was pulled taut, looking as if it would snap at any second.

"Holy shit, I got one! I got one!"

He quickly pressed the button to reel in. The large electric reel he’d switched to was theoretically capable of handling a 220-pound catch, but it was having no effect on the fish below. It only slightly slowed the line that was spooling out at high speed.

If this kept up, the end result would be a total loss.

An Jun knew he had to step in. He grabbed the rod with one hand and the handle with the other, fighting with all his might against the great fish in the deep.

Beside him, Jin Enfei was shocked to see that even such a large electric reel couldn’t handle it.

Worried that her line might interfere with her boyfriend, she decided to reel it in and help him fight the one fish together.

Ye Jing hadn’t hooked anything yet, but Xu Zhina made a similar decision.

She didn’t reel in her line just yet, though. Instead, she said to her boyfriend, "Let’s see what happens on our side. Whoever gets a bite, the other person will reel in their empty line."

"Judging by how they’re struggling, this fish is too big and hard to land. If you go it alone, you might not bring a single one up. But if two people take turns, working with the electric reel, we’ll have a much better chance."

"Okay, let’s do it your way," Ye Jing nodded, his eyes glued to his rod. The relaxed atmosphere on the boat instantly became tense.

Yi Chen glanced at the situation behind them, then said to Gu Nan beside her, "Ah Nan, maybe I should reel my line in too? The fish here seem pretty big. I’m afraid I can’t handle one."

"It’s fine. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. The line is long enough, so let the fish run for now. Once I land this one, I’ll take over for you. Just keep an eye on the electric reel and don’t let it overheat."

Gu Nan shook his head, rejecting her suggestion. He had his "plug-in" and was physically strong, so he could land fish quickly. There was no need for him to go one by one like An Jun and the others.

Hearing this, Yi Chen thought about her man’s beast-like stamina and figured he was right.

’A fish over 330 pounds... it has to be a tuna,’ Gu Nan guessed.

’I just don’t know what kind. If it’s a bluefin, that would be absolutely amazing.’

However, fighting a 330-pound fish with the help of an electric reel was proving to be much easier than he’d imagined.

After a stalemate of just over twenty minutes, he had already weathered the fish’s first burst of energy.

For someone like him who was used to catching big fish, this was almost unbelievable. When was a fish this size ever easy to deal with?

’Maybe the tuna had already been here for a while and wasted a lot of energy hunting?’

Whatever the reason, he took advantage of the fish’s rest to speed up his reeling.

Because Yi Chen had just hooked a fish on her side. Judging by the sound, the fish was running fast. The electric reel and Yi Chen were completely unable to stop it.