As a Fisherman, My Fish Can Level Up
Chapter 370 - Chapter 370 Chapter 286 A Busier-Than-Expected Fishing Contest

Chapter 370: Chapter 286: A Busier-Than-Expected Fishing Contest Chapter 370: Chapter 286: A Busier-Than-Expected Fishing Contest After dinner, Chu Mingcheng cleaned up and returned to the cockpit, piloting the Sea God in search of a suitable fishing spot.

The Eastern Sea Bass is a deep-sea fish, generally living at around one hundred meters underwater, preferring areas with rocky reefs.

Theoretically, this fish can grow up to one meter, but the maximum size is not currently known due to a lack of specific data.

There’s been little research in the biological field on the Eastern Sea Bass, with hardly any research reports available, for reasons unknown.

However, with his extensive fishing experience, Chu Mingcheng could estimate the approximate weight of the Eastern Sea Bass just by looking at its photo.

The actual size of the Eastern Sea Bass is similar to that of the sea bass, but a bit fatter, so a one-meter-long Eastern Sea Bass might weigh around ten to twenty catties.

After fifteen minutes or so, he found a suitable fishing spot and stopped in waters about one hundred and twenty meters deep.

Along the way, the fish finder sporadically displayed lines representing fish, but it was only at this location on the seabed that a large number of fish were detected.

Having recorded the coordinates, Chu Mingcheng didn’t immediately stop the boat, but instead stuffed some chopped mackerel bait into the crab and shrimp traps nearby, then dropped them one by one.

If the seafloor was all rocky, perhaps he could catch some lobsters.

After setting the crab and shrimp traps, Chu Mingcheng piloted the boat to the densest part of the fish school.

For the one hundred meter depth, he didn’t use the electric reel this evening but chose a spinning reel and Iron Plate rod instead.

After attaching a slow jig, Chu Mingcheng cast the Iron Plate into the water.

Today, he didn’t jerk the fishing rod forcefully and rhythmically as he had done before.

He maintained a slower pace, keeping the Iron Plate rod horizontal, and after each lift of the rod, he would reel in a turn or less of the line.

He mainly relied on the elasticity of the Iron Plate rod to make the jig jump up, creating a natural enticing action as if leaping slightly.

As the Iron Plate rose, it would attract nearby fish, and the prime time for predators to attack was when the Iron Plate stopped moving.

Today’s choice of a long slow jig, using a slow-jigging method, was mainly due to the rather swift currents in the area, which were more suitable for this style of fishing.

After a few repetitions of jigging and pausing, a sudden fierce pull transferred from the line to the fishing rod, causing the tip of the rod to instantly bend into an arc.

Chu Mingcheng lifted his left hand, successfully setting the hook, while his right hand quickly turned the handle, reeling in the line.

But he was quite lucky, as the pull of the first fish was very strong.

Having been accustomed to heavy-duty boat rods while fishing for Golden Spearfish, it took him a while to estimate the weight of this fish.

He could feel the strong pull, as if the rod in his hand might not be able to withstand it.

Of course, this was just an illusion; with a thinner and more sensitive rod, he could easily control smaller-sized fish like this.

Holding the rod with his left hand, each upward jerk produced a “whoosh” sound, giving him the opportunity to reel in several turns of line.

No fish’s pull could compare to the Golden Spearfish he had caught before, so reeling it in was fairly effortless.

At a depth of one hundred meters, it took merely five minutes to bring the fish to the surface.

A brown fish with bulging eyes, almost popping out, surfaced under the light.

Chu Mingcheng checked the fish’s mouth; its guts weren’t thrust into its mouth, indicating the water pressure wasn’t too impactful and that its eyes were naturally like that.

For some reason, he always felt those eyes were staring at him, giving him an odd sensation of “wisdom.”

Shaking his head to dismiss the illusion, Chu Mingcheng scooped up the fish with a landing net.

Although entirely brown, this was indeed his primary target, the Eastern Sea Bass.

The first one caught was around seventy to eighty centimeters long, which is why he used the landing net with caution.

The fish was fat, giving it an overall chubby appearance.

Chu Mingcheng removed the jig and then fetched a scale and a ruler.

Positioning the ruler under the fish, he found it to be just over eighty centimeters and, remembering Jiang Luoluo had asked him to shoot some videos, he quickly went back to strap the camera onto his head.

Next, he lifted the fish to measure its weight, which was thirty-six catties and seven taels.

Chu Mingcheng was somewhat surprised; he hadn’t expected the Eastern Sea Bass to weigh thirty-six catties at this length.

Such a large Eastern Sea Bass could definitely fetch a price of one thousand per catty. Doesn’t that mean this fish could sell for thirty-six thousand?

That’s not far off from the value of a two-hundred-catty Big-eyed Gold Spearfish, but those are much harder to catch, taking even someone like him about an hour to do so.

Yet, it took him less than ten minutes to catch the Eastern Sea Bass, using the Iron Plate Bait.

After placing the fish in the refrigerated hold, he hurried to the storage to take out three foam boxes, then scooped some pre-prepared crushed ice into them. He was planning a big haul tonight, aiming to catch at least three boxes of fish.

Ready to continue, he cast the Iron Plate Bait back into the water for the second catch.

The fish attractor function was activated to increase efficiency.

This time, after waiting two minutes, another fish took the bait.

But the pull was far less than the previous one, and in less than three minutes, the fish was brought up.

This fish had a brown upper body and a silver-white lower body, but was actually also an Eastern Sea Bass.

It seems the skin color of Eastern Sea Bass may vary with size; this fish was under forty centimeters, weighing just over four catties.

He tossed the fish into the foam box, and quickly, he caught the third one.

But the third wasn’t an Eastern Sea Bass. It was a Deep Sea Big Eye Tuna.

Although the Big Eye Tuna is also considered a quality fish, it’s the lowest grade among the premium ones, far from comparable to the top-grade Eastern Sea Bass.

Still, it weighed a good six catties and was worth six to seven hundred yuan.