The Top Fishing
Chapter 205 - 146: Dongting Camp_4

Chapter 205: Chapter 146: Dongting Camp_4

"Alright then, you guys keep busy, we’ll continue to stroll on ahead. We’re off, see you later."

"Okay, stay safe, and if anything comes up, just call out on the walkie-talkie."

"OK!"

....

After exchanging greetings with Xiao Zhang and the others, Lin Yang, Yue’er, and their companion kept walking on foot further ahead.

One has to say, the lakeside scenery this season was truly beautiful. Looking into the distance, everything was a tender green, and the light around four or five in the afternoon was just perfect. Yue’er couldn’t help but take out her phone to snap a few pictures of the scenery.

Meanwhile, the viewers in the livestream were stirring up a buzz.

"Is this the level of the research team members? Host, are you sure you haven’t been duped?"

"The university students are quite polite, though. They just have no idea how to cast a net. If it were me there, I bet I’d do better than them."

"Exactly, just set a few simple hooks, bait them with little fish or fresh meat; even that would be better than using a big net. Haven’t they thought about it, even if they do catch big fish, can this kind of single-layer net even hold them?"

Seeing the comments on the stream, Lin Yang also said with a laugh, "There’s no need to be so harsh on these students. Actually, when it comes to this kind of field investigation, there’s really not much a regular student can do, especially without any prior experience."

But college students are quick thinkers and fast learners. Once they accumulate experience, they can quickly put it into practice, and that’s something ordinary people can’t match."

"Xiao Zhang just mentioned that there are more team members setting up fishing nets further ahead, so let’s keep moving and check it out..."

The three of them were in full hiking mode along the lake, with a drone following overhead, walking along the water’s edge.

About 20 minutes later, they indeed came across the research team’s small boat and two other young team members wearing orange life jackets.

They went through the usual pleasantries and brief introductions.

After identifying themselves, Lin Yang asked, "How’s it going, any catch?"

"Not bad, caught two dogfish and one black fish. None of them are protected species, so we’ll take them back to camp tonight for sauerkraut fish."

This group of team members was a bit better than Xiao Zhang’s; at least they had a bucket with live fish on their boat.

"Where did you set the net? Over there?"

"No, I don’t think nets are very useful. We used hook and line sets with baited hooks that we cast into the water for bottom fishing.

The dogfish here are quite aggressive. We pulled up two that were five or six pounds each, and there was one bigger one. The line snapped while reeling it in and it got away. It was close to a meter long."

"A meter-long dogfish? Are you sure?" Hearing this news, Lin Yang was somewhat excited.

"Of course. If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you the camera footage when we get back. Dongting Lake has a variety of fish species, and this area has long been a no-fishing zone. Since no one has been fishing here for a long time, the fish are all quite big. These four or five-pound dogfish are actually quite common. The last time we came here, we encountered them every day."

"Is that so? Well, in that case, I’ll try lure fishing for dogfish and such tomorrow." Lin Yang was starting to feel a bit eager.

"That would be great! We’ve considered using professional fishing methods to capture these biological samples, but each craft requires specific skills. We bought some gear, but it’s not very effective in practice. It’s not as good as these traditional hook and line methods. Master Lin, you just happen to be proficient in this, so we’ll take the opportunity to learn from you."

"Proficient is a strong word. I only know a bit, but speaking of which, are you guys heading back now? Could you also take the three of us with you? We’ve walked all the way here and are a bit tired."

"Of course you can! But we didn’t bring extra life vests, so you need to be careful when getting on the boat. Don’t move around too much, go a bit forward, there’s a good spot to board from."

"Great!"

....

Soon, Lin Yang, Yue’er, and Li Xiaopeng had boarded the small boat, which could seat at least six or seven people, and they saw the dogfish caught with live bait in the fish bucket.

It turned out the two college students hadn’t lied at all; both dogfish in the bucket were over 5 pounds and 70 centimeters long, with light-colored, speckled patterns that looked very pretty.

Dogfish belong to the order Salmoniformes, family Esocidae, and are also known as northern pike or jackfish, a freshwater fish species with a very wide distribution.

Its mouth is large and flat like a duck’s bill, with a protruding lower jaw. It is one of the most aggressive carnivorous freshwater fish, attacking not just other fish but also frogs, mice, or wild ducks, and it is said to eat food equivalent to its own body weight in a day.

Because dogfish have a long lifespan, in some rarely visited places, one can occasionally find enormous dogfish individuals.

"Look everyone, these are the dogfish caught by the scientific research team. They are quite sizable, right? Check out their huge mouths; they’re even more irritable than black fish," Lin Yang did a close-up of the big dogfish with his phone.

As for their drone, it had already been packed away when they boarded the small boat.

"Wow, this dogfish is something. A dogfish this big can swallow medium-sized lures like ducklings and mice."

"I’m so jealous of this fish’s situation. If it’s as common as they say, then you could definitely catch larger individuals with lures."

"You guys seem to be missing the point. If I remember correctly, didn’t they say something about making sauerkraut fish when we get back? Such a big wild dogfish would be perfect for sauerkraut fish and guarantee a delicious meal."

Lin Yang read the comments on the live stream for a while and said, "This area of Dongting Lake is a protected zone. Combined with the marked effects of the fishing ban in recent years, the fishery resources of this lake are definitely superb. Since we can catch such big fish with live bait, there’s also a chance with lures."

He was full of confidence for the trial fishing the next day.

Fifteen minutes later, the small boat returned to the makeshift dock near the campsite, propelled by the motor.

Hearing the motor’s noise, Han Li, who was still in the campsite, came out to greet them.

"How was it, Xiao Fei, did you catch any big fish?" She asked from a distance.

"Didn’t encounter any big fish, but we got two dogfish of decent size; we’ll have boiled fish for dinner!"

Soon, the bow stabilized, and one by one, everyone jumped down from the boat.

After taking a look at the fish they had caught, Han Li turned to Lin Yang, "Master Lin, did you make any discoveries on your trip? Did you come up with any schemes for catching big fish?"

Lin Yang nodded in response: "I took a look around; the waters here are vast with both deep and shallow areas, and there are large reed beds both in the lake and along the shore. These provide excellent living conditions for the fish as well as abundant food sources. Tomorrow morning, I’ll go out and try fishing to see what species I can catch.

Your junior mentioned earlier that he lost a dogfish that was almost a meter long. Judging by that length, there could be other big fish in the lake as well."

"Are you planning to fish normally with a fishing rod?" Han Li quickly caught on to Lin Yang’s preliminary planning from his words.

"Yes, one of the items in the invitation letter you sent me was to identify as many fish species in this lake area as possible. Many species are hard to catch just by setting hooks along the shore or casting nets."

Lin Yang knew what her subtext was asking but deliberately pretended not to understand and did not respond.