The Top Fishing
Chapter 379 - 192: Hooking a Sea Turtle

Chapter 379: Chapter 192: Hooking a Sea Turtle

Seeing them both hook a Ghost Head Knife, Lin Yang took his fishing rod to the other side of the yacht to fish.

These fish usually appear in groups; where there’s a first, there will be a second, and a third...

Though catching this type of fish can be fun, Lin Yang had already caught a big Ghost Head Knife last time, so he wasn’t very interested in them now.

After finding a new spot, he cast his line into the water.

No sooner had his hook hit the water, not even reaching twenty meters deep, something big bit the bait halfway down.

Seeing the fishing reel slowly stop spinning, Lin Yang knew something had definitely taken the bait, but it was behaving oddly.

Because his fishing reel was barely turning, it suggested that whatever took the bait wasn’t trying to fiercely escape, which was inconsistent with fish behavior.

After about five or six seconds with no action on the reel, Lin Yang didn’t wait any longer and started reeling in to see what was on the other end.

But to his surprise, when he started reeling in, it felt incredibly heavy, as if it weighed hundreds of pounds.

The most confounding part was the lack of struggle from such a large, heavy catch. Lin Yang felt as though he was pulling up a massive rock, but it had clearly bitten the bait, which perplexed him.

If it were a normal fishing rod snagging something this heavy, it would have likely snapped, but Lin Yang had specifically upgraded to a heavier line set for flagfish, and his rod could handle up to eight hundred pounds. Coupled with the rod and line protection buffs, his gear was handling the load without issues.

Since the behemoth underwater wasn’t putting up much of a fight, it was relatively easy for Lin Yang to slowly pull the creature, which had been not far from the sea surface, up and out of the water.

Once he got a glimpse of the catch, Lin Yang was left speechless, recognizing what he had reeled in.

It was a giant sea turtle, and not just any turtle - a leatherback turtle, one of the most ancient and one of the largest turtle species.

Initially, Lin Yang was surprised to have caught this creature, but soon realized why it happened.

The leatherback turtle, an omnivore, mainly feeds on fish, shrimp, crabs, squid, snails, clams, starfish, sea cucumbers, jellyfish, and seaweed, and is one of the faster swimming turtles in the sea.

Clearly, when they used sardines as bait earlier, they had attracted a leatherback turtle roaming nearby, which happened to bite Lin Yang’s bait.

The drone flying overhead captured every moment of the giant turtle taking the bait.

"Wow, the host rocks, actually catching a huge sea turtle."

"This turtle looks so dopey, hardly moving at all."

"Of course, turtles are generally slow swimmers..."

Meanwhile, Wang Feng and Li Xiaopeng, who had just brought their Ghost Head Knives onto the yacht, also noticed the enormous catch Lin Yang had reeled in.

"Brother Yang, you’re too good. I’ve only seen sea turtles caught in fishing nets in videos, never one that’s been fished up like this."

As Lin Yang gradually pulled the giant sea turtle toward the yacht, Wang Feng, who had just dealt with the Ghost Head Knife and hadn’t yet recast his line, came over to help.

"Hold the rod for me while I remove the hook from its mouth," Lin Yang said with a smile, handing the rod to Wang Feng before plunging into the sea with a splash.

The turtle weighed at least 200 pounds, which definitely couldn’t be lifted with a net, and a hook wouldn’t work, so someone had to go down and untangle it.

"Be careful, Brother Yang."

Seeing Lin Yang dive into the water, the others couldn’t help but worry. Despite the sea turtle appearing clumsy, its bite force was incredibly strong, capable of crushing rocks, let alone a human hand.

Lin Yang didn’t try to remove the hook from its mouth immediately after jumping into the sea. Instead, he first sought to calm the creature.

Currently, with its head caught by the hook and limbs still paddling incessantly, the turtle’s face spelled one word - "silly"!

This leatherback turtle... to be precise, all sea turtles, really had a knack for getting themselves into trouble.

They might only be classified as second-level protected animals in China, but their numbers are actually very low globally and show no sign of increasing.

If other species are endangered mainly due to human intervention, these turtles’ endangerment could be said to be mostly their own doing, though humans also play a significant part.

There are only seven species of sea turtles living in the oceans today: the Hawksbill Turtle, the Pacific Ridley Turtle, the Atlantic Green Turtle, the Red Turtle, the Green Sea Turtle, the Flatback Turtle, and the leatherback turtle.

The first six belong to the sea turtle family, whereas the leatherback turtle, the oldest of the marine reptiles, has its own family, the Dermochelyidae. There are actually significant differences between these two families of turtles.

Everyone knows that sea turtles have a large shell on their back, but leatherbacks do not. They have a layer of skin instead of a hard shell, and it’s soft.

Moreover, members of the other sea turtle families generally have poor diving abilities.

Yes, you read that right. Despite spending their entire life at sea, only coming ashore for nesting, sea turtles have surprisingly poor diving skills.