The Top Fishing
Chapter 620 - 268: Adult Sturgeon_3

Chapter 620: Chapter 268: Adult Sturgeon_3

"Hold steady, I’m starting the boat!" Victor responded, quickly starting the fishing boat.

The fishing boat participated in the fish chase, making it much easier for Lin Yang.

Whenever the big fish exerted its strength, he let it rush out dozens or even hundreds of meters, and whenever its power slightly slowed down, Uncle Victor would adjust the angle of the fishing boat to create an opportunity for Lin Yang to reel in the line.

In the line cup of the reel, the line storage never dropped below half during the most critical moments. It seemed tense, but he firmly controlled the rhythm of the entire chase.

In this manner, Lin Yang made use of the robust equipment and the agility of the fishing boat, continuously exhausting the fish underwater. During the process of fighting the fish, the boat wandered off over a thousand meters from its previous marked spot without anyone noticing.

At this point, the advantages of the open water in the deep-water zone became evident, as the area had virtually no significant obstacles, and there was no fear of the fishing line snagging on anything and breaking.

This chase lasted an hour and a half, and Lin Yang was highly tense, gradually not feeling the soreness in his muscles anymore.

Hands, feet, lower back, shoulders, core areas of exertion—all felt numb. He was persevering solely on willpower now.

After gritting his teeth for another hour, the big fish finally emerged, flashed through the surface with a startling glance, and dove back in.

Uncle Victor could not help but curse when he saw just the fish’s head and the upper half of its body.

"Damn, what the hell is this thing!"

The sturgeon they had caught earlier was absolutely trivial compared to this giant!

Just the head of the fish alone was several dozen centimeters in diameter, and the length of its body, vaguely visible through the water’s surface, was over two meters—not even including the tail which hadn’t surfaced.

Lin Yang: "Haha, this is the mature sturgeon I wanted to catch, how about it, everyone saw it just now, right? This fish has a good size, doesn’t it?"

"A freshwater fish can grow this big? I’d believe you if you told me it was a shark."

"Look at the size of its big mouth, damn, it’s a whole lot wider than a bowl. It won’t eat people, will it?"

"God no, it won’t eat people. The mouths of sturgeons and similar fish are located under the snout, the structure isn’t as exaggerated as predatory fish like dogfish and black fish that have upward-bent mouths. It’s impossible for them to eat humans, but swallowing a fish weighing twenty to thirty pounds should be no problem."

"What do we do next? Is the sturgeon a protected species? Do we pull it onto the boat and take it back?"

Lin Yang continued shaking his head: "Such a big fish, we can’t pull it onto the boat, it’s too easy to capsize. Moreover, sturgeon is a protected species in Russia, and we cannot kill it at will. So, I’ve decided to play it a little longer, wait until it’s completely subdued, take a photo with it in the water, and then release the fish."

Upon hearing that they couldn’t pull the giant onto the boat, everyone’s enthusiasm dampened a bit, but most people still urged him to prioritize safety.

The sturgeon that surfaced once still hadn’t completely exhausted its energy. Being exposed to the light, it dived again, struggling for a while longer in a desperate fight.

After some time, the big fish was finally sapped of its energy, and slowly started to float up with its belly up.

Seeing the fish belly-up, Lin Yang also felt reassured.

"Alright, the big fish is completely exhausted. Looking at its length above the water, including its head and tail, it must be about three meters long. Let’s skip weighing it. Let’s get down there and take a photo with it!"

After a heads-up, Lin Yang handed the fishing rod to Uncle Victor, then took off his long-sleeve jacket and shoes.

He briefly warmed up his limbs and then jumped into the water with a splash.

The water temperature in the Amur River was colder than Lin Yang had estimated. As he entered the water, he felt a chill all over. Damn, the river is icy.

After a few seconds of acclimatizing, he emerged to wipe his face, then tread water and swam toward the head of the big sturgeon.

Although the fish had exhausted its strength, Lin Yang remained cautious. Its tail could whip like a whip and cause injuries, so he chose to approach from the head side. After a quick signal, he gently hugged the fish’s body and posed for a photo with the giant fish.

An unmanned drone timely provided a close-up freeze frame, capturing the scene of him in the water hugging the big fish.

The exhausted sturgeon, very docile, allowed Lin Yang to hold it without struggling. After the photo, he let go of the fish and struggled to climb back onto the boat.

The intensive fish fight had already fatigued his muscles; the cold water was an additional shock, and after climbing out, he was soaked and uncontrollably started shivering.

"My gosh, the water of the Amur River is really cold. The air temperature is around 18-20 degrees, but the water temperature barely reaches 10 degrees. I’ve finished taking photos now, so next, as usual, let’s release the fish!

As we’ve mentioned several times before, it’s not enough to just unhook the fish and toss it back into the water. We need to position it properly and assist it in regaining its ability to breathe independently..."

Lin Yang leaned over the side of the boat, grabbing the fishing line with his left hand while vigorously reaching forward with his right hand, quickly finding its mouth.

The fish had swallowed the hook with great force, and it had gone deep into its mouth. He reached his arm halfway into the fish’s mouth along the fishing line before he could feel the hook.

After a few attempts, he finally managed to remove the hook and breathed a sigh of relief.

With the hook removed, the uncontrolled big fish still floated belly-up on the water surface. Lin Yang grabbed one of its fins, exerting a little force to flip it over, then positioned his left hand on the fish’s body while his right hand patted the water near its gills to increase oxygenation.

After a few minutes, the big sturgeon gradually regained its strength. Its tail gently flickered a few times, and it surged forward.

Lin Yang timely let go, allowing the big fish to escape his grasp, and it quickly disappeared from the surface, leaving no trace.

"Phew, it’s finally gone. Our exploratory fishing mission for today is successfully completed!" Lin Yang weakly leaned on the gunwale and let out a long breath.

Soaked to the bone, he was both cold and tired, yet the thought of completing a new challenge left him feeling pretty exhilarated.