The Top Fishing
Chapter 720 - 302: Catching Fish by Hand_2

Chapter 720: Chapter 302: Catching Fish by Hand_2

After an explosive sound, an enormous fish head burst through the water, heading straight for the small fish in Wang Meng’s hand.

In the heat of the moment, as the big fish opened its mouth wide, it looked as though it would swallow the small fish along with Wang Meng’s hand. However, Wang Meng pushed forward instead of retreating. Gripping the small fish tightly, he thrust his hand into the fish’s mouth without the slightest worry of being bitten by the large sea creature.

"Ah!"

"!!!"

"!!!"

Witnessing this scene, the other people on the dock couldn’t help but exclaim in shock.

But they soon realized that Wang Meng’s hand was unharmed. After thrusting it inside the fish’s mouth, his hand came out directly from the side of the fish’s gill plate, and he firmly took control of the fish.

Barehanded fishing for big fish!

At this moment, Wang Meng’s hand was like a large fishhook, entering through the fish’s mouth and coming out from beneath the gill plate, as he tried to haul the big fish out of the sea.

The restricted fish immediately began to struggle vigorously, splashing water everywhere with its tail, creating a cacophony of splashes.

"Oh, I’m choking~"

Wang Meng, a seasoned big fish angler with good physical strength, took advantage of a brief pause in the fish’s movement to hook its mouth with one hand while bracing on the ground with the other, and he managed to lift the greedy big fish straight out of the water.

Lin Yang took a good look, it was indeed a Big Sea Bass.

If it was a Big Sea Bass, that would explain it. Unlike other sea fish, this fish’s mouth didn’t have sharp teeth like other fish but rather felt more like sandpaper. Even if one got bitten, it would only feel like being lightly pinched by a door without any risk of bleeding.

"Clap clap clap!"

Seeing that Wang Meng had truly caught a Big Sea Bass over one meter long with his bare hands, everyone applauded admiringly.

That was the theory, but to actually extend one’s hand into a fish’s mouth like him, few people would have the courage to do so.

It’s like bare-handedly splitting molten metal— the Leidenfrost effect would prevent injury to the hand, but how many would dare to test it?

The fish caught by Wang Meng began to act even more erratically, perhaps because it was suddenly out of the water. Its struggles became even more violent.

Wang Meng’s hand inserted into the fish’s mouth shook uncontrollably with the fish’s head, and the body of the Big Sea Bass didn’t stay still either. It violently thrashed about, its tail slamming wildly towards Wang Meng’s lower body.

This Big Sea Bass, over one meter in length, must weigh several dozen pounds. The slapping force of its desperate struggle was considerable.

After several hits, Wang Meng began to falter. Losing his grip, he let the Big Sea Bass break free and it fell onto the dock platform.

Then, after more chaotic flopping, the fish managed to leap back into the sea and made its escape.

"Damn, such strength. Do you see how awesome I am?"

Even though the big fish got away, Wang Meng showed no signs of regret. Instead, he turned to Lin Yang and the others and asked.

"Awesome!"

"Seriously awesome!"

"..."

After this brief interlude, everyone boarded the fishing boat and headed towards the fishing spot from yesterday.

The fishing boat soon arrived near a small island.

However, the fishing boat didn’t dock, but stopped at a certain distance from the island.

"Everyone is free to do as they please from now on. Feel free to free dive or scuba dive, just be mindful of your abilities. When catching fish or lobsters, try to go for the bigger ones, okay? The local standards for catching these creatures are rather strict; the captain will inspect each one, and those that don’t meet the standard have to be released. After all, we are in someone else’s territory, so we must respect local customs."

The implication of the guide’s words was clear: catching small ones was pointless; it was better to target the bigger ones.

"No problem!"

"Okay."

.....

After a brief explanation of the safety precautions, everyone began doing warm-up exercises and donning their diving suits, ready to dive.

Scuba diving can vary based on individual ability, and one can choose between freediving and scuba diving. The difference between the two is that the former doesn’t require an oxygen tank, while the latter does, each with its own pros and cons.

Given Lin Yang’s strong physical fitness, naturally, he opted for freediving. Even without the aid of an oxygen tank, he could hold his breath underwater for several minutes.

Moreover, without the need to carry an oxygen tank, he could move more freely, lightly geared up. Of course, the duration underwater couldn’t compare to that with an oxygen tank.

The deepest part of this place was only about ten meters, so it was quite convenient to dive down and come back up for air.

However, a wetsuit was a must. A wetsuit effectively protects against injuries from marine life, as many small creatures are poisonous. If one were to dive with exposed skin, it could be quite troublesome if injured.

For example, the "Coral Reef Three Musketeers"―the Chicken Heart Snail, the blue-ringed octopus, the box jellyfish―are all extremely poisonous, and accidental contact could even be life-threatening!

Therefore, although diving is fun, it’s still essential to have proper safety measures in place.

While the others were putting on their wetsuits, Lin Yang couldn’t help but gaze into the distance at the sea, the spot where everyone was fishing yesterday, in hopes of spotting signs of active fish schools.

Unfortunately, other than the sea wolves churning the water, there wasn’t much to be found, and no seabirds were circling nearby either.

This made Lin Yang give up on continuing to fish and honestly got dressed in his wetsuit, ready to enjoy the fun of underwater hunting.

The others had already donned their wetsuits and diving gear, some empty-handed, others wielding spearguns, and jumped into the sea to begin hunting.

Only Lin Yang and Wang Meng didn’t wear oxygen tanks, opting for freedive hunting instead.

"Plop~"

Lin Yang jumped into the sea empty-handed; the icy cool water invigorated his spirit.

Of course, he wasn’t completely empty-handed; he wore gloves and also carried a net bag for his catch.

After all, in the sea, whether it’s corals or creatures like lobsters and fish, there are often sharp parts around, and wearing gloves is much safer.

After diving into the sea, he looked around through his diving mask and chose a direction where no one else was heading, then swam downward in search of his prey.

Since he didn’t have a speargun, his first choice was slow-moving targets such as lobsters, snails, abalones, and sea cucumbers.

Swimming diagonally downward for a little while, Lin Yang reached the seabed and found a suitable target.

Sea cucumbers!

Several black, fat, thick, and long sea cucumbers were lazily attached to the coral reef, all twisty and turny.

Following the logic of "like cures like," these creatures were considered highly nutritious.

If the national football team saw this, they’d probably laugh out loud in the middle of the night and hastily book a flight over.

But whether these sea cucumbers were edible was a question, as not all sea cucumbers can be eaten.

However, now that Lin Yang had spotted them, naturally, he couldn’t pass up the opportunity. The sea cucumbers in front of him were much larger than those seen in the seafood markets of Peng City.

First, he would catch them, and then let the guide identify if they were edible. If not, it wouldn’t be too late to release them back into the sea.

’Sleazy hands’ grasped the plump sea cucumber easily, and Lin Yang effortlessly picked it up.

One, two, three...

In less than thirty seconds, Lin Yang’s hands were filled with sea cucumbers. The joy of a bountiful harvest was beyond satisfying.

Once his hands could hold no more, he put the sea cucumbers into the net bag, but he didn’t continue to collect them.

Based on the number of people on the boat, the sea cucumbers he caught were enough for everyone to have one, especially since it was still uncertain if they were edible.

Moving on from the still plentiful sea cucumbers on the seabed, Lin Yang continued to search for other targets.

It seemed that his earlier spot was a gathering place for sea cucumbers nearby. After swimming forward for some distance, Lin Yang gradually stopped seeing sea cucumbers.

Instead, various fish species appeared in abundance, seemingly unafraid of Lin Yang, the ’giant creature,’ and leisurely wandered around.

Only when he approached did they slightly avoid him. However, some braver fish didn’t fear him at all, coming up to his side, sniffing here, pecking there, and after finding nothing, they leisurely swam away.

There was also a grouper, about sixty or seventy centimeters long, lingering near a coral reef, making Lin Yang quite eager.

It was a pity he had no speargun in hand, or he might have taken a shot at it.

But there was no rush. He’d first see if there were other gains to be had, then deal with it later.