The sky was not early anymore, but the longline fishing gear was already baited, and it would be a shame not to use it.
Li Haochen walked into the cabin, raised the anchor, and started the engine, maintaining a low speed. This longline gear had to sink to the bottom, and since he hadn't prepared anything for this trip, he had to find the largest lead sinker to attach.
As soon as he dropped it, Li Haochen went back and turned off the engine. The distance the boat glided was enough to deploy the entire longline.
He stopped the boat and anchored, tied the line, and then smashed some mussels to put into the bait box before dropping the crab trap on the spot. Back in the cabin, he looked at the fish finder. It was so-so, with only about a dozen small red dots swimming around.
He ignored it, went back to the cabin, brought out some peanuts, spicy strips, and other snacks, leaned back on the recliner, ate snacks, and enjoyed the night view, feeling leisurely and at ease.
After reading a novel for a while, he felt the time was about right, so he went to start collecting the longline. The pulling work this time was not easy. The rope was a bit rough on his hands, making his palms burn. Li Haochen had to stop and go inside to get a pair of cotton gloves before continuing.
With the gloves on, his speed noticeably increased. It was his first time using this method, and he was full of anticipation. When the first hook came up empty, he was a little disappointed.
He continued pulling, and when he reached the eighth hook, he felt a significant increase in weight and a slight shaking sensation. Li Haochen knew he had hooked a fish, and his mood improved. He pulled it up and saw a croaker weighing over a pound. Not bad, it was selling for over 30 yuan per pound.
Croakers, also known as black seabreams, become more expensive the larger they are, but even the most expensive only go for a little over 50 yuan. Although not expensive, these fish often start at several pounds, even over ten pounds. The small croaker Li Haochen caught was a bit unlucky, but having one was better than none.
After pulling up a few more hooks, he finally caught a fish that satisfied him.
"Hahaha, a big croaker, not bad, over five pounds. Keep going, keep going."
A few minutes later, the entire longline was retrieved, and the catch was quite pleasing. There were three croakers, the largest weighing around seven pounds, along with two black seabreams weighing over a pound each, and a sea bass weighing around four pounds.
However, the crab traps were a different story, and could only be described as dismal. After hauling them all up, there were only two or three small fish, which really annoyed Li Haochen.
After tidying everything up, Li Haochen decided not to set more traps. However, he still had a new tool that he hadn't tested yet, and he wanted to see if his designed contraption worked.
He opened the lock on the fyke net, spread the entire net open, placed the crushed mussels into the bait cage, and pressed the bidirectional electric winch to lower it. This method was inspired by the electric winch, making it very convenient and labor-saving. Of course, the design and installation were not his doing; everyone has their own specialty.
Both fyke nets were ready to be deployed. He turned on the two side fishing lights and waited for a moment. As long as there were fish nearby, the divine bait would attract them.
Li Haochen observed. The bait was already showing its miraculous effect, and small fish and shrimp were gradually swimming into the bait box in the center and nibbling away. He also saw many small anchovies.
However, the numbers were still small. Li Haochen wasn't in a hurry to pull them up. He turned around, went down to the galley, and got a pack of Hua Feng instant noodles. He opened it, put it in a stainless steel basin, added the seasoning, poured in an appropriate amount of boiling water, and waited for three minutes.
But this was too plain. Li Haochen then opened two more packs of ham sausage and put them in, then covered it. Three minutes later, when he opened the lid, the aroma of instant noodles filled the air. Although simple, it was mouthwatering.
Even though we know the harmful effects of instant noodles, their unique aroma is irresistible, and it's good to have them occasionally.
Carrying the instant noodles out of the cabin, he was surprised to see a large gathering of fish in the middle of the bait boxes of the two fyke nets. Li Haochen couldn't bother with his noodles anymore and decided to pull them up first.
He pressed the winch and pulled rapidly. However, the unusual movement caused by the rising fyke net made many of the more vigilant fish escape quickly. By the time the entire fyke net was lifted out of the water, at least half of the fish and shrimp inside had escaped.
Li Haochen picked up a long landing net, extended it towards the center along the edge of the fyke net, and when he reached the fish, he quickly pressed down on the landing net with force. He used the elasticity of the net to flick the catch upwards, then seized the moment and scooped from the bottom to catch them.
"It's been a while, my skills are a bit rusty, hehe!"
Don't underestimate this step; it's a high-skill task, just like a chef plating a dish. A single spoonful can scoop up all the food from the wok. Only through constant practice can one become proficient.
The catch from the two fyke nets was quite good, weighing seven or eight pounds. However, most of them were small, immature white shrimp and ribbonfish. There were about a pound of anchovies and a few small groupers.
He picked out the anchovies and threw the rest back into the spatial sea. After replacing the bait box with mussels, he deployed the fyke nets again. Only then did he remember his instant noodles. When he opened them, the noodles were so thick they looked like iron hangers.
They broke when he picked them with chopsticks. He couldn't eat the noodles, so he ate the two ham sausages and then had a few pieces of pineapple cake to satisfy his hunger.
When he came out, he saw another crowd of fish in the middle of the fyke nets, and two yellow seabreams were aggressively preying on the smaller fish on the sides. Remembering the scene when he pulled them up earlier, he felt heartbroken that so many fish had escaped.
This time, Li Haochen came up with a brilliant idea. He pried open a few mussels and held the meat in his hand. He pressed the winch to retrieve the net. As soon as he noticed any movement, he threw a couple of mussels down, luring the fish back. He repeated this several times. By the time the entire fyke net was completely out of the sea, not many fish had escaped. Li Haochen was overjoyed and cheered.
"Hahaha, this is a great method! I'll be scooping fish like this from now on, hehe!"
This one net alone yielded at least fifteen to sixteen pounds. After finishing with one side, he did the same for the other fyke net. After replacing the mussels in the bait cage, he deployed it again. He picked out three yellow seabreams weighing seven to eight ounces from these dozens of pounds of catch. There were also about twenty small groupers, none of them large, but there were quite a few anchovies, at least five to six pounds.
He put the yellow seabreams into the live-well, preserved the anchovies in a foam box with a layer of crushed seawater ice, and threw the rest back into the spatial sea.
The speed of retrieving the nets was too fast, requiring a pull every seven to eight minutes, yielding thirty to forty pounds each time. As soon as he finished processing the catch, he had to go pull the fyke nets again, constantly busy, not even having time to drink water. Although the catch was abundant, there were few valuable items; it was all about volume.
After working for over two hours, and seeing no further significant catches, he reeled them in. Li Haochen was already drenched, his body weak as he walked, his arms feeling as heavy as lead sinkers, unable to lift them.
"I've really fished until my hands are numb," Li Haochen sighed, but inwardly he was very satisfied.
The harvest was indeed substantial: about thirty pounds of anchovies, and ten or so black and yellow seabreams weighing about a pound each. As for the other small white shrimp and ribbonfish, they were countless. If he had had the tools, Li Haochen would have even wanted to make shrimp paste from the small white shrimp.