Li Haochen didn't continue. He was indeed too tired. After packing up the fishing nets, he threw some mussels into the bait boxes of the traps and dropped them from the side of the boat before entering the cabin. The traps would be fine in the sea overnight, and they might yield even more catches the next day.
Despite being exhausted, Li Haochen insisted on cleaning the entire deck and the traps before taking a shower. It was nearly twelve o'clock when he finished. He went out again to check the warning lights, and after confirming they were all functioning, he locked the cabin and went to his room to sleep.
After a night of hard work, he quickly fell asleep on the comfortable bed. His sleeping posture suggested he was having a wonderful dream.
The next day, Li Haochen woke up, sat on the edge of the bed, and stretched. He had fully recovered his energy after a night's rest. After washing up, he made a seafood noodle breakfast, which was very hearty. It consisted of the small squid and white shrimp he had caught the previous night, which were incredibly sweet and nutritious.
After breakfast, he went out onto the deck. The sky was covered with a layer of grayish-white clouds, and without the direct sun, the temperature felt much more comfortable.
He pulled up all the traps he had set the night before. The results were quite good. The fish traps yielded two grouper weighing over a pound each, a red grouper weighing over two pounds, and two black seabream weighing seven to eight ounces each.
The crab traps had caught a large mud crab weighing over two pounds, as well as several red crabs and stone crabs with missing limbs. He surmised that the mud crab had attacked them. This made Li Haochen feel a bit regretful, as some of the red crabs and stone crabs were quite large, easily weighing three to four pounds. However, since it was already done, he decided to have them for lunch.
Unexpectedly, the smallest crab trap produced the best catch: a leopard coral trout weighing over five pounds. Li Haochen was thrilled, having earned over a thousand yuan.
After washing his hands, he sat in the driver's seat and looked at the few red dots on the fish finder's display. Li Haochen decided to venture further out to sea.
Li Haochen maintained an economical speed and arrived at the outer sea around noon. The place gave him an eerie feeling. The seawater was dark green and unfathomably deep.
The depth sounder indicated the water depth in this area had reached 80 meters. The red dots on the fish finder had increased, and many of them were quite large.
"No wonder everyone is heading to the outer sea. The resources here are truly incomparable to the inner sea."
Li Haochen didn't rush to set the traps and start fishing. He decided to take care of his hunger first. As the saying goes, people are iron, and food is their steel; one missed meal leads to hunger. Before doing anything, one must fill their stomach.
His morning catch had been bountiful, so Li Haochen had a seafood feast for lunch: stir-fried crab with ginger and scallions, steamed yellow seabream with soy sauce, and braised small squid. It was a high-protein meal, all meat with no vegetables. If paired with some beer, it would be a perfect gout-inducing feast.
The freshness of this meal was enough to make one linger, and Li Haochen almost ate the inner lining of the rice cooker.
After finishing his meal and washing the dishes, he went out again to check the fish finder. The red dots had become even more numerous than before. It was a rare opportunity that couldn't be missed. He quickly went into the cabin to retrieve some mussels, filled the bait boxes of all his traps, and dropped them one by one from the side of the boat.
Today, Li Haochen's main goal was to test his new equipment and see if the Dean electric trolling rod and the Daiwa Marine Power 3000-24V electric reel lived up to their reputation.
To prevent the fishing rod from snagging the traps, Li Haochen mounted the rod on the other side and prepared to start fishing with a small bowl of mussel meat.
The 12/0 fishing hook was very large, requiring four mussel meats to cover it. The sinker weighed 500 grams. The water was quite deep, and a lighter sinker wouldn't reach the bottom.
He set the depth to 75 meters, a few meters above the bottom. This was to attract more fish to compete and to prevent them from being pulled towards the traps.
Although he had attached a large sinker, it still took some time to reach a depth of over seventy meters. The deeper it went, the slower the descent. It took more than ten seconds to reach the set depth.
As soon as it reached the bottom, the fishing rod bent, and the bell rang incessantly. The fishing line was suddenly pulled hard, and the vibrations sent the surrounding seawater into a misty spray. The rod swung back and forth significantly, indicating a large fish.
Li Haochen pressed the button, and the powerful force surprised him. The 90-kilogram drag was no joke. It took only a minute and a half to pull the fish up from over 70 meters deep, without any pauses.
Li Haochen, who was already waiting with a fishing net, quickly scooped up the fish as soon as it surfaced. "Heh heh, not bad, this large ruby snapper should be at least fifteen to sixteen pounds."
The ruby snapper, scientifically known as Lutjanus sanguineus, typically lives at depths of around 100 meters. It has an oval body and is purplish-red all over. Its maximum weight can reach over fifty pounds. It primarily feeds on small fish and crustaceans. Its price is not expensive, around 40 yuan per pound.
Li Haochen was very satisfied with the excellent performance of his new equipment. The more than 30,000 yuan spent was well worth it. It was an essential tool for the outer sea. If only the pulling force were stronger, it would be perfect.
Ruby snappers are schooling fish, so Li Haochen quickly changed the bait and cast the line again.
Before reaching the set depth, the fishing line was suddenly pulled hard, causing the boat to sway slightly, demonstrating the immense instantaneous pulling force. The tip of the rod bent even more than before, and the fishing line hummed.
"Damn it, a big one, definitely over thirty pounds. I'm rich, hahahaha!"
Based on the previous test, he had great confidence in the electric reel. Pulling up thirty to forty pounds should be no problem, although the retrieval speed would be slower.
He pressed the button, and the electric reel made a whirring sound as the spool evenly reeled in the line. Li Haochen was already holding the fishing net, ready for action. A thirty to forty-pound fish should not be underestimated; it could easily flip a person over if not handled carefully.
After two minutes, the large fish gradually revealed its true form: a giant purplish-red creature, with its fins slowly fanning. Li Haochen exclaimed in excitement upon seeing it, "This… such a large ruby snapper?"
Looking at the half-meter-long ruby snapper, Li Haochen was somewhat dumbfounded. A ruby snapper of this weight was very rare.
He fumbled a bit and grabbed the net to scoop up the large ruby snapper. The fish was too heavy, and Li Haochen couldn't lift it immediately. Moreover, the ruby snapper rolled over, almost pulling him into the sea.
With considerable effort, he finally managed to haul the fish aboard. After unhooking it, he struggled to hold the ruby snapper with both hands and threw it into the live well, leaving him panting from exhaustion.
The two fish were caught in just over ten minutes. The traps had been in the water for too short a time, so Li Haochen didn't plan to retrieve them immediately.
Li Haochen was delighted with the two large fish, but he didn't continue. It had started to drizzle, so he had to put away his fishing rod and return to the cabin.
After showering, Li Haochen ate some fruit and snacks and then lay down on the tatami to rest, watching movies and reading novels to pass the time.
The boring time finally passed. He calculated that it was time to retrieve the traps. Li Haochen put on his rain gear and boots, walked to the side of the boat, untied the ropes, and quickly started reeling them in.
After about ten minutes, all the traps were pulled up. The catch was unremarkable: three ruby snappers weighing around two pounds each and a few red crabs.