180: Explosion Protection

Gao Xiaofan's heart surged with excitement—Yellowtail Fish!

The water of Taiping Lake was crystal clear. As Gao Xiaofan steadily increased the pressure on his hands, the fish on the hook was pulled from the bottom, the splash of yellow on its tail now clearly visible.

"Snagged it, no wonder it's fighting so hard~"

Gao Xiaofan stood up, steadily holding the rod, watching the Yellowtail Fish darting about underwater, and couldn't help but mutter to himself.

It didn't look big, probably only around half a kilogram. To snag it even with such a blunt hook set meant fish must have entered the feeding area.

While Gao Xiaofan was still thinking, he unconsciously applied a bit more pressure, only to suddenly feel the tension in his hands slacken.

The fish got away.

Gao Xiaofan checked the hook with a look of exasperation. It wasn't a line break; it must have been that the hook wasn't set deep enough and the Yellowtail Fish struggled free. He turned and gave a dry smile to the camera, then pulled out two bait balls, swung the rod, and cast another line.

Not long after the cast, the float showed movement again—a small dip followed by a lift, floating obliquely.

This time it wasn't a snag; you could tell from the fighting strength and the Yellowtail Fish's swimming posture.

Gao Xiaofan carefully played the fish. No wonder so many people came to Taiping Lake every year to fish for this Yellowtail Fish—the feel and fight were absolutely top-notch. He couldn't help but compare it in his mind to the Mud Carp and found it hard to judge which was better.

Qiu Gu had long since carefully jumped onto the fishing platform, waiting to net the fish. But this time, he felt a bit nervous.

The fish had been played to the surface for a full minute, yet the Yellowtail Fish on the hook was still full of energy, darting up and down.

"No rush, let's try to net it in one go."

Gao Xiaofan, however, wasn't in a hurry. Clearly, fish had entered the feeding area; if this one got away, he could just keep going~

"Swish~" This time, Qiu Gu didn't net the fish steadily as usual. Instead, with quick reflexes, he swept the Landing Net over the Yellowtail Fish just as it had exhausted itself from struggling. Before the fish could react, the net was flipped out of the water, droplets pattering on the surface.

"Beautiful!" Gao Xiaofan couldn't help but exclaim.

"Of course!" Qiu Gu chuckled with a smug look, gripping the Yellowtail Fish from the net to remove the hook, then examined it.

The fish's body was silver, with a splash of pale yellow on its tail, shimmering golden under the sunlight.

Gao Xiaofan examined it for a moment, his heart swelling with satisfaction. For an Angler, unlocking a new fish species was simply fantastic.

At Gao Xiaofan's signal, Qiu Gu hopped to the shore holding the Yellowtail Fish, showing it off to the camera.

"Brother Wo Zi doesn't have time to show you, so I'll do it. This should be a Yellowtail Fish, because its tail is yellow~"

Qiu Gu panned the camera around, making a joke just for the sake of it, then jumped back onto the fishing platform and put the fish into the net.

Qiu Gu was no longer introverted. Faced with the fans' teasing in the livestream room, he was no longer flustered, often discussing fishing with them and holding his own when it came to boasting.

Nearby, Li Yuer and Little Orange were huddled together, chatting while busy—one targeting big fish, casting corn at a steady frequency, the other fishing for Yellowtail Fish, kneading bait balls.

"Wow, Brother Xiaofan already caught a fish~" Little Orange glanced over at Gao Xiaofan's side and couldn't help but shout.

Hearing the commotion, Gao Xiaofan turned and made a smug face before turning back to watch his float.

Li Yuer couldn't help but laugh, tossing a few more kernels of corn into the water.

Little Orange hmphed, then, as if remembering something, asked with a gossipy look.

"Sister Yuer, do you like Brother Xiaofan~?"

Li Yuer stopped laughing, her eyes lowering. "How could that be? Who would like an Angler~"

After saying this, she looked at Chen Cheng with a half-smile.

"You don't like him, do you~ Little Orange."

Chen Cheng pouted, attaching a bait ball to her hook. As she cast her line, she said, "Of course not, unless he caught Sturgeon for me to eat every day~ *slurp*."

Li Yuer glanced sideways at her. She had been following the Xiushui Mingshan Program Group's livestreams and naturally knew what this so-called Sturgeon was.

That had been washed away by the debris flow. Expecting him to catch it for you every day? Dream on~

Thinking of this, Li Yuer couldn't help but let the corners of her mouth curl up.

"Splash~" The sound of water rang out. Li Yuer turned to see Gao Xiaofan beside her hook another one.

Gao Xiaofan gleefully took the fish from Qiu Gu's Landing Net, gripping it and putting it into the net.

Another Yellowtail Fish, about one kilogram this time. Since the start of the Fishing Tour, aside from that one Fishing Ground, this was the most explosive fishing action yet.

Gao Xiaofan pulled out more bait and continued fishing.

Unknowingly, the morning passed. Gao Xiaofan jumped off the fishing platform; if not for Little Orange complaining of hunger, he probably would have kept fishing.

Qiu Gu lifted the fish net—over twenty Yellowtail Fish of similar size splashed inside. The viewers in the livestream room saw this through the camera and were filled with envy. This was a full net.

"Brother Wo Zi actually got a full net? That's unscientific~"

"Is the fishing at Taiping Lake really this good?"

"So nice, only 1,200 km to get here and fish~"

Gao Xiaofan shook his sore right hand. For a 4.5-meter rod to make his hand ache, you could imagine how strong the Yellowtail Fish fought.

"Little Orange, sorry to trouble you~ Take these fish back to your brother too. Maybe he can use them."

Qiu Gu carried the fish net to the shore, poured the fish into the bucket Chen Cheng had brought, then helped her carry it to the nearby boat.

"Wait for me to come back, no sneaky fishing! The competition continues this afternoon!"

Chen Cheng jumped onto the boat, started the engine, and zoomed away in a flash.

Gao Xiaofan smiled. His spot had good bites, but Little Orange beside him wasn't so lucky—she had only caught two or three fish all morning, and they weren't big either.

He glanced at Li Yuer, still patiently sitting on her Fishing Box, then turned to Qiu Gu.

"You go fish for a bit. I'll take a break. Go on~"

Qiu Gu nodded, eagerly hopping onto the fishing platform,Can't wait starting to bait his hook and fish. Watching from the shore, Gao Xiaofan couldn't help but laugh.

This whole morning had been tough on Qiu Gu—only watching, not fishing. Because Yellowtail Fish bites tend to be subtle and the fish are lively, even hook removal without barbs can be troublesome, so Qiu Gu could only help with unhooking.

Just as it was mealtime, Gao Xiaofan, prompted by Chen Cheng's calls, also felt hungry. Letting Qiu Gu take over the fishing would also let him have some fun.

Gao Xiaofan leaned back in his fishing chair, pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and started interacting with the viewers in the livestream room.

"The fishing's this good? Heh, it's actually a bit abnormal. The best time to fish for Yellowtail Fish is around April when they come near shore—that's according to other Anglers' experience."

"Today was probably just good luck, and I happened to run into it!"