180: Cursed Lu Hua

Liu Yao, who was beside Yang Qi, looked at him playing with the Lure rod and felt a bit strange, thinking to himself:

"Is Yang Qi fishing for Skipjack Tuna? Doesn't he already have some? Is he preparing for a big haul?"

It was a good thing Yang Qi didn't hear his thoughts; if he had, he would surely have "spat" in his face:

"How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan!"

"Can a few Tuna satisfy me, a cheat? What a joke!"

Not long after, Yang Qi caught about ten Skipjack Tuna, all weighing between two and seven catties, perfect for bait.

He was interrupted by the commotion of Zhang Jun's catch; his fishing rod was already bent into a large arc, and the fishing line made a "whoosh whoosh" sound as it cut through the water, which even Yang Qi could hear clearly.

Chang Jianqiang and Wang Hu were both gathered around him, cheering him on while hoping they could take over.

Earlier, the captain had announced over the radio that the water depth here had reached over 800 meters.

Yang Qi did not change the shape of his ability, making it difficult to determine the exact weight of the fish. After all, both water depth and fish species affect the pulling force of a fish.

Finally, Yang Qi adjusted the farthest distance of his ability to five hundred meters, and the width was reduced by 2/3. In fact, this visual was already a bit uncomfortable.

It was like looking at a myopia-correcting lens from a distance; everything outside the central high-definition strip within the field of vision was blurry.

This time, Zhang Jun did not insist on fighting the fish for a longer time. A few minutes later, he readily handed the fishing rod to Chang Jianqiang, who was already drooling beside him.

He knew he had to conserve his strength, as there was a big battle awaiting him later.

He just reminded them that at the beginning, they should stop for at least a minute every ten meters to ensure the fish was brought up alive and taken back.

Actually, these words were superfluous; who among them didn't know that!

It took them over an hour of pulling and stopping to bring the over hundred-catty Giant Grouper to the surface.

In fact, bottom-dwelling fish like Grouper usually don't have much strength left once they are pulled out of the seabed.

If they didn't want it alive, they could save at least 1/3 of the time.

As Wang Jinxi and several other crewmen hooked the fish's mouth with gaffs and pulled it onto the deck, the group immediately high-fived each other in celebration.

Indeed, it was true; although the ownership of the big Grouper didn't belong to them, the process of landing the fish was entirely their operation.

Just be happy!

Next, the others also started fishing for Skipjack Tuna, preparing them as bait.

Yang Qi suddenly noticed a group of large fish appearing at the far end of his ability's vision.

Just then, the captain's urgent voice came over the radio:

"Bosses, the fish finder shows a large school of fish ahead, probably a school of Tuna."

"Please tell the crewmen how much chum and bait you need. Everyone, hurry up and don't miss this opportunity."

A cheer erupted on the fishing boat, and cart after cart of frozen Blue Mackerel were pushed out of the freezer and distributed to the various fishing enthusiasts.

Zhang Jun asked for four boxes of frozen bait, giving two bags to Yang Qi. One chopped fish, the other cast bait.

What's it like when forty-odd fishing enthusiasts chum together?

The carnivorous fish on the surface went wild, scrambling to feed, and the entire sea surface seemed to be boiling.

Yang Qi noticed that school of Tuna, and also noticed the commotion here, and began to swim towards the fishing boat.

"First, use the large Skipjack Tuna; the Tuna school should be arriving soon," Yang Qi said to Zhang Jun beside him.

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

Yang Qi finally saw clearly the rapidly approaching school of fish.

"So it's them!"

Dogtooth Tuna, scientifically known as Gymnosarda unicolor, also called naked bonito or white amberjack, belongs to the genus Gymnosarda of the Scombridae family, not the genus Thunnus.

It has a fusiform body, can reach up to 2.5 meters in length, and weigh over 200 kilograms. Its back is bright blue-purple, its belly is silvery-white, and it has raised structures on both sides of its caudal peduncle.

It has no obvious patterns or spots on its body.

Both its upper and lower jaws have 20 sharp canine teeth, giving it astonishing biting power, hence its name "Dogtooth Tuna."

It is distributed in the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific, inhabiting coral reef areas, and maintains a body temperature 6℃ higher than the water temperature through a countercurrent heat exchange system.

It can be eaten as sashimi, in soup, salt-grilled, or canned. It is a delicious edible fish with high economic value.

The market for Dogtooth Tuna varies significantly depending on size, quality, and trading scenario.

Generally, individuals weighing over a hundred catties sell for about 50,000 yuan.

Top-grade specimens (with evenly distributed fat in the flesh) can fetch a premium of 70,000 to 100,000 yuan, primarily for high-end sashimi cuisine.

Individuals weighing around 50 catties are priced at about 5,000 yuan.

Small individuals caught by fishermen are valued at about 2,000 yuan per fish.

As Yang Qi cast his rod, the six- or seven-catty Skipjack Tuna on the hook was thrown into the distant sea.

Zhang Jun immediately followed suit, and in the next second, his fishing rod was flung out.

The Dogtooth Tuna chased and devoured the various fish schools scrambling for chum. Suddenly, Yang Qi's ability vision was a chaotic mess.

When several large Skipjack Tuna with strange swimming postures descended from the sky, the faint blood oozing from where the hooks pierced their bodies stimulated several large Dogtooth Tuna trailing the main group.

Yang Qi clearly saw the Skipjack Tuna on several nearby hooks being fiercely swallowed by Dogtooth Tuna.

As the fishing line tightened, the fishing rod instantly bent into a large arc.

He gripped the fishing rod with both hands, using all his strength to lift the rod and set the hook.

The Tuna's mouths were pierced, and the pain instantly drove them mad, causing them to constantly flip and jump, trying to break free from their restraints.

The fishing line cut through the water, making a "whoosh whoosh whoosh" sound.

Yang Qi did not immediately fight with full force, only slightly loosened the drag.

The fishing line slowly paid out with a "zzzz" sound under the pull of this over two-hundred-catty Dogtooth Tuna.

He looked up and saw that most of the people nearby had hooked fish. Especially those who had used large live Skipjack Tuna as bait were now battling Dogtooth Tuna.

Everyone was shouting continuously. Especially Liu Yao and Lu Hua, who were jumping up and down, making strange noises.

This made the people next door who hadn't caught anything roll their eyes repeatedly, silently chanting:

"Broken line, broken rod, lost fish."

Speaking of which, "curse magic" still had some effect.

Not long after, Lu Hua's fishing line snapped with a "bang."

"Oh no!"

The people next to him stifled their laughter, their bodies trembling.

They couldn't be happier; it was even more joyful than catching a big fish themselves.

"It's really true that one person losing a fish makes everyone happy."

"Ah!"

Lu Hua opened his mouth wide, staring at the fishing line fluttering in the wind, letting out a desperate cry.

"That unlucky child!"

Even Yang Qi, who was one fishing spot away, heard his desperate and helpless voice. He shook his head and sighed.

"You need to loosen the drag a bit; didn't I tell you?"

The flesh on Liu Yao's cheeks quivered a few times.

"Ah! Did you say that?"

Lu Hua asked with a trembling voice.