38: Hairtail Craze

Yang Qi looked at the scenery from the bow for a while, then moved to the aft deck.

On the aft deck, a group of fishing enthusiasts were drift trolling, chatting and joking, but no one seemed to be catching anything.

Feeling bored, Yang Qi returned to the lounge and saw Zhang Jun and a few others playing cards again. He wondered why they enjoyed playing cards so much.

Yang Qi wasn't interested in cards, so he lay on a nearby sofa and watched the 'Naked and Afraid' survival videos he had specifically downloaded at home the night before last.

British explorer Ed Stafford, known as 'Modern Robinson' for being the first person to walk the entire length of the Amazon River alone (taking 860 days), created a Guinness World Record and is famous both in China and abroad.

He often challenges extreme survival environments in his wilderness survival shows, completely naked and without tools.

Due to his long-term hungry state in the show, he was affectionately nicknamed 'Hungry Ed' by his fans, who said he 'starves nine times in three days'!

Yang Qi really enjoyed watching videos of this man who would often let out a 'giggle' when he found even a little bit of food.

As he watched, he unknowingly fell asleep.

In his dream: Yang Qi was fishing for 'Hungry Ed', and 'Hungry Ed', who starves nine times in three days, let out a 'giggle'!

"Dinner's ready! We're almost at the new fishing spot. This is for Beltfish, and we should encounter a school of them! I wish all you bosses a full haul!" the captain's voice came over the broadcast.

Yang Qi stood up and saw everyone walking in.

After quickly finishing dinner, everyone went to their fishing spots, ready for battle.

Another hour passed.

He didn't know where the captain had taken the boat. The ocean at night was pitch black; apart from the area illuminated by the boat's lights, other areas were like an abyss!

Yang Qi took out a small knife and began to cut the frozen miscellaneous fish he had received from the Ship worker earlier, dicing them into small pieces to use as bait for Beltfish later.

Yang Qi focused his gaze on the sea and saw Beltfish standing upright in the water like silver pillars.

Yang Qi had only seen such a sight in magazine photos.

Now, seeing it directly before his eyes, he felt an indescribable shock!

That's right, when Beltfish are still or moving slowly, they usually face upwards with their tails down, their bodies in a vertical posture, a behavior known as 'standing swimming'.

Only when chasing food do they tilt their bodies and move in a wavy, side-to-side motion.

Yang Qi decisively switched to smaller hooks, then baited them and cast his rod.

Beltfish usually come out to forage at night, so they wouldn't refuse food presented to them.

Before long, Yang Qi reeled in a large Beltfish, four fingers wide and 1.2 meters long. It probably weighed around 3 catties.

To be honest, this was Yang Qi's first time seeing a live Beltfish; it was entirely silver and very beautiful.

The Beltfish had a large mouth with incredibly sharp teeth, making it very dangerous to grab blindly.

Yang Qi put on gloves, then wrapped the Beltfish's head in a towel and carefully used pliers to remove the hook.

This time, each angler had two foam cooler boxes with crushed ice behind them, specifically for holding Beltfish.

Once two boxes were full of fish, they would call a Ship worker to take them to the freezer.

Otherwise, if everyone called a Ship worker to take one or two Beltfish to the freezer, that would be too much trouble!

Yang Qi turned and began to greet Zhang Jun, his hands still working without a pause.

"Brother Jun, there should be a school of Beltfish!"

Yang Qi immediately switched the other electric reel to a smaller hook, preparing to fish with both rods simultaneously.

"Good! I'll use two electric reels too."

Zhang Jun also started casting his rod.

Another large Beltfish, even bigger than the previous one, thrashed its silver body on the deck, splashing seawater onto Yang Qi's face.

Catching fish, continuously catching fish.

Endless, simply endless!

With both electric reels constantly bringing in fish, Yang Qi was frantically busy unhooking fish and baiting hooks.

The captain's voice sounded over the broadcast again:

"Bosses, the fish finder shows this is a very large school. Crewmen are also welcome to fish.

However, after the bosses have caught two boxes of fish, please provide empty boxes promptly, and the catch must be sent to the freezer.

Each Ship worker is responsible for three bosses; please arrange among yourselves."

Yang Qi immediately heard the excited cheers of the crewmen.

After all, it was rare to encounter such a large school of fish, allowing the crewmen to earn some extra income without affecting the bosses.

While this pleased the crewmen, it also made Yang Qi and others admire the captain's character.

The entire boat was like a boiling pot, everyone was catching fish. The scene was very lively.

"What a huge Beltfish!"

Yang Qi looked at the large Beltfish reeled in by the electric reel.

He lifted the Beltfish onto the deck, and the long fish thrashed wildly, making it difficult for Yang Qi to remove the hook.

Covering the Beltfish's head with a towel, the large Beltfish continuously twisted and thrashed its body, and it took some effort to finally remove the hook.

Carefully lifting the Beltfish, it was almost as tall as Yang Qi. Yang Qi is 180 cm tall, so this large Beltfish was estimated to be 150 cm long.

The Beltfish in his hand kept swaying and twisting its body, trying to break free from Yang Qi's grasp.

It was estimated to weigh seven or eight catties. It was definitely a giant among Beltfish.

The cooler box couldn't fit it, so Yang Qi could only ask the Ship worker next to him for help.

The Ship worker also put down his rod without a word and rushed over.

"Oh my, boss, this fish is huge. Very rare."

"Hehehe, just good luck! Brother, please help me take this fish and this full box of fish – this fish won't fit in the cooler, so just send it directly to the freezer! I have a green zip tie. Thank you!" Yang Qi said gratefully.

"No problem, but such a large Beltfish is very rare, are you sure you don't want to take a photo with it as a souvenir?" the Ship worker asked.

"Yes, you're right! Come on, come on, help me take a few pictures."

Both of them took a few photos, and then the Ship worker used a trolley to send them to the freezer for storage.

The Beltfish school had been heavily fished by everyone on the boat, and the remaining ones finally recovered and disappeared without a trace.

It was a harvest for the entire boat; the catch in the freezer was satisfying to look at. Nearly four hours of Beltfish fishing provided an excellent experience for everyone.

Yang Qi secretly calculated that he had probably caught a little over four and a half boxes, roughly over two hundred catties.

Yang Qi was also very happy to have unlocked a new fish species.

Fishing for Beltfish was so much easier compared to fishing for giant fish. Yang Qi and everyone else were very satisfied with how easily they made money.

When fishing ended, it was only around 11 PM. The fishing boat also prepared a late-night snack, and the hot seafood porridge warmed everyone from the inside out, making them feel lazy and not wanting to move!

Not many people continued fishing after eating supper, as most of these anglers were basically wealthy bosses.

Fishing was just a hobby! Plus, they had mostly stayed up all night yesterday, so they were indeed quite tired.

After the thrill of filling their boxes, they all gradually went to sleep.