99: First trawling

It was unclear how long the leaders spoke, delivering meaningless words, until Yang Qi was on the verge of falling asleep.

With a few ceremonial cannon shots, several fishing boats sounded their horns and slowly sailed out of the harbor.

Behind them, a dense cluster of boats simultaneously blared their horns, orderly departing the dock one after another.

To describe it as a hundred boats vying for supremacy would not be an exaggeration; there were far more than a hundred vessels present.

Yang Qi and his crew were positioned in the middle, and he wasn't sure if this sequence was related to the order in which boats registered for departure.

He didn't understand it; all he knew was that they received a radio notification: “setting sail” is departing! Only then did they move.

Today, only Yang Qi and Bai Xue were on “setting sail.” On “harvest” were Yang Dad, Bai Dahai, and Chen Zhongwei.

Bai Lang wanted to follow, but his dad wouldn't let him go. He could only stand on the dock, crestfallen, watching everyone leave.

For this trip, Yang Qi expected “harvest” to be a two-day, one-night expedition, departing in the morning and returning the next afternoon.

“setting sail” might be delayed by one to two days, as they planned to travel further.

Initially, Bai Dahai and his crew would follow “setting sail,” and once Yang Qi reached the destination, he would direct them to stop and fish.

Last night, Yang Qi had already given Bai Dahai four or five regularly marked fishing spots. These locations were sufficient for “harvest” to fish for a period.

Bai Dahai certainly wouldn't tell anyone else about these spots, not even Chen Zhongwei.

As “setting sail” slowly sailed into the deep sea, Yang Qi stood at the bow, gazing at the boundless ocean, his heart filled with anticipation.

The sea was calm and still, with sunlight shimmering on the rippling water, beautiful as a painting.

About an hour later, no other fishing boats were visible in the nearby waters. Only Yang Qi's two boats remained, sailing on the sea.

Yang Qi had initially worried that other fishing boats might have occupied his designated fishing spots.

Now that they were here, he hadn't seen any other fishing boats operating nearby.

That made things easier. If they were to set ground cages, sticky nets, or longlines here in the future, it would be fine.

Under normal circumstances, other fishing boats would not come to this area to operate; this was an unwritten rule among fishermen at sea.

Every fisherman would find a section of the sea, and they would not disturb each other. Usually, other fishing boats would not intrude into an area where someone was working, as this could lead to animosity.

As for how much area you want to claim, that depends on how much equipment you have. You can claim more area, but then your investment will be larger, and no one can say whether you'll make a profit or even break even!

Yang Qi informed “harvest” via radio that they could deploy some ground cages and longlines.

Yang Qi had been to this place before and knew that the seabed structure was complex, with many low, rocky reefs. It was a good place for fish to hide.

Indeed, in Yang Qi's ability vision, the seabed had many crabs, lobsters, and Groupers. Even more, there were schools of small fish darting about.

Yang Qi loved places with many small fish and shrimp because large fish would come there to feed.

Big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat shrimp.

Ultimately, “harvest” deployed 50 ground cages and two baskets of longlines at this spot.

The two boats left the area, one after the other.

Before and after, Yang Qi led “harvest” to find four more spots. Their luck was good; these spots he had long favored had not yet been taken.

This was great; with these five spots as a base, they essentially wouldn't have to worry about not catching fish for several months.

Of course, two of these spots were discovered by Yang Qi on the fly. They were not included in the locations given to Bai Dahai, meaning Bai Dahai still had at least 3 good rotating positions.

At this moment, Yang Qi noticed a large school of fish appearing at the forefront of his vision. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Sea Bass. The school was not heading in their direction but swimming to the side.

Yang Qi immediately sent a message to Bai Dahai behind him.

“Uncle Bai, drive 50 meters forward in my direction, then switch to mid-trawl and deploy the trawl net. Be quick.”

“Understood. 50 meters, mid-trawl.”

Bai Dahai, who was steering the boat, immediately instructed Chen Zhongwei and Yang Dad, Yang Limin, on deck to switch from bottom trawl to mid-trawl, ready to deploy the net at any moment.

He immediately turned the rudder and followed “setting sail,” increasing horsepower to speed forward.

In fact, a trawler's trawl net can be divided into bottom trawl and mid-trawl.

As the name suggests, when the net operates at the bottom of the seabed, it's a “bottom trawl,” typically 1 to 3 meters off the bottom. The target catch is mainly crabs, shrimp, and demersal fish.

A “mid-trawl,” on the other hand, means the net operates in the middle layer of the seawater, primarily targeting demersal fish.

The position of the net can be adjusted by changing the length of the two towing lines.

“harvest” quickly acted according to the instructions.

Chen Zhongwei and Yang Limin nimbly adjusted the trawl equipment, converting it from bottom trawl to mid-trawl.

Bai Dahai kept his eyes fixed on the front, steering the boat rapidly towards the designated direction. Soon, “harvest” reached the location.

Indeed, Bai Dahai saw a dense school of fish in the fish finder, swimming towards them.

“Yang Qi truly is Yang Qi! His ability to find fish is incredible!”

At Bai Dahai's command, the trawl net was slowly lowered into the sea.

At this time, the school of Sea Bass was still swimming not far away. Yang Qi closely monitored the fish school's movements, continuously guiding “harvest” via radio to ensure the trawl net approached the school precisely.

Fortunately, the radios on their two boats were already tuned to a private channel. Otherwise, if they were on a public channel, others might hear their conversation and think they were two fools chatting.

Under the command of “setting sail,” “harvest” flexibly adjusted its position.

About half an hour later, Bai Dahai excitedly shouted over the radio, “Yang Qi, I feel like there's a lot in the net!”

Yang Qi found it somewhat expected, but still felt a surge of joy, realizing this harvest would be bountiful. A little while later, Bai Dahai ordered them to haul in the net.

As the trawl net was slowly pulled out of the sea, it was full of lively, jumping Sea Bass.

When the crane slowly lifted the bulging net bag, Bai Dahai, Yang Limin, and Chen Zhongwei all beamed with joyful smiles.

They all knew that “harvest”'s first trawl was a success.

“Yang Qi, a victorious start! The first net is a huge harvest; I'd say at least 4 tons of fish! Hahaha!”

Bai Dahai excitedly yelled into the radio.

Yang Qi was also very happy to hear this, but he couldn't help but inwardly curse, “Trawling really makes money fast!” 4 tons in one net!

“Old Yang, you pull this rope at the net's head!” Chen Zhongwei said to Yang Dad.

Yang Limin was still grinning, taking the rope in a daze.

With a strong pull, a chorus of “whooshing” and “cracking” sounds followed. Countless fish from inside the net bag poured down with a “whoosh.”

In an instant, the deck was piled high with fish, flopping and jumping everywhere, covering the entire deck.

Bai Dahai operated the crane, swinging it up and down a few more times, and more fish fell from the net bag.

“A huge haul! Hahaha!”

“Congratulations, congratulations!”

“At least 4 tons!”

“A huge haul of Sea Bass!”

The success of the first trawl filled everyone with even greater confidence for the upcoming fishing expedition.