As a Fisherman, My Fish Can Level Up-Chapter 157 - 147 Golden Pomfret Shoal

Chapter 157: Chapter 147 Golden Pomfret Shoal

Chu Mingcheng pressed his fishing rod downward, slowly feeding the line forward while reeling in. The reel, pulled by the weight, was not comfortable at all, continuously making a squeaking noise.

In the end, it was pulled out from under the boat.

However, to the surprise of the two on the boat, the fish that caused such a ruckus and bit so fiercely turned out to be just a golden pomfret weighing a little over a pound.

“Didn’t expect such a small golden pomfret, I thought it was a big fish!” Jiang Luoluo picked up the landing net by her side and tried to scoop up the golden pomfret that was still flipping its tail, trying to hide in the water.

The golden pomfret really wasn’t very peaceful; she tried three times before finally managing to scoop it up and lift it out of the water.

This fish, bald on top with a dumbfounded look and not very large, was unexpectedly powerful, offering a great feeling when being fished.

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Jiang Luoluo helped remove the fish hook, squeezed the fish’s flesh, and found the flesh plump and fatty; this fish was put into the live fish well.

The golden pomfret is one of those fish that hardly differ in price whether dead or alive, because, apart from farmed ones, wild ones generally don’t make it to the shore alive.

For now, it was placed in the live fish well, and later, when there were more fish, they would be packed directly into foam boxes.

After washing his hands and re-baiting the hook, Chu Mingcheng cast the bait into the same patch of water where he had just caught a fish.

Jiang Luoluo glanced at her own fishing rod, which hadn’t moved, and scattered some more bait into the water.

And indeed, after scattering the bait, her fishing rod actually got a bite.

The result was a Golden Drum Fish with a small head, a flat and thick body, and black circular spots on its back.

Jiang Luoluo didn’t know much about fish and had not expected to catch a different one.

“Ah Cheng, what fish is this?”

“Be careful, this fish has poisonous fins, and if you get pricked, it’ll hurt for several days,” Chu Mingcheng said hastily, taking the five or six-tael Golden Drum Fish from her hands and placing it into the live water well.

“This is the Golden Drum Fish; it’s a bit pricier than the wild golden pomfret of the same size. The market price is probably around US$ 50 per pound, I guess!”

“I see!” Jiang Luoluo instantly lost interest upon hearing it was only US$ 50 per pound, as she had thought she had caught some valuable fish, especially since it looked quite nice.

“It’s a pretty decent fish; many people on the coast like it. It’s just surprising that it would mix with a school of golden pomfret.”

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Chu Mingcheng explained with a chuckle. As soon as he finished speaking, his fishing rod was pulled fiercely downward again, suggesting another golden pomfret.

He quickly set the hook and began to reel in.

The golden pomfret darting around the seabed gave Chu Mingcheng the illusion of struggling with a big fish.

As he was about to give the line a tug to reel it in better, the weight he felt made his eyes light up.

This one felt much heavier than the one before; despite its ferocious bite, the previous fish had revealed its true nature upon being pulled up.

A big one was on the line, giving him a bit of a surprise.

Small wild golden pomfrets, weighing just one and a half pounds, go for about thirty yuan per pound.

Farmed ones are even cheaper, around ten yuan per pound, and generally do not exceed fifteen yuan per pound.

However, as wild golden pomfrets grow in size, their price rises accordingly, increasing slightly with each size class.

Those over five pounds can fetch around fifty yuan per pound, and those over ten pounds can reach over eighty yuan per pound.

Of course, this is for caught ones; those netted are not included.

Because hook-caught fish are fresher, those netted are generally not as fresh.

Chu Mingcheng focused intently on the fishing line, which was running to the left, so he pulled the rod to the right.

As the line was reeled in, the golden pomfret slowly surfaced.

Suddenly, just as it was about to reach the surface, the golden pomfret unexpectedly leaped out of the water.

Chu Mingcheng jerked his rod sharply, and the instant pulling force threw the fish off balance, causing it to crash sideways onto the sea surface.

The commotion was not small; nearby anglers were drawn to the spectacle, all turning their gaze in this direction.

After all, besides big Marlins, it’s rare for other fish to jump out of the water once hooked.

After slamming onto the water surface, the golden pomfret seemed a bit dizzy, and Chu Mingcheng seized the opportunity to reel in several turns of line before entering the next round of struggle.

As the fishing rod and line were not particularly strong, there was no confidence in pulling hard.

But without the play of reeling in the fish, there wouldn’t be much fun in fishing.

Another five or six minutes passed before the fish was completely exhausted and pulled to the side of the boat.

This time, Jiang Luoluo couldn’t help with the landing net because she had scattered quite a bit of lure that was working effectively, and now she had hooked one too.

Based on the movement of the fishing rod and line, it seemed to be another golden pomfret.

Chu Mingcheng had to lock the drag and hurried over to grab the landing net, scooping up the possibly seven or eight-pound golden pomfret with one hand.

Jiang Luoluo turned her head and said, “Didn’t expect golden pomfret could grow so big; it hardly fits in a small basin!”

“There are even bigger ones!” Chu Mingcheng looked at the golden pomfret, which lay on the deck still nibbling away, then picked up the hook remover, took out the hook, and threw it into the live well.

This golden pomfret wasn’t as precious as the Silver Pomfret but was just as bad-tempered.

“The one I’m pulling feels so heavy too; I wonder if it’s big!” Jiang Luoluo had easily fished a Golden Drum Fish earlier, and now she hooked a golden pomfret, and the contrast between the two was immediately apparent.

“It shouldn’t be too small,” Chu Mingcheng assured her, as he had given her a number 30 class rod, with a line slightly thicker than his, strong enough to handle the pull.

Now, looking at the movement of the rod, it was clear the fish wouldn’t be small.

Indeed, after a little while, Jiang Luoluo managed to pull up the golden pomfret.

It was a bit smaller than his catch, but it looked to be about four or five pounds.

Jiang Luoluo proudly lifted the fish with the fish gripper, “Haha, although it’s not as thrilling as catching a jun cao fish, the satisfaction in my heart is not lacking at all,” she said.

“Ah Cheng, take a photo for me quick, I want to show Jiayi and Sister Mei.”

Chu Mingcheng couldn’t help but chuckle wryly, this girl was clearly fishing just to show off.

Taking her camera, he switched it to photo mode and squatted down to take two pictures of the lovely girl with the dumb-looking golden pomfret, which pleased Jiang Luoluo greatly.

After sailing for over three hours, it was now noon.

To allow Chu Mingcheng to catch more fish and earn more money, Jiang Luoluo took the initiative to cook lunch in the kitchen.

“Luoluo, take this golden pomfret to pan-fry. Although it’s not as good as the Silver Pomfret, the taste when pan-fried is still very delicious,” he said.

Chu Mingcheng fished out the first caught golden pomfret from the live fish tank, which was just over a pound and perfect for two people to eat.

The still-alive golden pomfret had almost no fishy smell, which he believed would make it taste even better.

But Jiang Luoluo hesitated as she took the fish, “I’m not quite sure how to make this. What if I don’t do it well?” she said.

They had sailed quite far today, out of signal range on the open sea, and she couldn’t look up a video online.

“It’s just like how you fried eggs this morning; fry the fish until both sides are golden brown, then fry the ginger, garlic, and chili peppers directly beside the fish until fragrant, sprinkle just a little bit of salt—be sure not to overdo it. Pour some soy sauce and cover for a minute, then throw in some green onions and cover for fifteen seconds more—it’s very simple,” he explained patiently.

Chu Mingcheng explained the method step by step; Jiang Luoluo now knew a bit about cooking and wouldn’t need to write it down on paper.

With the instructions, she felt more confident. She killed the fish, removed the fins and innards.

After cleaning the fish and making crisscross cuts on it, she took it inside to pan-fry.

Watching her now practiced movements with the fish, Chu Mingcheng nodded in satisfaction. She had often watched him clean fish and learned quickly!

He also felt more confident about the coming meal, though he had been prepared for “sacrifice,” ready to accept however unpalatable lunch might turn out to be.

But Jiang Luoluo’s skilled movements raised his sense of anticipation, just as he was thinking she might outdo herself at lunch, the fishing rod jerked with another bite.

Hey, another catch.

Though this time it was only an eight-tael one, Chu Mingcheng didn’t mind.

Fish of this size were the main ones in the school; you couldn’t expect to catch six or seven-pounders all the time.

It was as if the sea had heard his wish. Just as Chu Mingcheng was putting the fish into the live well, the rod Jiang Luoluo had placed in the holder also showed a flurry of activity, with a particularly strong tug.

Chu Mingcheng hurried over to grab the rod—this fish felt big!

The boat rods were stiff and the line was thicker. He exerted more force pulling after setting the hook.

They say it takes ten times the strength to reel in a fish, and while it wasn’t quite that exaggerated, it showed the fish’s powerful bursts. The tense line made a creaking sound as if it could hardly bear the load, the fish dragging the line straight through the water.

Unable to reel in the line, Chu Mingcheng braced the fishing rod against his belly.

With his center of gravity low and stable like a mountain, no matter how much the fish under the water burst forth, it couldn’t swim farther, only spinning in half-circles.

When the fish’s first burst of energy passed, Chu Mingcheng jerked the rod sharply.

The instant surge of his strength was too much for the fish.

It rose by about fifty centimeters in the water almost immediately and the shaking made it dizzy, momentarily losing its ability to resist.

Chu Mingcheng took the opportunity to reel in several turns of the line, pulling the fish over a meter closer before it reacted and began to fight again.

Continue to pull, continue to struggle…

Fish: What a sight we’re making with all this tugging. Alright, alright, I’m terrified of you; isn’t it enough that I’m giving in?

A seventy to eighty-centimeter sea bass was pulled to the surface by Chu Mingcheng, who was somewhat surprised; he thought it would be a much larger golden pomfret but wasn’t expecting a sea bass.

But it was all good; the two types of fish weren’t much different in price, as long as they were big enough.

He locked the drag, picked up the large landing net, and hoisted the sea bass on board. Once out of the water and in the net, the sea bass calmed down as it had no leverage.

Upon being placed on deck, it flopped around so much that Chu Mingcheng was splashed all over his face.

Wiping his face, he looked at the sea bass that might fetch up to a thousand yuan, and he held back.

He removed the hook and threw it into the live well—you’re getting sold once we’re back!

After Chu Mingcheng caught a few more golden pomfret, Jiang Luoluo’s lunch was ready.

Packing up the rods, he approached the cabin door, and the aroma of the food immediately hit his nostrils.

The slight charring of the fish was particularly appetizing.

Chu Mingcheng, who had been hungry for a while, couldn’t help but swallow his saliva, immediately took off his raincoat, hung it at the door, and went inside.

On the coffee table were already a plate of stir-fried baby cabbage and a plate of scrambled eggs with garlic greens; just then, Jiang Luoluo walked over with a plate of golden brown pan-fried golden pomfret.

“Ah Cheng, how do you think I did with the fish?” she asked.

“Looks and smells great, let me taste it,” he said.

The fish looked appetizing, raising Chu Mingcheng’s expectations. He picked up a pair of chopsticks, took a piece of fish, and under Jiang Luoluo’s nervous yet somewhat expectant gaze, he put it in his mouth.

The fish was tender with a slightly crispy skin, just like its appearance, the flavor truly didn’t disappoint.

Chu Mingcheng immediately gave her the thumbs up, “Impressive, for a first attempt to be this delicious, even I can only match this level.”

Cooking is not a difficult task as long as you know the method.

Jiang Luoluo, receiving the compliment, flashed a radiant smile, “As long as it tastes good, let’s eat!”