King of the Wilderness-Chapter 32: Weaving a Stinging Net

Today marks the thirty-eighth day of wilderness survival.

Lin Yu’an stepped out of the warm stone shelter, the chill at the Chilco Lakefront growing ever more intense.

"Time flies, I’ve already spent over a month here."

"It’s worth mentioning that this season’s rule restrictions are quite numerous, grizzly bears, fishers, doe, all animal cubs, are off-limits for hunting."

"Fishing is limited to no more than two fish per day on average. Fortunately, according to the program’s rules, after the fortieth day, the use of fishing nets will be allowed. So I need to start preparing in advance."

He held the camera and walked inside the shelter, facing the smoked meat and the remaining Jerusalem artichokes stored in the willow basket.

"Although we currently have some food reserves, they are far from enough to face the impending long winter.

"Fishing has yielded significant results only during the period when fish returned to spawn. After that, I’ve faced a long stretch of dry days. Therefore, I must take advantage of the opportunity when the net ban is lifted to explore more possibilities for acquiring food resources."

"As such, I am determined to start crafting a small stinging net today, setting it up on the inside of a bend where the water flows gently."

Lin Yu’an took out a roll of nylon fishing line that he hadn’t used extensively before from his supplies.

"Here I have a roll of about 0.35mm nylon fishing line. Its strength and stealth are quite good, enough to weave a small stinging net."

He selected a dry wooden stick about the thickness of a thumb and approximately four centimeters long from a pile of spare lumber.

Lin Yu’an showcased the stick before the camera and said, "I plan to weave diamond-shaped mesh eyes approximately four centimeters apart using this small stick as a reference to ensure the consistency of the mesh size." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

He found a flat, sunlit yet slightly wind-sheltered area, which became his temporary net-weaving workshop.

Firstly, he stood up several spruce tree trunks around two meters apart, tightly pulling up a "guideline" with parachute cord as the starting reference for weaving the stinging net.

"I will begin weaving the first row of mesh eyes from the top line of this net."

Lin Yu’an untied a segment of about seven to eight meters long from the precious nylon fishing line and tied it firmly with a strong "double-overhand knot" on the left end of the guideline.

"Using the four-centimeter stick as a gauge, I wrap the fishing line from the lower side of the guideline, looping around the gauge once, and then pull it back to form a standard loop."

"This action must be kept consistent in strength each time around the gauge; otherwise, the mesh eyes will vary in size."

Next, his fingers maneuvered, pulling the free end of the fishing line through the previously formed loop and skillfully tightening it, securing the first standard "flat knot" on the guideline.

"There are many types of net knots, but the core requirement is that they must be tight and not loosen during the fish’s struggle. Otherwise, the size of the mesh eyes alters, impacting fishing effectiveness."

Lin Yu’an demonstrated this to the camera across his chest, deliberately slowing down the movements, hoping to capture every detail of the knotting process, ensuring the audience could understand.

The nylon line danced adeptly between his fingers, pulling tight, creating a clear standard half-diamond mesh eye on the guideline.

"When making the first knot, ensure it clings tightly to the guideline, with the loop formed precisely matching the length of the stick."

"This way, the size of the first mesh eye is precisely determined, acting as a crucial benchmark."

He then repeated these motions: passing the fishing line around the stick, weaving, knotting, pulling tight, securing the second knot on the guideline. He continually repeated this seemingly simple yet patience-demanding process.

Soon, an orderly row of half-diamond mesh eyes, uniform in size, gradually extended on the guideline.

Lin Yu’an plans for the width of this stinging net to be about two meters, necessitating dozens of such net knots for the first row.

"Remember that the first row of mesh eyes is the foundation of the entire fishing net. If the first row is skewed or loose, the final net’s efficacy will undoubtedly suffer."

When completing the entire first row of half-mesh eyes, he commences weaving the second row.

Starting from this row, he no longer requires the guideline as the direct reference but uses the lower part of the mesh eyes in the previous row as the new "guideline" for weaving.

"From the second row onwards, we weave complete diamond mesh eyes."

"Each new knot connects to the centerline between adjacent knots in the previous row, forming a stable and uniform diamond structure."

Occasionally, Lin Yu’an lifted the partially woven net piece to demonstrate to the camera, with the clear diamond meshes appearing exceptionally distinct under the sunlight.

"Impatience and the pursuit of speed are the greatest taboos in net weaving."

"Should a knot be wrongly tied or incompletely pulled tight, it leads to wasted effort, bringing the work to naught."

"Additionally, if the mesh eyes vary in size, small fish may slip through, while larger fish can’t effectively catch their gills, easily escaping."

Lin Yu’an plans for the stinging net’s length to be about four meters and its width two meters. This dimension should be sufficient to intercept most waterways while being easy for one person to set up and retrieve.

After a day of undivided labor, when Lin Yu’an knots the last knot of the final row, securing the loose end with a "net finish knot,"

A uniformly meshed, tightly knotted nylon stinging net is finally complete in his hands!

Detaching the stinging net from the guideline strung between two trees, he gently unfurled it, displaying the completed piece to the camera with both hands holding the top line.

"Hey, look at this! The core of a hand-woven small stinging net is finally done!"

"However, for the net to unfold vertically in the water, the weight and distribution of the floats and sinkers are crucial, directly influencing the shape and fishing effectiveness of the net in water."

Lin Yu’an began crafting the floats and sinkers for the stinging net.

For the floats, he selected very lightweight, dried branches of white poplar; for the sinkers, he picked some stones.

"These white poplar branches themselves are very light, and once thoroughly dried, have excellent buoyancy. Tying them evenly on the top line of the stinging net will make the upper edge float well."

Then, he secured the crafted small wooden float pieces about twenty centimeters apart, knotting them tightly to the upper line of the stinging net, making each knot secure to prevent the floats from easily falling off.

Similarly, he tied the gathered stone sinkers with the same spacing and sturdy knots to the lower line of the stinging net.

Carefully adjusting each float and sinker’s position and rope length, ensuring their even distribution facilitates the net’s balance in water, allowing it to spread vertically to the maximum extent.

"Alright, the floats and sinkers are fully installed. Our hand-crafted stinging net is now truly finished!"

"All that’s left is waiting for the ban to lift, and then I can use it!"

As he stowed away the completed stinging net, the sun had drifted westward, prompting Lin Yu’an to check the trap and lasso setup.

Strangely, each trap was triggered, with the bait missing, yet no prey was caught.

After a careful investigation of the cause, he finally discovered a tuft of animal fur around one trap, appearing to belong to a fox...

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