I Can Fish Up Everything!

Chapter 233: Chapter 147: A Sunfish Will Surely Capsize

The two boat hands each found a spot to fish, and as soon as they scattered the groundbait, threadfin fish swarmed over.

Gu Nan had already switched to a smaller bait. The moment his bait from the electric reel rod hit the water, he had a fish on the line. He had to put down his rod, grab the landing net, and bring the fish in.

But after that, the fish started biting so quickly that he had no time to fish himself. Instead, he ended up acting as a deckhand, helping the other two men land their catches.

Gu Nan was more than happy to do it, though. Ninety percent of the fish they caught were his.

The two boat hands fished with all their might. After all, the more they caught, the bigger their cut.

Gu Nan could afford to overlook a few hundred or even a thousand yuan, but they couldn’t.

The only downside was that these threadfin fish weren’t particularly large. They were mostly between one and a half and three pounds. The biggest one was just over five pounds, and they had only caught one of that size so far.

Even without any huge threadfins, Gu Nan was very satisfied. It was like finding free money.

The competition organizers were covering fuel costs, so he had almost no overhead.

In a single morning, they used up all the Antarctic krill and caught a boatload of threadfin fish.

It looked like a lot, but it was just a small fraction of the entire school of threadfin. Their catch wouldn’t actually cause much damage to the overall population.

If a trawler were to come by, though... Tsk, tsk.

When the time came, the two boat hands, having fished to their heart’s content, squatted down to count their haul.

In just over two hours, they had caught fifty-three and fifty-eight fish, respectively—a similar pace and efficiency.

Gu Nan generously let them pick six of the largest ones, not wanting to sweat the small stuff.

The two boat hands didn’t stand on ceremony. The six large fish added up to about twenty pounds.

When freshly caught, this stuff sold for eighty yuan a pound. For each of them, that was an income of over 1,400 yuan—not a small sum by any means.

Gu Nan would help them weigh and sell the fish later, then secretly transfer them the money after heading out to sea that night.

The domestic threadfin, scientifically known as *Eleutheronema tetradactylum*, is also farmed. These fish only grow to a maximum length of seventy or eighty centimeters, with two to three pounds being a normal size.

The farmed variety is much cheaper, only costing ten or twenty-odd yuan per pound.

Another species of fourfinger threadfin, which can grow up to two meters long, is primarily found in Southeast Asia.

Returning to the pier late at noon, Gu Nan was about to sell his fish when he discovered he was no longer in first place.

The top spot now belonged to a 365-pound catch—a mola mola!

Gu Nan was stunned. ’Seriously? Someone actually got that lucky?’

A moment later, Wang Junhe and Guo Xiao came over, looking grim.

Gu Nan assumed they were upset about losing the top spot, so he smiled comfortingly. ”Brother Wang, Brother Guo, you can’t do anything about someone else’s luck. Second place is still great.”

”We never expected you to have to get first place—as long as you’re in the top three, we’re happy,” Wang Junhe said, shaking his head with a wry smile. ”We’re angry about the club owner of the person who took first.”

”It’s... complicated, and not easy to explain. We used to be members of that club, but we left for certain reasons and started our own.”

”Any other club beating us is fine. But not them! Anyone but them!”

Guo Xiao nodded in agreement. ”Ah Nan, there’s still a day and a half left. You have to give it your all. We’re counting on your luck.”

Gu Nan gave a wry smile. ’Looks like I’ll have to use that card after all.’

To catch something heavier than a 363-pound mola mola... under normal circumstances, his chances were slim to none.

But since his two ”big brothers” had put it like that, he had to give them his support.

Besides, when he turned to look at the other side of the large screen displaying the rankings, he saw two people.

One of them, who looked like a club owner, was staring in his direction with a smirk.

The other was the fisherman, a smug and mocking grin plastered on his face.

Gu Nan chuckled inwardly. He turned back to the pair and said, ”Don’t worry, there’s still enough time! They could have caught anything, but they just had to catch a mola mola. Aren’t they afraid their luck is about to capsize?”

Hearing this, Wang Junhe and Guo Xiao’s spirits lifted. Though they knew the chances were slim, for some reason, Gu Nan’s words ignited an inexplicable spark of confidence within them.

”Yes, yes! A mola mola! Their luck is bound to capsize!”

”Let’s go, let’s go! What do you want for lunch? Brother Wang will get it for you. Rest up this afternoon, recharge your batteries. Tonight, you’ll go out and land an even bigger one. That’ll wipe the smirks off their faces!”

”Whoa, hold on! Let me sell these threadfin first!”

”Sell them? What for? I’ll buy the whole lot! We’ll call it a club member bonus and give everyone a fish or two!” Guo Xiao declared with a grand wave of his hand, ordering someone to tally the fish before grabbing Gu Nan and pulling him away.

Gu Nan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He shot a quick hand signal to the two boat hands over his shoulder and followed the others to a grand feast.

And just like that, he reluctantly pocketed thirty thousand yuan for the batch of threadfin.

As for the other two fishermen on their team, they were once again completely ignored.

If they had managed a decent catch, Wang Junhe and Guo Xiao might have paid them some mind. But since they hadn’t even landed a hundred-pounder, they couldn’t be blamed for the cold shoulder.

For lunch, they had it all: creatures that swam, ran, and flew. There were mountain delicacies from the south and even farmed game. Gu Nan got to experience a true feast of top-tier ingredients.

’For a meal like this alone,’ he thought, ’I have to win first place!’

That evening, a refreshed and well-rested Gu Nan headed back out to sea. This time, he didn’t go searching for schools of fish as he had that morning.

Instead, he continuously cruised the waters, using the fish finder to search for signs of a truly massive fish, cross-referencing some of the routes the club had provided.

The only thing that could beat a 363-pound mola mola was one of the big, migratory game fish. Basically, none of them ever stayed in one area for long.

Gu Nan’s main targets were a large marlin or a swordfish. At this point, they were his most reliable options, as both species had a high probability of exceeding 363 pounds.