Su Wei flicked his wrist, turned off the line release switch, and gently lifted the fishing rod half a meter upward, letting the fishing rig swing on the seabed to simulate the floating of food.
Thump, thump, thump.
There is almost no waiting time.
A rapid and intense jolt came from the tip of the rod.
This wasn't the brute force of a halibut pulling and tugging, but rather the continuous tremors caused by multiple greedy fish simultaneously vying for food.
"You've won."
Su Wei used a fishing rod to hook fish.
Loomis's mast bent into a full arc again, though not as breathtaking as before, it was still quite heavy.
Su Wei began to reel in the line at a steady speed.
The electric reel hummed tirelessly, pulling up its prey. Meanwhile, Aruk's agonizing howl echoed from the side.
"Fuck. It's too deep. Three hundred meters! My arms are going to be ruined."
Aruk gritted his teeth and turned his old manual wheel, each turn accompanied by heavy breathing, his face turning red.
"Stop talking nonsense, you earn two dollars for every spin you do."
Su Wei stared at the tip of the pole without turning his head.
"Damn it... all for the dollars."
Aruk roared, his arms whipping around like wheels of fire.
Five minutes later.
Su Wei's fishing rig was the first to break through the water.
Five hooks, four caught.
This fish is entirely black with fine, dense scales, a slender and rounded body, and has accumulated a very thick layer of fat.
These delicacies from the deep sea each weigh seven or eight pounds.
Su Wei skillfully removed the hooks and tossed the four black cod, still wagging their tails, into the live water tank.
[Prey obtained: Black cod (LV2) x4]
[Gain Experience: Fishing Module +20]
Clatter
Aruk was still there, struggling to reel in the fish. By the time he finally pulled it up, Su Wei's second cast had already hit the bottom again.
Over the next half hour, thanks to his superior equipment and keen senses, Su Wei managed to catch three or four black cod with almost every cast. Although Aruk was slower, he also had a good catch.
Soon, problems arose.
The fresh water tank is full.
The black butter was shoved together, and you couldn't even see the water.
Su Wei had no choice but to throw the newly caught fish directly onto the deck.
The black fish body was piled up like a small mountain next to two huge halibut pieces.
The sticky mucus from the fish's body, mixed with the blood of the flounder and the rising seawater, made the already crowded aft deck extremely slippery.
"One more cast. The last cast."
Aruk's eyes were bloodshot, his face filled with greed. He had just thrown a ten-pound black cod into the pile of fish and was about to grab some bait when he turned around, his movements frantic.
"Stop."
Su Wei suddenly spoke.
He put away his fishing rod, hooking the baited hook onto the guide ring. His calm voice instantly extinguished the heat of the moment.
"Why? The fish are still down there. The sonar is full of red dots. That's money, Su Wei."
Aruk looked at Su Wei with a puzzled expression, still holding a piece of squid meat in his hand.
"We can still make a few hundred more dollars."
Su Wei pointed to the ground beneath his feet.
The original workspace is now completely blocked, with no room to even step. Two enormous halibut pieces have blocked the way.
The area was littered with slippery black cod, along with scattered fishing rigs, blood, and other miscellaneous items.
Even more fatally, due to the increased load, the ship's side was already very close to the water's surface.
"Take a look at your boat."
Su Wei gripped the pillar of the bridge, his body rising and falling with the waves, and he could even feel the ship's responsiveness becoming sluggish.
"We still have 30 crab traps to collect. If there's even a little bit of crab in those traps, where do you plan to put them? Hang them around your neck?"
Aruk was stunned.
He looked around, as if he had just woken up from his dream of money.
The 24-foot aluminum alloy boat was currently in a very deep draft, and even a slightly larger wave would crash onto the deck.
If we set up another 30 cages, plus the stone crabs or snow crabs that might be inside...
Fully loaded...
Aruk swallowed hard, the fervor in his eyes quickly fading, replaced by a blank stare that was both blissful and troubled.
"Good heavens, we've only been out for less than three hours."
Greed will sink the ship.
Su Wei kicked aside a black cod at his feet, clearing a slippery path leading to the cockpit.
"Now, set sail. We'll retrieve the traps and head back to port immediately. Unless you want to swim back with all these fish."
Although Aruk was heartbroken about the money that hadn't yet been fished out of the sea, he knew that Su Wei was right.
In this kind of weather, overloading is tantamount to suicide.
He climbed into the cockpit and started the engine.
The Wavebreaker made a difficult turn around, the engine sounding much heavier than when it came, and the waves kicked up by the stern were low and heavy.
During a break in the voyage, Su Wei began to tidy up the deck.
He arranged the black cod as neatly as possible on the broad body of the halibut, using the huge fish as a natural tray.
Even so, the space left for the two of them to operate was less than two square meters.
Looking at the boatload of fish, Su Wei finally couldn't help but smile.
Chapter 145 A Hold Full of Snow Crabs and the Harvest (Please Subscribe!)
The engine speed of the Wavebreaker has decreased.
The ship rocked violently in the surging waves, each rise and fall accompanied by the creaking of the aluminum alloy frame struggling under the weight.
The mountain of fish piled on the aft deck shifted the ship's center of gravity, making its once agile handling sluggish and cumbersome.
Su Wei stood on the starboard side, holding the two-meter-long fishing hook in his hand.
The seawater had a deep, leaden gray color.
Between the troughs of the waves ahead, an orange buoy appeared and disappeared.
"Slow down at the two o'clock position."
Su Wei shouted, his voice trembling and broken as the wind tore it apart.
Aruk quickly steered from the cockpit, adjusting the bow to face the waves.
He had to be careful; the stern was too low, and if it were hit by a cross wave at this moment, the consequences would be severe.
The orange buoy glided past the ship's side with the current.
Su Wei seized the opportunity, his arm muscles bulged, and he suddenly thrust out the grappling hook.
The stainless steel hook precisely caught the cable below the buoy.
"It's up."
He quickly retracted the hook, grabbed the wet, cold, and rough cable, and wedged it into the pulley groove of the hydraulic net-lifting machine.
Aruk pushed down the control lever of the net-lifting machine.
"Squeak"
The hydraulic pump emitted a piercing screech, and the winch began to turn.
The rope, soaked with seawater, was forcibly rolled up, taut, and constantly flung out icy water droplets.
This string of crab traps is set 100 meters deep on the edge of the continental shelf, and the ropes are very long.
Su Wei stared at the rising rope, calculating the depth.
Two minutes later, a black steel frame emerged from the water.
With a splash, the crab trap was pulled out of the water by the winch and slammed heavily onto the ship's side shield.