Chapter 197 - 135: Gu Nan: I Caught a Big Fish. Do You Dare to Eat It?

Chapter 197: Chapter 135: Gu Nan: I Caught a Big Fish. Do You Dare to Eat It?

"I’ve not only never caught a fish this big, I’ve never even seen anyone else catch one!"

"Never seen one, huh?" Gu Nan looked like he was struggling, but he was actually doing fine, which was clear since he still had the energy to talk.

Guo Xiao nodded again and again.

"Heh, well, you’re about to see it firsthand today!"

Guo Xiao: "..."

"Pfft~" Wang Junhe couldn’t help but burst out laughing. A moment ago, he was regretting that he hadn’t spoken up fast enough. He never expected this new "little brother" of his to be so mischievous.

Gu Nan really had no intention of giving up his spot. It was early in the morning, and he wanted to get his fill of fighting a big fish. More importantly, he wanted to show off his skills.

The stalemate continued for five or six minutes.

Gu Nan was covered in sweat. With the sun beating down on him, his clothes were soaked through. His rapid breathing had made his throat a little dry.

His method for fighting this fish was different from how he’d handled the four- to five-hundred-pound Indian marlin before.

He’d been very passive when fighting the marlin before, just holding onto the rod and letting the fish run as much as it wanted.

This time, although he was also "walking the fish," he was trying his best to keep it from running too far while also tiring it out faster.

That massive fish had a lure helping to wear it down, but this fish was only fighting against the line.

Fortunately, his efforts paid off. The fish’s first burst of energy was over, and it had run nearly two hundred meters.

Whether it was a marlin or a skipjack tuna, these types of fish were incredibly powerful swimmers, making them time-consuming and exhausting to catch.

Moreover, this fish was at a depth of seventy to eighty meters, making it even more difficult than catching a hundred-and-sixty-five-pound marlin.

Sensing the fish was resting, Gu Nan ignored his exhaustion and the heat, braced the rod against his stomach, and began reeling in line quickly as he lifted with all his might.

For small fish, it’s convenient to tuck the rod under your armpit, but for big fish, you have to brace it against your stomach.

"Holy crap, it’s only been a few minutes and the fish is already tired?" Wang Junhe understood what was happening from Gu Nan’s posture, and his eyes widened in amazement.

Behind them, the shipyard owner and the diving coach exchanged a look, their eyes also filled with surprise. They weren’t newbies; they knew how hard it was to catch a big fish.

It seemed they were finally starting to truly understand why their two friends had recommended Gu Nan so highly. It wasn’t just good luck!

"No, it’s just finished its first burst, but I doubt it’ll have much strength left after this!" Gu Nan said, taking two gasping breaths. "Brother Wang, give me some water. I’m dying of thirst."

"Okay, okay, I’ll go get it right now!" Wang Junhe replied and hurried into the cabin to grab a bottle of mineral water.

’Rich people, for real,’ Gu Nan thought. ’Even their mineral water comes in glass bottles. As everyone knows, mineral water in glass bottles is more expensive, costing at least twenty or thirty yuan a pop.’

Wang Junhe held the bottle to his lips, and Gu Nan took a couple of sips. He smacked his lips a few times but didn’t taste anything special.

The fish hadn’t started fighting again yet, so he had the energy to speak. "Brother Guo, what kind of mineral water is this? How much is a bottle?"

"Just a brand I drink often. It’s not expensive, only one hundred and seventy-eight yuan a bottle."

Gu Nan’s mouth twitched. ’His use of "not expensive" and "only" was just perfect.’

’He made up his mind. On the way back, he was going to take the whole case from the cabin. He’d do some serious research, figure out what made it so damn expensive, and then tell Guo Xiao so the guy wouldn’t keep getting scammed.’

’He still had some cigarettes back at his shop, but he didn’t really smoke himself—they were mostly for handing out at social gatherings.’

’Still, when he got the chance, he’d have to take another tour of Wang Junhe’s boat. Smoking is hazardous to your health, after all. For Brother Wang’s own good, he’d just have to confiscate those cigarettes.’

After a short rest, the big fish started acting up again. Gu Nan refocused on fighting it, and the others nearby lowered their voices, afraid of disturbing him.

Hauling a fish from the depths to the surface was definitely much harder. This time, it took him nearly an hour to get the behemoth to the surface.

But when they saw what the fish looked like, everyone was surprised. It wasn’t a skipjack tuna, nor was it the yellowtail or tuna they might have expected. Instead, it was a massive, pitch-black fish.

"This is an oilfish, isn’t it!" Guo Xiao’s mouth twitched. The sight of this fish reminded him of a certain day when he’d tempted fate.

Back then, his wife had been disgusted with him for three whole days. For those three days, he had to stay somewhere else...

Wait a minute. Suddenly, Guo Xiao’s eyes lit up. ’Staying somewhere else!!!’

Wang Junhe had an equally vivid memory of this fish. At first, he was disgusted too, but in the next moment, his eyes lit up, almost in sync with Guo Xiao.

Because back then, the two partners in misery had stayed in a hotel for three days, even working from there.

’But now that he thought about it, this oilfish was, in a way, a real bro to guys in their thirties like them. You didn’t even need to come up with an excuse.’

’Last time it was a hotel; this time, they could stay on the boat!’

’What was a little sanitation issue? They could just wear adult diapers! Hire a few people to clean and do the laundry, bring in a private chef... man, that would be the life!’

As a seasoned angler, Gu Nan also recognized the infamous oilfish. He hadn’t seen one in real life, but he’d seen pictures.

This type of fish was usually just over a meter long. He never expected to catch one so big—it was a full two meters. No wonder it was so hard to land.

There are two types of oilfish. Gu Nan used the hoist to lift the fish aboard and glanced at the built-in scale. ’Holy crap, 190 pounds! It was massive.’

He then placed the fish on the deck to identify it carefully and found that it was an escolar.

This fish can grow up to two meters long and is a very strong-swimming, ferocious deep-sea fish.

’Online, it said this fish topped out at 140 pounds, which was clearly inaccurate.’

’That 140-pound figure was definitely wrong. He’d seen data from a commercial fishing company stating that this fish could get as heavy as 198 pounds.’