Seagull Island
The mangrove forest is very close to Seagull Island. In just a few minutes, the fishing boat arrived at a beach in front of Seagull Island.
There is no pier on Seagull Island, so Chen Zhiyao could only carry the fishing traps, fishing gear, and other things she might need onto the kayak before paddling to the beach.
Although this small island is very close to the village, it has not been developed yet. Apart from the local fishermen, there are basically no tourists, so the surrounding seawater is particularly clear and clean.
The seawater at my feet was crystal clear, and the distant ocean was as transparent and crystalline as jelly.
Clear seawater
There are few people here, the beach is very clean, and there is soft, fine sand everywhere. Walking on the beach instantly lifts your spirits.
After walking a few steps, Chen Zhiyao saw some small animal tracks on the beach.
These seemingly clear yet slightly messy footprints are traces left by an octopus crawling, as any child who grew up by the sea would recognize.
Following the octopuses' trail, Chen Zhiyao walked less than two meters before spotting a small creature that looked exhausted and somewhat dehydrated from the sun.
The escaped octopus
"Poor little guy."
Despite saying she felt sorry for it, Chen Zhiyao couldn't wait to reach out the clips in her hand towards it.
The octopus was now exhausted, and she easily picked it up and threw it into the bucket.
Octopus +1
After walking a few more steps, Chen Zhiyao found a rather large cat's eye snail on the beach with the shape of ocean waves.
This guy was just about to lie down on the sand; if he had come a little later, he probably would have all hidden inside.
Cat's eye snails prepared for sand lying
Chen Zhiyao happily picked up the rather unique cat's eye snail, "These big eyes look quite realistic."
Cat's Eye Snail +1
The tide had already risen halfway up the sea. Grandpa Chen led the way, and the two were preparing to set up fish traps on the nearby rocky beach.
Chen Zhiyao was holding the fish trap in both hands and carrying a bucket for beachcombing, lagging behind Grandpa Chen by more than ten meters.
Suddenly, Grandpa Chen in front waved excitedly at her, followed by an excited voice:
"Tangtang, the beach here is full of sea snails. Quickly bring the net over to sift them out."
"Hey, I'm here, I'm here." Chen Zhiyao put the cage aside and then jogged over.
Soon, she saw that the ground was covered with small seashells that looked like melon seeds.
The scientific name for sea melon seeds is *Clams maculatus*. Because their shape and size are very similar to melon seeds, they are called sea melon seeds here.
The shell of the sea snail is oval-shaped, about 2 centimeters long. Its shell is very thin, with a smooth surface, and comes in several colors, such as brown, gray, and white.
These little creatures usually live in mudflats, but can occasionally be seen on beaches.
Chen Zhiyao took the net and quickly scooped up the small seashells mixed with fine sand. She put about two pounds of them into the seawater to wash them.
Sea snails
Then they received a large handful of sea snails that looked like beautiful gems.
Although these clams are smaller than regular clams, the meat inside is very plump and tastes better.
Most importantly, sea snails are much more valuable than clams; they sell for at least 30 or 40 yuan per kilogram at the purchasing stations.
With sea snails scattered all over the ground, the two of them didn't even bother to set up the fish trap.
Chen Zhiyao worked quickly, scooping all the cute little creatures into the net and then washing them in the sea.
The two repeated these two actions over and over until the tide slowly rose, at which point they reluctantly walked back to shore.
By this time, Chen Zhiyao had already scooped up nearly five or six pounds of sea snails, while Grandpa Chen was even more extravagant, with at least eight pounds of the little guys in the bucket.
Chen Zhiyao smiled broadly and gave the still vigorous old man a thumbs up:
"Grandpa, you're still amazing! You're still got it."
"You little rascal, you have such a sweet tongue."
When the two arrived at the rocky beach, they saw that the seawater had completely flooded the area, leaving only a few slightly larger rocks.
rocky beach after high tide
The fish trap should be placed in a place where the seawater is as deep as possible, but now that the seawater has risen, it is obviously no longer suitable.
So the two went back to where they had landed, intending to row a kayak around Seagull Island.
Go and see if there are any other better places nearby to put the traps.
Seagull Island is not large. The place where the boat is moored is a large white sand beach, and if you paddle the kayak further ahead, you will reach the rocky beach you just saw.
Further along from the rocky beach, there are only large rocks and steep cliffs.
There is also a small beach behind Seagull Island, but it is not as nice as the one in front.
It took the grandfather and grandson about half an hour to walk around the entire island along the coastline.
They were lucky; they actually found a propitious spot.
Beneath the large reefs lie numerous smaller reefs and coral reefs of varying sizes, making this area particularly suitable for fish and crabs.
Feng Shui treasure land
This place is not only suitable for setting fish traps, but also particularly suitable for fishing. The two of them happily rowed their small kayak to the shore.
The bait inside the trap had already been placed on the boat. Chen Zhiyao secured it with a large rock on the shore and then threw the trap directly into the sea.
Immediately afterwards, the two set up their fishing gear and began their fishing trip.
The grandfather and grandson both enjoyed fishing for big fish. They simultaneously hooked a live shrimp onto the number 3 hook and began bottom fishing.
As soon as the fishing hook hit the water, Chen Zhiyao looked at her grandfather with great interest:
"Fishing alone is too boring. Let's have a competition to see who catches the biggest fish. The loser has to treat his whole family to ice cream."
Having learned his lesson from last night, Grandpa Chen shook his head and changed the rules of the game.
"Let's not compare sizes, let's compare weights. When we get back, we'll see who has the heaviest total catch."
Chen Zhiyao thought confidently that the fish she caught would definitely be the biggest, and there didn't seem to be much difference in weight.
But Grandpa Chen didn't think so. Although he didn't often catch big fish, he caught plenty of small fish, and he might not necessarily lose in terms of weight.
The grandfather and grandson both believed they would win, staring intently at the sea with serious expressions, patiently waiting for the first fish to take the bait.
But 10 minutes passed and the fishing rods in their hands still didn't budge.
Just as Chen Zhiyao was about to lift the fishing rod to check if the bait was still there, she suddenly felt a force in her hand.
The reel was spinning slowly, and the pulling force from the fishing rod wasn't heavy, so Chen Zhiyao figured it must be a small fish weighing one or two pounds.
However, since it was the first fish of the day, Chen Zhiyao, in a good mood, spent a full two minutes reeling the little guy in before finally pulling him up.
"Oh, it's a bluefin tuna, huh? This one's pretty expensive. Not bad, not bad, a good start."
Chen Zhiyao laughed freely, while also giving Grandpa Chen a provocative look, who was still completely still.
"No rush, there's still plenty of time."
Grandpa Chen maintained a calm smile on his face, appearing unperturbed, but he was extremely anxious inside.
Just as Chen Zhiyao caught another stone goby, Grandpa Chen's fishing rod finally made a sound.
"Squeak squeak squeak..."
The reel squeaked and groaned as the fish in the sea pulled on it, and the fishing line darted outwards.
Based on his intuition, Grandpa Chen felt that this should be a big fish weighing more than 10 pounds.
A big fish took the bait, and Grandpa Chen excitedly stood up, assumed a horse stance, and began to play the fish.
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