The grandfather and grandson put their things on the tricycle: two large buckets, a small bucket for bait, two rods, a large long-handled net, and a toolbox that Grandpa Chen treasured very much.
Seeing that her grandfather had driven the car to their shrimp pond, Chen Zhiyao looked puzzled.
"Grandpa, weren't you going fishing? Why are you here at the shrimp pond?"
"Let's catch some shrimp to go fishing."
"Using live shrimp for fishing is too extravagant. Just go to the beach and collect some small fish and shrimp, or use oyster meat."
The last time Chen Zhiyao went fishing was when she was in junior high school. She wasn't so particular about it back then, and even the fishing rod was just a bamboo rod she grabbed from home.
"Live bait is more effective for fishing sea fish. Anyway, these are shrimp that we raise ourselves, so it doesn't cost much."
The old man smiled and used the net in the bucket to scoop up about a pound of large shrimp.
Seeing the old man's familiar movements, Chen Zhiyao suspected that the shrimp pond at home was specially set up by her grandfather for fishing.
However, since the old man managed the shrimp pond himself, she didn't say anything to spoil the mood and happily carried her things onto the tricycle.
Ten minutes later, Grandpa Chen brought his granddaughter to his and Chen Weiqiang's secret base, a rocky beach.
rocky beach
The reefs here are very large; even at high tide, they won't flood the area.
Moreover, the water is quite deep, and many schools of fish live there, making it the best fishing spot in the village.
However, the grandfather and grandson arrived a little late, and there were already two fishermen, all bundled up, fishing there.
Upon closer inspection, I realized I didn't recognize any of them; they were probably fishing from other places.
Grandpa Chen stepped forward and casually asked, "Does it have a mouth?"
"We just arrived, and we haven't had a chance to eat yet," the two said in unison.
However, the shrimp in the small bucket at their feet, which they used for fishing, were half-dead, suggesting they had been there for quite some time.
The area outside had already been occupied, so Grandpa Chen had no choice but to lead his granddaughter inside.
Only after the two people from before were out of sight did Grandpa Chen choose a huge rock as his fishing spot and fill two large buckets with water.
The fishing rod, hook, and line in Chen Zhiyao's hand were all tied by her father beforehand. The hook was size 3, and the sinker was heavy, suitable for catching big fish at the bottom.
She hadn't fished for several years, so her movements were a bit rusty. Following Grandpa Chen's example, she hooked a whole, still-living shrimp onto the hook.
As soon as she lowered the fishing hook, she felt something tugging at the fishing rod in her hand.
Chen Zhiyao was so excited that she jumped up and down. "So fast? There were fish biting as soon as I put them in!"
She excitedly lifted the fishing rod to hook the fish, but it seemed like there was no resistance, and the fishing rod stopped moving again.
"Could this fish have gotten away?"
Undeterred, Chen Zhiyao reeled in the fishing line and discovered that what was once a whole live shrimp was now only half a shrimp.
"This fish is too cunning; it only eats the flesh and doesn't take the bait."
Grandpa Chen also picked up his fishing rod at this time, and his situation was the same as hers. He didn't even have half a shrimp left, only a bare shrimp head.
"There are quite a few yellowfin tuna here. I guess some small tuna have taken the bait. Let's switch to a smaller ditch," Grandpa Chen said to his granddaughter as he changed the hook.
Chen Zhiyao hadn't fished much, so she naturally did whatever the old man told her to do—listen to advice and you'll have a full stomach, right?
She quickly changed to a size 1 hook and a smaller sinker.
Then Chen Zhiyao cut the half-shrimp in half again. She handed one half to Grandpa Chen and hung the other half on her fishing hook.
Not long after the fishing hook was lowered into the water, Chen Zhiyao felt a pulling sensation coming from the fishing rod in her hand.
Looking down, I saw that the fishing rod had bent slightly. Although the force wasn't great, it was clear that a fish had taken the bait.
"Raise the rod quickly!"
Grandpa Chen had been keeping an eye on his granddaughter's situation, and when he saw that a fish had taken the bait, he quickly spoke up to warn her.
As I lifted the fishing rod to set the hook, I felt a slight struggle in my hand, and the force gradually increased, indicating that it was a small fish weighing less than a pound.
Although it was just a small fish, it was the first fish she had caught in recent years. Chen Zhiyao held the fishing rod, extremely excited.
The fish was so small that she didn't even need to play it; she pulled it out of the water in no time.
It was a rather large stone nine-grain, weighing about four or five ounces.
The fish wasn't big, so Chen Zhiyao didn't even need a net; she just flew up.
Shi Jiugong
The scientific name of the stonefish is *Acorus gramineus*, also known as the stonefish. It is mostly reddish-brown with many dark spots and stripes on its body, a wide mouth, and a row of long spines on its head.
This type of fish lives under the reefs along the coast. It is generally small, usually weighing two or three ounces. This one, weighing four or five ounces, is considered quite large.
Although the stone gourd is not very big and has many small thorns, it tastes very delicious. She can drink three big bowls of soup made with it.
Grandpa Chen was overjoyed to see his granddaughter catch a fish so quickly.
"Not bad, you caught such a big rock goby as soon as you arrived. Although this fish is small, it is quite expensive. It can sell for sixty or seventy yuan per catty at the collection point."
"Grandpa, you chose the best spot." Chen Zhiyao happily hung another half of a shrimp on the fishing hook.
Just as she put her fishing hook into the water, Grandpa Chen also caught a fish—a palm-sized yellowfin tuna, weighing about half a pound.
The scientific name is Yellowfin seabream, belonging to the class Osteichthyes, order Perciformes, family Seabream, also known as Yellowfoot Seabream.
My uncle's family owns a fishing boat and often sends over some sea fish, most of which are yellowfin tuna.
Yellow-footed cured pork has a delicate and tender texture, a delicious flavor, and is meaty with few bones. It is delicious whether steamed, boiled in soup, or pan-fried.
Chen Zhiyao took out her phone, just about to take a picture of the fish in the bucket, when she felt the fishing rod in her hand move again.
This time, the drag from the fishing rod wasn't much, but it was noticeably better than with Shi Jiugong earlier, who struggled quite fiercely.
After playing the fish for two minutes, Chen Zhiyao caught a yellowtail catfish weighing about six or seven ounces.
There were probably schools of yellowtail amberjack under the rocks. In just half an hour, she caught 10 yellowtail amberjack, the larger ones weighing seven or eight ounces and the smaller ones about half a pound.
Grandpa Chen went even further, catching at least a dozen fish, though they were relatively small, weighing around half a pound each, with the smaller ones only weighing three ounces.
However, after the fish left, neither of their fishing rods moved for the next 20 minutes.
Grandpa Chen told his granddaughter to switch to a larger fishing hook, "The small fish are in the middle and upper layers of the water. The commotion just now was too loud and scared the fish away. Let's switch to a larger fishing hook to catch the big fish at the bottom."
Chen Zhiyao listened to the advice and quickly changed to a size 3 hook and a larger sinker.
The shrimp, still struggling desperately, slowly sank into the seawater as the weight sank.
After a few minutes, Chen Zhiyao felt a huge pulling sensation, and the fishing rod in her hand bent into a crescent shape.
A tremendous sense of struggle was transmitted through the fishing rod to her hand, stimulating Chen Zhiyao's nerves.
She had only ever fished for small fish like rockfish before. She would frantically reel in the fish, and the more the fish struggled in the water after taking the bait, the more excited she became, until her palms were sweating with excitement.
That force must be from a fish weighing over ten kilograms.
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