Chapter 91: Chapter 91: Undercover on the North Reef Coast
The Red Diamond Fish’s scientific na in Chinese is bin diao, and like the Long-tailed Shore Bream and the Multi-rake Shore Bream, it belongs to the Clupeidae family; the three fish are very similar.
But in terms of size, the Long-tailed Shore Bream is the smallest.
The eleven-pound one that Chu Mingcheng caught is already considered a large individual within the Long-tailed Shore Bream.
However, bin diao and Multi-rake Shore Bream can grow to over one ter, especially the bin diao, which can reach up to one ter twenty-seven.
But the one he caught was clearly oversized, not only attracting the attention of nearby fishing enthusiasts but also rousing the boat captain who had just lain down to rest.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, such a big Red Diamond Fish, I’ve been out at sea for more than twenty years and this is the first ti I’ve seen one!”
...
He didn’t even bother asking Chu Mingcheng if he would sell the fish, knowing that such fish are typically snapped up as soon as they hit the shore, bypassing any middleman.
“Boss, do you have a ruler? I want to asure the fish’s length, then can you help take a picture afterwards?”
Under normal circumstances, taking such a big fish ho would definitely be a misadventure, but given the unique situation on the boat and the need to preserve the fish while it’s fresh, taking a commorative photo with it was the only option.
No sooner had Chu Mingcheng finished speaking than a deckhand quickly approached and handed him a tape asure.
This old brother really knew what he was doing!
He took the tape asure, handed over his phone for taking pictures and started asuring the Red Diamond Fish.
Once out of the water, the bigger the fish, the harder it is to move, especially if it’s pulled up directly from the deep sea.
This Red Diamond Fish’s mouth was still opening and closing, but in reality, once on the deck, it hardly moved at all.
Chu Mingcheng squatted down and safely asured its body length; it was 137 centiters.
One deckhand took a photo of the asurent, and then another brought over a scale. Together, they lifted the fish onto the scale, which showed it weighed 32.9 kilograms, equivalent to 65.8 pounds.
Seeing this number, the boat captain sighed slightly with regret: “Just shy of the mark, the current record is about 74 pounds, with a length of 145 centiters.”
“Being able to catch sothing close to the record size dostically is satisfaction enough, I’m not expecting to break the record,” said Chu Mingcheng who was already delighted with his catch.
The record fish the captain ntioned was caught overseas, where the environnt is quite different.
Truth be told, Chu Mingcheng was quite interested in wreaking havoc in foreign waters, only wondering how easy it would be to get a fishing license abroad.
He squatted next to the fish and let the deckhand take a picture of him alone, then checked the result.
The deckhand’s photography skills were impressive; the fish looked two sizes bigger than him in the photo.
Then the boat captain also ca over for a group photo.
This kind of newsworthy fish was definitely not sothing he would miss out on showcasing, as it could attract more fishing enthusiasts.
Once the photos were taken, Chu Mingcheng imdiately ordered an extra-large foam box, the type used for Golden Spearfish, asking the deckhand to seal the fish in it for preservation.
Afterward, he inquired about the potential market price of the fish once they landed.
The boat captain pondered for a mont and said, “The exact amount will depend on what people are willing to pay, usually these are auctioned off as soon as they arrive onshore.”
“I feel yours could easily be worth twenty thousand at the lowest, you wouldn’t make a loss selling it for that price.”
Twenty thousand, that is, about three hundred yuan per pound.
Compared to its elegant cousin the Long-tailed Shore Bream, which features a slender physique and tail fin that waves like the sleeve of a dancer, the plain-looking bin diao gains the upper hand with its lower price and higher yield.
In other words, the price of bin diao is incomparable to that of the Long-tailed Shore Bream, being more than just half as cheap.
The market price for fresh bin diao ranges between eighty-five to one hundred twenty yuan, with specific prices varying depending on the region, but for sure it’s much cheaper in the Qiongzhou area.
When the captain ntioned twenty thousand, he was accounting for a large part of the hype and rarity.
If sold at market price, it would probably fetch about two hundred yuan per pound.
But even at twenty thousand, Chu Mingcheng had already made his money back on this trip, and now he was pondering whether he could take the opportunity to earn back all the money he had spent since coming to Qiongzhou.
A bin diao that nearly set a record had all the nearby fishing enthusiasts brimming with enthusiasm.
All those who were originally using low-power electric reels to fish for small species had rented large electric reels and stiff rods from the crew.
Not only that, the mackerel bait on the ship sold out in a flash.
The captain stood on the deck, smiling for a while, before he leisurely walked back to his cabin to sleep with his hands clasped behind his back.
He was not the only person in charge, as there was also a deputy captain to take over his shift, allowing him to sleep soundly.
It seed that his luck with the Long-tailed Shore Bream had been used up, Chu Mingcheng only caught two Red Snappers, each weighing a little over ten pounds, in the next two hours.
The two fish combined were only worth one thousand five hundred yuan according to market prices, which was nothing compared to the fish he caught before.
These two fish needed to be bled, so he left it to the crew to handle.
Now it was almost three in the morning, with only three hours left until sunrise, Chu Mingcheng replaced the 30-numbered leader he had been using with a smaller 20-numbered one, and he also switched to smaller hooks.
He didn’t bother changing the main line, as it was too much of a hassle.
This ti he wasn’t using live mackerel as bait, but Antarctic Shrimp to catch smaller fish.
As expected, using smaller bait did attract fish, and he had a high catch rate of five to six-pound Deep Sea Groupers, Red Friends, and Long-tailed Shore Breams.
After daybreak, Chu Mingcheng had caught a total of thirteen fish.
The catch for the night was very good, and he had no plans to continue fishing. He packed up his gear, washed his face back in his room, and then went for breakfast.
This afternoon, the ship would arrive near the Xisha North Reef, where it would be possible to rent a boat for trolling, but it would cost an additional 500 yuan per hour.
Whether freediving for spearing fish was allowed was still unknown; he had brought his equipnt and decided to ask about it later that afternoon.
…
At noon, Chu Mingcheng was woken up by the crew calling everyone for lunch.
He got up, washed up, and went out to find that the ship had already reached the Xisha North Reef.
The azure sea and blue sky were not rely a scene from a movie.
This kind of beautiful tropical island scenery was sothing he could not see in his hotown.
He took out his head-mounted cara to film the scenery all around, then took a few shots with his mobile phone.
Looking at the photos, he realized his photography skills were subpar; the actual scenery was much better. He decided to keep the photos anyway and planned to buy a decent cara and learn to take pictures when he had ti in the future.
After lunch, Chu Mingcheng approached the crew, indicating that he wanted to go out to freedive.
However, as he did not have a diving buddy, the captain refused him.
Luckily, there was a crew mber who knew how to dive, albeit with just a one-star certification, which was sufficient.
The crew mber’s tip was also 500 yuan per hour, but Chu Mingcheng wasn’t too concerned about the price.
As long as there were fish, the returns from spearfishing would be much more direct than from fishing.
He ward up with the crew mber on the deck until they were slightly overheated. Then they put on their gear and took the trolling dinghy to a nearby shoal.
The crew mber was also equipped with diving gear and brought along an oxygen tank, just in case it was needed in a crucial mont.
If Chu Mingcheng ended up using the oxygen tank, the cost would be charged to him.
But he didn’t mind at all; he wouldn’t give up this opportunity.
The dinghy took them straight to a shallow bank, and the two n got off the boat.
Although the crew mber was wearing a diving suit, he also wore a life jacket over it.
His job was to float on the surface monitoring Chu Mingcheng’s safety. He would only go to rescue if there was a danger, otherwise, he didn’t need to do anything.
Chu Mingcheng put on his fins and entered the water from the shore, the crystal-clear water allowing him to clearly observe any movent beneath the surface.
The Xisha was not only a fishing paradise but also a haven for spearfishers.
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