Since the barracuda is often called the "sea wolf," it shares some similarities with wolves, notably living in groups. Barracudas tend to move in schools, so if one is caught, it indicates that there's a whole school nearby.
As the three barracudas were quickly pulled up, Kevin and the others continued lowering their lines. Darlene and the others, now eager to help, joined in. Watching them pull the fish ashore one by one, Jiang Hai couldn't help but curl his lips in mild amusement.
Azarina, Bell, and Harriman, who had initially shown no interest in the fish, were now excitedly running to the floating platform. The task of killing the fish—simply knocking them out after they were pulled up—was something they were quite skilled at.
"Tsk, I'm really lucky... my fish is still taking the bait!" Though Jiang Hai's face showed no expression, he couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed. It was frustrating to lose out to these girls.
Unfortunately, fishing isn't something he could control. If he boasted that he could catch something, it would be a surprise at this point. The bait on his fishing rod was too large, and the barracudas couldn't swallow it in one bite. Without a solid hook, they couldn't catch the fish. So, Jiang Hai quickly threw in several smaller pieces of bait—but still, no big fish.
"They've only caught small ones. I want to catch something bigger," Jiang Hai muttered to himself as he watched the barracudas continue to be pulled up. Just then, Kevin suddenly called out in excitement from across the platform.
As she pulled hard on the line, a large fish emerged from the water.
"Oh my God, this fish is huge!" Hearing Kevin's exclamation, Darlene and the others rushed to look, and their eyes widened in surprise. A fish, about a meter long, appeared with its tail fin still submerged. From the brief glimpse, it was clear that this fish was over one and a half meters long—a true giant.
The sun reflected off the fish's dorsal fin, casting a faint golden glow, and Kevin and the others' eyes lit up with excitement.
"Don't move, that's a yellowfin tuna. It's too powerful. We can't pull it up yet." As Darlene approached to help, Kevin quickly dropped her line and grabbed a pair of thick work gloves from her bag. She then took out a wooden stick to stir the line, signaling her friend to help.
Anyone familiar with sea fishing knows that it's a world apart from fishing in rivers. There are big, powerful fish in the sea—like tuna—that can put up a real fight. Ordinary fishing rods don't stand a chance against these creatures, which is why "boat rods" are used. Jiang Hai's rods were boat rods, though none of them had been hooked yet.
When a big fish like this bites, you have to fight it, wearing down its strength underwater before bringing it up. While the tuna is large, it's not incredibly difficult to catch. The fishing line Kevin and her friends used was thick enough to withstand the tuna's strength, and the fish's lack of jumping ability also made it easier to reel in.
Fish that can leap out of the water, like the tarpon, are much harder to catch because if they jump, you have to reel them in immediately to avoid losing the hook. But tarpons aren't found in the Atlantic Ocean, so that's not a concern for them here.
After about 20 minutes of struggle, the fish's resistance began to lessen. If they were fishing off the coast of Cape Cod, as Edward Anderson had suggested, catching this tuna would have been a real challenge. It's estimated that catching a tuna has a 60% chance of losing the hook, which is part of the thrill of the sport.
When the fish was just a few meters from the boat, Kevin called for Harriman to help. With a final heave, Harriman managed to lift the fish by its gills and pulled the giant yellowfin tuna onto the boat's floating platform. The sight of it was enough to make Jiang Hai's eyes widen. This tuna was roughly 1.8 meters long and weighed at least 130 kilograms.
"Not the biggest, but it's definitely big! Tie it up and kill it." Kevin immediately instructed Bell to hang the fish, while Harriman prepared to kill it. As the fish was quickly secured and strung up, it was clear that they had done this many times before.
Tuna breathe by moving water through their gills, so it's crucial to release their blood before they die. If they die without this process, the blood will pool in the meat, making the fish taste terrible—especially bad for those who enjoy eating tuna raw.
Fortunately, Kevin was experienced, and under her direction, Bell hoisted the tuna while Harriman expertly cut the fish and drained its blood. After cleaning up, both Bell and Harriman laughed. They were finally able to join in on the action after days of just observing.
"This fish weighs around 130 kilograms. If the meat's good, it could sell for over 1,000 US dollars. Uncle, since you caught it on your boat, let's split the profit," Kevin said excitedly, not particularly concerned about the $50 guide fee. For her, catching a fish like this was worth much more than that.
"No, it's all yours," Jiang Hai replied with a wave of his hand. He didn't mind the money, but what did bother him was that now Kevin and the others knew he was Darlene and Marian's father, they had stopped calling him "boss" and started calling him "uncle." It seemed like these girls had picked up some bad habits.
With a knowing smile, Kevin and Harriman took the fish to the ice room on the yacht that Jiang Hai had prepared earlier. The room was designed to keep the fish fresh without freezing it, using a water tank filled with ice.
"Uncle, do you want me to give you a line?" Kevin teased as she emerged from the ice room. She noticed Jiang Hai's speechless expression and couldn't resist poking fun at him. In her eyes, all those fishing rods had gone to waste.
"No need," Jiang Hai replied with a shrug. Though he enjoyed watching them fish, his pride wouldn't allow him to easily surrender. Yet, after seeing the tank full of barracudas and the massive yellowfin tuna, he realized it might be hard to catch anything at this rate.
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Hai retrieved his fishing rod again—but this time, he didn't bait it. Instead, he went back to the yacht's kitchen. When he returned, he was holding a piece of beef.
"Wow, beef? And it looks pretty good. Uncle, you're not really going to use that to fish, are you?" Kevin and the others burst out laughing as Jiang Hai walked onto the platform with the beef.
"Of course, what's wrong with that?" Jiang Hai raised an eyebrow and replied seriously.
"It's not like you're fishing for crocodiles. Do tuna eat beef?" The girls were still laughing, shocked that Jiang Hai was about to use beef as bait.
"Just wait and see," Jiang Hai chuckled. Maybe ordinary fish didn't eat beef, but this wasn't ordinary beef. It was his secret weapon.
With a piece of beef weighing about three taels, Jiang Hai hung it on the hook and cast it into the sea. This was his ultimate move!
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