Chapter 442: Going Out to Sea to Set Longline Fishing and Fish Traps

The basin is handy; we still need to attach hooks later. I've organized the main line and branch lines, five sets in total, and I'll teach you how to coil the remaining set on the boat—this is technical work.

Okay, today I'll follow your lead.

Saying, Ye Cheng grabbed the 50 fish traps and exclusive bait he'd exchanged points for, hopped onto the tricycle, and only then noticed a plastic bag at his feet, a soft pile giving off a strong smell.

Uncle Duan, what's this again?

This is bait; I prepared some earthworms and cheap small fish, later I'll chop them up and put them on the hooks.

Okay, with this bait I can smell it from 800 meters away; tonight must be a big haul.

Hahaha, every time we go out to sea with you it's a big haul.

After calling Xiao Hu, the three arrived at the dock; the small boat's trawl net wasn't repaired, so this time we'll set fish traps and longline fishing.

The small boat went out to sea; the three men had little to do while fishing, chatting and smoking, time passed quickly.

This time Duan Chunsheng had Ye Cheng drive near the island where they catch coconut crabs, planning to cast nets here again.

Ye Cheng first stopped the boat, then the three together loaded bait into the fish traps.

Duan Chunsheng curiously looked at Ye Cheng's exclusive bait,

A Cheng, what is this made of? It has no smell at all—will it work?

Uncle, don't worry; this is my secret recipe, it's no worse than your rotten fish and shrimp.

What's wrong with rotten fish and shrimp? I even warmed them up a bit, making the smell stronger.

Ye Cheng chuckled,

If we're talking about strong smell, I feel next time I could just hang Xiao Hu's sock on the hook—it'd definitely be stronger than yours.

Brother, you're starting personal attacks again.

I'm just speaking the truth; tell me, are your socks smelly or not?

The three managed to prepare the 50 fish traps quickly.

After the fish traps were ready, Duan Chunsheng brought over the unprepared set of longline fishing gear,

Come, let me explain how to do it.

Look, this is the main line, these are the branch lines; we need to coil the main line and place it in the basin, then these branch lines have hooks on them—we need to hang the hooks outside the basin.

Saying this, Duan Chunsheng picked up a few floats and explained,

These are floats, they control hook depth; today we're fishing bottom-dwellers, so the floats should be light to let the hooks sink; next time if we want to catch mid‑water fish, we'd increase the float size—got it?

I understand, it's just like trawling, but how long is this main line? Looks like several hundred meters to me. Ye Cheng looked at the basin full of main line and felt his scalp tingle.

Your line‑winder is broken, so I made the shortest rope; this set is 300 meters long, and for bottom fish we need wider spacing—3 meters per groove, which works out to 100 hooks per set.

If we're targeting surface fish, we can go tighter—1.5 meters per hook.

Duan Chunsheng spoke while demonstrating with a plastic basin for the two.

This time the 300‑meter line can go in the basin; later a 500‑meter line would need a basket, otherwise it won't fit—you have to coil the main line loop by loop, don't rush, must keep it neat, or it'll tangle and give you a headache.

He explained in detail, and Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu listened closely.

Actually the technique isn't that complex; it's more about care. After Duan Chunsheng finished, Ye Cheng basically got it.

It's just a bit troublesome; not as convenient as kicking open a fish trap.

Altogether six sets of line; after coiling the lines comes baiting.

This is genuine work—no shortcuts—just hook one item at a time, one by one.

Six sets of line, six hundred hooks; the hooks aren't big, and after attaching them we mustn't tangle them.

Damn it, after finishing Ye Cheng felt his eyes go blurry, seeing double.

Uncle, this longline fishing is too bothersome—isn't there a simpler way? Xiao Hu couldn't help but complain.

We're fishermen, here to catch fish—there's no easy method; if there were, everyone would be rich, yet we still endure this hardship. Duan Chunsheng said.

Fishermen have never been a wealthy class, but Ye Cheng remembers seeing documentaries where those foreign Arctic fishing vessels are awesome—fully automated, needing few crew, yet a trip out to sea lasts about a month, braving wind and waves, looking incredibly impressive.

When we have money someday, I'll look into automated gear; automation is better—manual labor is exhausting.

The three of them managed to attach all six hundred hooks, then tied on the floats.

Duan Chunsheng had Xiao Hu steer the boat, slowly, without needing much power.

He and Ye Cheng stood at the stern to start releasing line; it was actually convenient—after tossing the float at the line's end into the water, the coiled line followed down into the sea.

Look, don't go too fast; if you speed up, pulling later becomes a hassle, and if the line jams while deploying, you just give it a tug with your hand. Duan Chunsheng patiently explained.

The second set was deployed by Ye Cheng; although a bit nervous, it went fairly smoothly, mainly because Duan Chunsheng had wound the line well.

After deploying three sets, Duan Chunsheng had Xiao Hu turn the boat around and place another three sets outside the first three, running parallel.

All right, the lines are set; tomorrow we'll just grab a hook, pull the floats up and haul the lines in—also, it'd be best to fix the line‑winder, otherwise hauling it manually is tough.

Fine, let the repair shop come tonight to fix it; there should be enough time.

After setting the lines came the fish traps—this is simpler. Duan Chunsheng's opinion was to place them near the island; Xiao Hu did as told, moving close, and the two behind him tossed them evenly spaced into the sea.

That's about it; now we just wait for tomorrow's harvest.

So, although preparing the longline fishing is a bit troublesome at the start, there's no waiting in the middle—still pretty good.

The three returned to the dock by boat, just a bit after dinner—not too early, not too late.

Xiao Hu went to the dock's repair shop to urge the fix, while Ye Cheng and Duan Chunsheng rode the tricycle back to the village.

When they reached the village entrance, Ye Cheng deliberately looked around—no one was gathered; that damned Li Quezi must not have posted his notice yet.

Never mind; I still have a few copies left, so if Li Quezi doesn't post it, I'll put it up myself.

After dinner, Ye Cheng summoned Duan Yong and Yuan Jiansheng to go inspect the crayfish.

Brother, look—we've already placed these juvenile shrimp in the nursery pond; they're growing well. The two led Ye Cheng in a tour.

Ye Cheng shone a flashlight and saw that the pond was covered with lots of aquatic plants, many of which had small crayfish clinging to them.

These plants provide shelter for them; normally the crayfish crawl on them.