I Can Fish Up Everything!

Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Changing the Fishing Rod

The new fish Gu Nan caught was also a Pink and Blue Tang, but its full name was the Maldives Pink and Blue Tang, so-called because it originated from the Maldives.

Through the guidebook’s explanation, he finally understood the difference between the varieties of Pink and Blue Tang.

Pink and Blue Tangs were a relatively inexpensive ornamental fish. They could actually be found domestically in Xisha and Nansha, but due to transportation issues, fishing boats would mix them with other fish. This often led to problems like cross-contamination, making their quality the worst. A ten-centimeter one would only sell for a little over a hundred on the market.

The ones Gu Nan sold to Kang Ye were from places like Padang, Indonesia. Their quality was better, and they could grow up to about twenty centimeters, so their price was relatively higher.

As for the Maldives Pink and Blue Tang, the guidebook stated they were the highest quality and therefore commanded a higher price. A small one started at three hundred thirty, and larger ones could sell for as much as four hundred eighty.

However, the two types of fish didn’t look very different. The ones from Padang, Indonesia, seemed to have a deeper color and a slightly thicker body.

This, of course, created an opportunity for unscrupulous merchants. They often passed off domestic Pink and Blue Tangs as ones from Padang, Indonesia, and in turn, passed off fish from those two places as ones from the Maldives.

It wasn’t unheard of for the most ruthless sellers to pass off the lowest-quality fish as being from the Maldives.

Gu Nan had been scammed like this before. He’d since learned his lesson: either he wouldn’t buy them at all, or he’d do his research first.

In the information age, with the internet so developed, you could basically find all sorts of educational videos online with a quick search.

’I still need to catch more ornamental fish tonight.’ Gu Nan considered this. ’Maybe I should clear out a tank in my shop and just raise these ornamental fish myself.’

These fish ate algae, and since they were high-quality fish from a game map, they would be relatively easy to raise.

The first two fish he caught in a row were ornamental, but after that, things went back to normal.

The basic Fengqi Fishing Rod’s stats were, after all, a bit poor. He mostly caught one-star fish, with an occasional two-star one.

After using up his remaining eleven casts, Gu Nan had caught eight one-star fish and three two-star fish.

So far he’d only caught four fish weighing over three pounds, not even halfway to his goal.

His luck was just a bit off; all the two-star fish were Ball-nosed Fish, with no Black-striped Small Stripes Buri.

Although both were the same price, the Black-striped Small Stripes Buri were, on average, heavier.

With his thirteen guaranteed catches used up, Gu Nan put away his rod and changed his lure.

Among the game’s provided lures was a small hook designed specifically for catching ornamental fish, shaped like a piece of seaweed.

He also changed the leader line to a 0.6 carbon line.

Once everything was switched out, Gu Nan cast the baited hook into the water before him. Weighed down by the sinker, it slowly sank out of sight.

The hook and bait were too light; without the sinker, they would have definitely floated on the surface.

Gu Nan had expected a bit of a wait without his guaranteed catches, but to his surprise, a fish took the bait the moment the hook sank.

He lifted the rod to set the hook. The weight was, as expected, not heavy. He reeled in quickly, flicking the small fish straight out of the water.

’A barred knifejaw?’

The fish wasn’t big, only about ten centimeters long, but it looked a lot like a barred knifejaw with its alternating black and white horizontal stripes.

But when he shone his light on it for a closer look, Gu Nan’s hopes were dashed. It was a common trash fish that didn’t taste good and wasn’t much to look at.

This type of fish was called a damselfish. There were many similar species, and it was one of the fish he really disliked when rock fishing, as they constantly came over to steal bait.

They were almost as annoying as the pufferfish that occasionally came to freeload, except pufferfish were even worse—they’d bite even without any bait on the line.

"Get lost!" Gu Nan specifically checked the game’s guidebook, and after confirming it was indeed a local trash fish, he flung it far away, hoping it wouldn’t come back.

He cast his line out again and continued fishing. After about thirty seconds, he felt a stir on his rod.

He flicked it out of the water and saw it was a clownfish. Not bad.

The fishing was pretty good after that. Gu Nan caught a steady stream of clownfish, with an occasional Stab-tailed Fish mixed in.

After catching about twenty clownfish, various local trash fish, and three pufferfish, he finally completed Daily Quest Two and Daily Quest Three.

He received six hundred Gold Coins. Adding that to the seventeen hundred he already had, his total was now twenty-three hundred.

He could now afford the green Fengqi Fishing Rod. Gu Nan bought it immediately and checked its stats.

Large Fish Bonus: 10%, Rare Fish Bonus: 6%, Daily Guaranteed Catches on Fengqi Coast: +2.

The stats had basically doubled, which Gu Nan already knew beforehand.

The green rod’s stats were better. When used with his reel, the Large Fish Bonus was now 15%, and the Rare Fish Bonus reached 9%.

But he couldn’t sell the white rod just yet. If he did, the set bonus would no longer be active. Losing one daily quest and one guaranteed catch every day would be a major loss.

After buying the green Fengqi Fishing Rod, he now had fourteen guaranteed catches per day.

Unfortunately, set bonuses couldn’t stack. Once he collected the full green set, the white set’s bonus would become inactive. This meant that low-level equipment was destined to be phased out and sold for a bit of cash back.

The green Fengqi Fishing Rod was a size 3 rock fishing rod, capable of catching fish between 1 and 100 pounds.

Note: Catching fish over 80 pounds requires the host to possess a certain level of fishing skill. Improper handling carries a risk of breaking the rod. (A broken rod must be repurchased. Host, please be gentle.)

’A size 3 rock fishing rod can handle up to a hundred pounds?’

Gu Nan owned a size 3 rock fishing rod himself, and he really didn’t think its limit was anywhere near that high.

He felt that even a skilled person using a high-quality size 3 rod would be considered amazing if they could land a thirty- or forty-pound sea fish.

’Maybe this is just the game’s sizing system. I can’t compare it to reality.’

Then, with a thought, the green Fengqi Fishing Rod appeared in Gu Nan’s hand.

He gave the rod a few swings and was surprised to find that this size 3 rod was indeed very different from the one he had at home. It was incredibly flexible, comparable to the size 2 white Fengqi Fishing Rod.

In that moment, Gu Nan began to understand how the game’s fishing rods worked.

To put it simply, it was a one-rod-rules-all situation. With a single rod, as long as you changed the leader line and bait, you could basically catch fish of any size.

The only caveat was that large fish couldn’t exceed the rod’s limit. And when fishing for small ones, the rod’s flexibility allowed him to keenly feel a fish taking the bait, letting him set the hook in time.

That was awesome. It meant that in the future, Gu Nan wouldn’t have to lug around a whole pile of fishing rods.

He quickly untied the line and removed the reel. The two rods were identical in size, though the green Fengqi Fishing Rod’s color wasn’t very likable—it was the shade of green that everyone fears.

Fortunately, the rod was exquisitely made and didn’t look bad overall.

He swapped the reel onto the new rod and retied the line. Since he no longer needed to catch ornamental fish, Gu Nan changed out the leader line and bait.

He had an extra guaranteed catch today, so he decided to use it first.

He gripped the rod and gently cast the hook. He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but Gu Nan felt that the rod handled even better.

He waited quietly for a dozen or so seconds when suddenly, the float moved. A fish grabbed it and took off, yanking the rod into a sharp bend.

Gu Nan reacted instantly, yanking the rod up to set the hook the moment the float was dragged away.

The fish was strong, feeling similar to the eight-pound Black-striped Small Stripes Buri he’d caught before, but it wasn’t as fast.