落とし穴第９６堀：海で泳ぐ以外の遊び方 (Part2)
"I made it so that anyone can fish easily, you know."
As I said that while reeling in my line, Cleena's rod suddenly bent sharply.
"Hm!? I feel a tug on the rod."
"Cleena, that means a fish has taken the bait! Do your best!"
"Hm! No problem. I can reel this in easily."
Well, it’s not like a monster big enough to snap the line would bite so easily, and given the distance, it’s probably something like a goby or a sand borer. As I watched Cleena’s struggle with that in mind, she pulled the fish up without much effort.
"You did it. You caught one!"
"Hm. I’m the first."
The fish hooked was a goby. It must have bitten while I was dragging the bottom. It was a standard size.
"So, Yuki-san, what do we do with this?"
"Kill it?"
"Ah, wait a second."
I immediately dropped a bucket with a rope into the sea, drew up some seawater, and poured it into a regular bucket.
"Put the fish in here. Can you take the hook out?"
"Hm. Removed."
It seemed she was lucky enough not to have swallowed the hook, so she managed to take it out easily. Cleena reached out to grab the goby with her bare hands, but...
" "Ah." "
The goby, naturally not wanting to be eaten, thrashed about desperately and used its natural slime to slip free. It returned straight to the sea.
"Ah—!? It escaped—!!"
"I won't let it get away!!"
Flames flickered at the tips of Cleena’s fingers.
"Wait, wait. We came here to fish, don't use magic. Let's settle this with fishing. You let it go because you were careless. Next time, don't let your guard down until the very end."
"Muu. When you put it that way, I suppose you're right."
"Nngghh... I will not forgive that fish."
However, fortunately, she didn't seem to have any aversion to baiting the hook with ragworms. She prepared it herself and cast her rod again immediately. Well, this culture is on par with medieval Europe, so I suppose it’s different from the germaphobic tendencies of Japan. Besides, they’re making too much of a fuss over a mere ragworm. Even some men are squeamish about worms. If you're that picky, don't eat at all. Most fish eat worms and bugs, you know. Shrimp and crab are crustaceans—basically bugs, too.
Wait, I shouldn't get sidetracked. Let me get my rod ready, too...
"Yo."
I cast my line into the blue sea with a satisfying motion. It flew out, and I didn't even hear the sound of it hitting the water. It seemed to have gone quite far. Since this was a bottom-dragging rig, I reeled it in a little to confirm it had reached the floor, then set the rod down. The seabed in this direction is sandy, so the "leave-it-and-wait" bottom-dragging strategy is viable.
Seeing me leave the rod unattended, Ria and Cleena looked at me with puzzled expressions.
"Huh? Yuki-san, you're leaving your rod alone. Is that okay?"
"Hm. Don't you need to reel it in?"
"Ah, look. I think you'll understand if you watch Taiki-kun and Taizo-san..."
When I directed their gaze toward Taiki-kun and Taizo-san, they both had two rods left unattended while they were actively casting with a third.
"It's a method where you cast the rods and leave them. If a fish bites, the rod will bend, so you'll know. It's a way to cover more ground. For float fishing, leaving it alone is actually the correct way to use it."
Since we’re using live bait rather than sports-fishing lures, and our goal is to actually catch something, it’s a common technique for sea fishing. However, it does tend to get boring. Then again, relaxing while watching the sea is one of the true pleasures of fishing.
"I see! Then, I'll—wait, it's pulling!!"
"Hm. Mine is pulling too!!"
"Oh, good luck!"
It seems that while we were talking, fish had bitten the bait that had stopped moving. I watched lazily, thinking it was probably another goby, but the shadows of the fish reflecting on the surface looked surprisingly large. And both of them had one.
"Ugh, it's heavy."
"This is completely different from before..."
Still, since their levels are high, they wouldn't be dragged into the sea, but I wondered if the line would hold at this size. Regardless, since we were on the breakwater, I took out a landing net and moved into a support position, ready to scoop them up at any moment.
Somehow, the lines held, and the full extent of the catch was revealed.
"A flounder!? And that's a pretty good size, too!"
Surprised, I helped them retrieve the flounders. Yikes, they won't fit in the bucket. Were there even bigger ones? While I was dealing with that, shouts went up from Taiki-kun, Taizo-san, and Eoid.
"Taiki-san, something is huge! What is this?"
"Hm? Ah?! A sea bream!? Isn't that a sea bream!?"
"No doubt about it, it's a bream!! Why—well, never mind that. The net, the net!!"
"Yes!! Eoid, stay calm and reel it in! It's a big one!!"
"Y-yes!!"
And just like that, today’s fishing turned into a feeding frenzy. I realized after we caught them that this was only the second time we’d done serious fishing in this sea. Unlike the breakwaters in Japan, the fish here don't seem to have much caution, leading to this situation. It was the same way last time.
Hmm. It feels a bit like cheating, but catching big fish is fun in its own right, so no complaints there.
"Fiiiish!!"
I managed to catch one too. But for some reason, it was smaller than everyone else's. Well, those things happen. Summer is still long, so I'll get my revenge soon.
And so, we enjoyed the fish we caught.
Sorry. Before the children are born, I'm taking a brief break from the summer commercial. It’s still before summer vacation, but has everyone done something summery? As for me... I haven't really done anything. I fish regularly, but I haven't been since summer started. Just casting a line into the sea is enough to make it a good day.
Also, regarding the "pitfall" in this story: those "hidden spots" where no other anglers go are actually where the fish bite the most. Though, they are quite hard to find.