Chapter 1009 - 28: Fishing

While Adam was busy moving supplies, Beside Baikal Lake, Gaston took out the fishing rods he brought and the homemade ones, and assembled them. Taking advantage of the time before fishing started, Gaston brought out the stinky bird eggs and some wood chips that Fred had helped gather at noon. Gaston cracked open the stinky bird eggs, unleashing a stench that rivaled biochemical weapons. He gagged twice and immediately held his breath. "Holy shit, that’s potent!" Better to suffer briefly than prolonged agony; Gaston held his breath as he mixed the stinky bird eggs with the wood chips using a stick. He didn’t dare use his hands directly, otherwise, they’d be ruined! After mixing, Gaston ran to a distance, taking big gulps of air, before returning to the lakeside, his face contorted. Holding his breath, he quickly tossed the mixture of stinky bird eggs and wood chips into the shallow water area not far from the lake’s edge. Then Gaston immediately went to the upwind position, slowly waiting for the fish to be attracted. After taking a breath, Gaston looked at the water surface with some concern. Actually, fishing this time was more challenging than fishing at Great Slave Lake. In Baikal Lake, there were many fish, even freshwater seals, but the situation here was far more complex than at Great Slave Lake! In Baikal Lake, as soon as the temperature drops in winter, fish schools go underwater to overwinter. This underwater wasn’t just ten, twenty, thirty meters deep but over fifty meters! In such circumstances, fishing becomes very difficult, if not impossible. That means before the weather drops completely, now is one of the few times you can catch fish. However, whether the stinky bird eggs could attract fish, and what kind of fish they could attract, were unknowns for Gaston. He waited three to five minutes, until the stinky bird eggs’ smell spread, before returning to his fishing spot. Gaston was very particular about the fishing spot he chose. He chose his spot following three principles for fishing in high latitude regions. Seek warmth, avoid cold, and find structure. Seeking warmth, as the name implies, means looking for places with higher temperatures. In high latitude regions, the weather is cold, and fish schools actively gather in warmer waters, so you shouldn’t fish in areas with a lot of shade. Such places have low water temperatures. It’s better to fish in areas where the sun shines frequently. Avoiding cold means finding places where sleep temperature is stabilized high. The place Gaston found was calm and wide waters. Additionally, there’s shelter from the wind. Cold winds can make water temperatures drop quickly, fish will seek sheltered places to rest. So fishing in wind-sheltered areas makes it easier for fish to bite. As for finding structure, it means finding places where fish can hide and feed. Complex underwater structures, like areas with lots of rocks, can provide safety for fish, and are also places where small creatures gather, naturally rich in food. These places are good fishing spots. The area Gaston chose was just such a place. He hooked a beetle larva on the fishhook. After calculating the timing of the baiting, he began casting. The bait sank to the bottom. Gaston sat cross-legged at the lake edge, waiting for fish to bite. But Gaston hadn’t waited more than ten minutes when, in the distance, a speedboat broke through the lake surface, quickly heading this way. Gaston glanced at the speedboat’s appearance—not an official Russian speedboat, but a private one. The people on the boat didn’t notice Gaston. They landed on the northern shore a distance away from Gaston. Three people got off, not including the boat operator. After disembarking, they carried some supplies from the boat and walked into the forest. The boat operator seemed to advise them about something before quickly leaving. Camping? Or hunting trip? Gaston squinted and watched for a while but didn’t notice anything. Finally, he shook his head, ignoring the situation over there. Just as he glanced away, his fishing rod seemed to be nudged by something, it wobbled slightly. A nibble? Gaston’s eyes instantly widened. He couldn’t help but look along the fishing line towards the distant water surface. The nibble was on his homemade fishing rod, but without a float, Gaston couldn’t gauge the situation underwater. He frowned, slowly reaching for his fishing rod. At that moment, something seemed to happen underwater. The fishing rod was abruptly pulled a certain distance. Gaston was quick as lightning, swiftly grabbing the fishing rod, pulling hard; the rod bent, a considerable force came from the other end of the rod. A catch! And quite big! Gaston was delighted, immediately slowing down, starting to slowly reel in, trying to drag the fish to the shore. Underwater, the fish seemed to want to resist, constantly tugging at the fishing rod. But faced with experienced Gaston, ultimately, it was dragged to the shore under his persistent pulling. Gaston looked at the caught fish, his eyes filled with joy. It’s an Anise Fish, rather common in Baikal Lake. But mostly found in stream mouths entering the lake. Anise Fish is a typical omnivorous fish, inhabiting shallows, stream mouths, and rocky shores, spending most of their time living in streams. But as streams flowed, some Anise Fish entered Baikal Lake, slowly making homes here, eventually settling down, forming relatively stable communities. Anise Fish are very sensitive to insects, larvae, and other bait in the water and have quite a strong attack instinct. Beetle larvae are a big meal placed right under their noses, almost irresistible. Gaston didn’t know much about this, but he realized this fish easily caught means they’re quite responsive to bugs! So sending a beetle larva down worked effectively. Moreover, the smell of the stinky bird eggs indeed attracted them. "This time I’m really lucky, even caught an Anise Fish!" Gaston muttered, removing the Anise Fish from the hook, placing it on the lakeshore away from the water. Nonetheless, Gaston didn’t expect to catch another Anise Fish. One reason is that Anise Fish feed mostly at night, with limited daytime activity. Another reason is these fish don’t travel in schools. Whether they bite repeatedly or not still depends on the effectiveness of the bait. While Gaston was thinking about this, planning to hook another beetle larva, the previously motionless team-brought fishing rod suddenly showed activity. In the distance, the float suddenly sank, and a pulling force emanated from the fishing rod’s other end. Seeing this, Gaston quickly dropped his original rod, quickly grabbed the brought fishing rod, using all his might to lift it abruptly. Soon, a greater force than when the first Anise Fish was caught was transmitted to Gaston’s arm. Heavy! Big! Gaston’s eyes lit up. He gritted his teeth, not daring to relax for a moment, seizing the chance during the biting fish’s struggle, he quickly lifted the fishing rod, dragging the fish towards the shore. The fish wasn’t giving up either. Feeling the dragging force, it started struggling fiercely. If it were Gaston’s homemade rod, faced with such struggle, the fish could probably escape. But this time it was the fishing rod he brought from the American Survival Association. Products from the association are guaranteed top quality! This fish trying to struggle free was very difficult!