Another early morning, Lin Yu'an left home with an empty stomach.
He took out his fishing gear from his equipment bag — it contained various types of fishing lines, hooks, and a small amount of lead weights, and he also took out some secret weapons!
They were a few specially made hooks, sharpened to an extraordinary degree with high-carbon steel and tiny barbs, and a small spool of nearly transparent but exceptionally tough specialty nylon fishing line.
He didn't choose the common worms or insects as bait as these live baits were hard to find in the low temperature after the rain and not very active.
Here, Lin Yu'an actually had a bit of oversight; he didn't think to bring artificial bait! So he had to use some feathers left over from processing grouse, then cleverly tied the feathers and bark to the special hooks with fine fishing line, making several lifelike small artificial baits.
He waved a completed lure in front of the camera: "Look at this, in the clear lake water, this kind of lure easily attracts those aggressive predatory fish."
"To do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools! Today, let's see if we can reel in our dinner from this stream!"
Without a suitable fishing rod, he decided to try handlining. He carefully cut about seven to eight meters from that special nylon fishing line, a length that ensures a certain casting distance but is still manageable without the aid of a reel, and tied the feather lure and hook to the end of the line with a secure fisherman's knot.
With everything ready, Lin Yu'an stood up, scanning the water sharply, he loosely coiled most of the line in his gloved left hand and pinched the end of the line about a meter down with his right hand, with the feather lure dangling gently below.
He began to cast, first gently swinging to draw a small arc with the lure in front of him, feeling the weight of the line and the dynamics of the lure.
Then he increased the swing arc and strength, accelerating the line and lure in circles in the air with his right arm, and at the right moment, he flicked his wrist and released part of the coiled line from his left hand simultaneously.
"Shoo—" A slight swoosh pierced the air as the feather lure traced a not-too-far but precise arc in the air, landing lightly on the edge of the backwater near a big boulder, causing only a faint ripple on the surface.
After the lure hit the water, it began drifting slowly with the gentle current, Lin Yu'an focused intently, his right index finger and thumb lightly pinching the line, feeling for any subtle movements transmitted from beneath the water.
From time to time, he slightly twitched the line with his fingers, making the feather lure below water perform erratic jumps like struggling insects or startled small fish, the vivid feathers intermittently visible in the water.
He patiently varied his casting points, from the center of the backwater to the edge of aquatic weeds, to nearby rock crevices, while constantly being careful to avoid the hooks snagging the underwater weeds. Each cast, each lure motion required precise control of the line in his hands.
About half an hour passed when he cast the lure to the side of an underwater reef, letting it drift naturally with the current, then gently twitched it with his fingers, making the lure do a tiny upward motion underwater.
"Tap!"
A clear and brief sinking signal, like an electric current, shot through the line straight to his fingers!
Lin Yu'an's mind tightened, almost instinctively reacting, he flicked his right hand up sharply while swiftly tightening the coiled fishing line with his left hand!
"Got it!"
A strong force exploded instantly from underwater! The line was yanked straight into the deep water! Lin Yu'an's right hand ached from the pull. But he held the line tightly, not daring to slacken even a bit! Quickly using his gloved left hand to pull hard, without the buffer of a rod, he could only rely on both hands to wrestle with the underwater creature.
"Wow, what strength!" Lin Yu'an muttered, quickly managing the line with his left hand to control the fish's charging power.
The underwater creature was clearly unwilling to be caught, madly darting left and right below, dragging the line to slash through the water's surface.
Lin Yu'an focused on the line's direction, constantly adjusting his stance and the angle of pulling the line, sometimes swiftly reeling in to bring the fish closer to the shore, sometimes having to rapidly slacken the line, letting the immense force drag the line back into deeper waters to avoid the line cutting instantly.
"Splash!" A loud splash, water splattering everywhere! A silvery fish leapt vigorously out of the water, shaking its head mightily in midair, trying to shed the hook's grip.
In the sunlight, its unique rainbow-like sheen and a vivid red stripe along its sides were striking, especially against the water droplets!
"It's a rainbow trout! A beautiful rainbow trout!" Lin Yu'an exclaimed in excitement, and the camera faithfully captured this thrilling moment!
The rainbow trout, after dropping back into the water, struggled even more fiercely!
Lin Yu'an handlined the fish, every ounce of force directly impacting his hands, this primitive struggle surged his adrenaline! It felt so exhilarating, no wonder so many fishermen are obsessed with it!
He sensed the fish's strength gradually weakening, each charge's distance and power diminishing.
The timing was just right!
Lin Yu'an began reeling the line back with his left hand, while his right maintained tension on the fish, he slowly backed away, guiding the fish towards the shallow water beach of the shore, though the rainbow trout kept slapping the surface, creating waves, it no longer had the strength to change its course.
Finally, that beautiful rainbow trout was gradually dragged into the shallow water area, lying on its side on the pebbles, its mouth gaping weakly, its gills opening and closing.
Lin Yu'an quickly dropped the line, stepping forward briskly, carefully cupping the fish from behind its gills with both hands, lifting it up.
This rainbow trout had a long, sleek build, estimated to be at least six pounds, its body shining with a metallic sheen in the sunlight, with that distinctive bold red stripe resembling a rainbow, stunningly magnificent.
He held the fish up to the camera, his face overwhelmed with excitement and satisfaction: "Wow! So beautiful! Guys, look at this rainbow trout! See that? A rainbow trout caught purely with handlining! We've definitely got our protein source for dinner sorted!"
When the catch luck hits, nothing can hold it back.
Over the next few hours, Lin Yu'an caught another eight slightly smaller trout, each weighing around three to four pounds.
Though the process wasn't entirely smooth, with several instances of fish snapping the line and escaping, he managed to secure a decent haul through his exceptional skill and patience.
However, the program's rules stipulate that the average daily catch can't exceed two fish, so he won't be able to fish for the next four days.
It's definitely not just a newbie's lucky streak! He believed once this footage airs, there would be many fishermen in front of the screen gnashing their teeth, saying how great the resources are...
After processing the fish by the river, returning to the permanent camp with his abundant catch, he felt astonishingly strong now! Completely clueless about what being empty-handed means!
"Look at this! I found a piece of tin foil by the lake, probably tossed into the lake by people from a boat and washed ashore."
"What others regard as trash, is the most useful tool for me at the moment!"
He then wrapped the largest fresh rainbow trout in tin foil, added a bit of salt, and threw it right into the embers beside the burning fire for roasting.
As for the other fish, he chose to preserve them through smoking.
He set up a simple smoking rack beside the camp, using branches to string up the cleaned fish, hanging them on the rack, and then lit a fire below, blending moist pine needles and birch bark, letting the dense smoke slowly infuse the fish meat.
He boasted to the camera, "Smoking is a very effective method for preserving meat and fish, not only extending shelf life but also giving the food a unique flavor. These fish will keep me fed for several days, they must be properly handled to prolong preservation."
When the tin-foil-wrapped rainbow trout was taken out from the fire, the moment it was opened, a rich savory aroma mixed with a subtle burnt fragrance wafted out, the fish meat became crispy on the outside and tender inside under the high temperature, with ample juices.
Lin Yu'an tore off a piece of the tender fish meat, devouring it, quickly finishing off the entire roasted fish, completely dispelling the hunger in his belly, replaced by a warmth from inside out, that exquisite freshness, mixed with just the right saltiness and aroma, gratified his taste buds immensely.
He closed his eyes, a look of pure bliss on his face as he sighed, "Guys, if you could also taste this, you would understand why so many people are fascinated by wilderness survival! This pure, nature-derived delicacy surpasses any high-end restaurant!"