Chapter 353: The Great Emperor Salmon_2
"It really is an Emperor Salmon, what a big one! We have a feast today~"
Watching the Emperor Salmon still struggling in Lin Yang's hands, Brother Zhang said with a smile.
The Large-Scale Salmon is just the Chinook salmon he mentioned.
The inflatable boat has limited space, but the fish is quite large, estimated to be fifty to sixty pounds, and it kept thrashing around. Lin Yang was wondering whether to punch the fish to calm it down, when he heard Brother Zhang speak up:
"Brother Lin, hold onto the fish."
Then he saw Brother Zhang take a pointed awl from his waist bag and stab it into a spot under the fish's gill, controlled by Lin Yang.
The Emperor Salmon, which had been flapping nonstop, suddenly stiffened as if electrocuted when pierced by the awl, trembled violently, and then quickly fell still.
Then with a downward slash, blood gushed out from the body of the Emperor Salmon.
Is it really that amazing? Just one pierce and it stopped moving?
Li Xiaopeng and the others couldn't help but look at Brother Zhang with a new gaze.
"This is a live bleed; if you find the right spot, it works well, it's quick and easy. Now bleed it properly, and it should be good to eat by the time we reach the temporary camp."
Noticing the gazes of the others, Brother Zhang explained.
A few of them nodded, somewhat understanding, and kept looking at the big fish as the inflatable boat continued to drift downstream.
.....
At noon, they stopped at an open space by the stream.
The two teams that left earlier had already arrived and lit a campfire.
Brother Zhang maneuvered the inflatable boat to the shore. After everyone got off, he dragged the boat ashore, then carried the massive Emperor Salmon over to the others.
"How's everyone doing? Look what we caught!"
"Wow~ Brother Zhang, what kind of fish is this?"
Regardless of whether he recognized the fish, Wang Bo spoke up first.
"A string of Russian? (Is this an Emperor Salmon?)"
One of the Russian guides spoke words that others couldn't understand.
"Another string of Russian! (That's right, it's an Emperor Salmon! Ivan, take care of it, make half into sashimi and fry the other half, use the head to make soup!)"
"Alright!"
The Russian man named Ivan exclaimed in Chinese.
"I've handed the Emperor Salmon to Ivan for processing; he's quite good in the kitchen. I'll go nearby to find some mushrooms to make soup. You can take a short break now; lunchtime will be casual, but we can rest well once we reach the camp in the afternoon."
After handing the Emperor Salmon to Ivan, Brother Zhang spoke to the others.
"Oh~ Are there mushrooms around here? I want to go too."
While others were busying themselves, Lin Yang began sharing his fishing insights from the morning with Wang Bo and the others.
They both agreed that there were plenty of fish, but their size was not quite satisfactory.
"By the way, Brother Lin, this Brother Cai's fishing skills are pretty impressive, especially his fly fishing, which is as delightful as an artistic performance."
After exchanging experiences, Wang Bo mentioned another fishing friend.
"Fly fishing? I've heard that it's quite difficult, seems to need some skill to perform, much harder than other fishing techniques. Brother Cai is amazing."
As an experienced angler, Lin Yang had naturally heard of fly fishing, he had even tried it before, with its unique gear, fishing lines, reels, rod techniques, and baits.
It's considered a type of lure fishing but differs significantly from other lure techniques.
This method is mostly used in streams, but he hadn't found it very practical back home, so he hadn't pursued it further.
Yet now, even at the stream's edge, he didn't have the interest.
Fly fishing is indeed visually pleasing, but Lin Yang had seen plenty of fishers tangling themselves with their lines in their casting efforts.
You can't get the hang of it without some practice time.
Watching someone else doing fly fishing is alright though, but he wondered if he would get a chance to see Brother Cai's fly fishing in action.
"...Um, my surname is Xu, not Cai."
Xu Kun said with a slightly twitching mouth, somewhat helplessly.
"Ah? Not Cai? I'm sorry, my bad."
Wang Bo was momentarily stunned by his words, immediately apologizing.
"Uh... Sorry."
Lin Yang was equally confused; he seemed to recall Brother Cai saying his name was Cai during introductions.
"No worries, no worries. Fly fishing is quite nice; I particularly enjoy the dance of the fishing line. Whether or not I catch fish doesn't matter much,
but there are plenty of fish here. Even as someone who's only been practicing fly fishing for two and a half years, I can catch fish with every cast."
Speaking of the local resources, Xu Kun couldn't help but admire them.
"Brother Cai is right; there are indeed many fish here!"
"..."
In the midst of awkward yet polite chit-chat, Brother Zhang returned from mushroom picking, having gathered quite a bounty.
Ivan was busy with the fish over the campfire, releasing bursts of aroma.
After a while of bustling activity, waves of fragrance started to spread through the woods.
November in Kamchatka is quite chilly, and for Lin Yang and his group, accustomed to living in the south, it feels quite cold.
On the boat, it wasn't too bad. When it's cold, the water temperature is usually higher than the air temperature, and coupled with the full-body engagement involved in fishing, the chill wasn't felt as much.
Now, after spending some time ashore, the cold began to set in gradually.
When Ivan lit the campfire, they all gathered around it, but due to the language barrier, both sides could only exchange awkward yet polite smiles.
The brook flowed gently, with golden woods and shrubs lining its banks, where Lin Yang and his group gathered on a clearing specially opened by the locals, ready to enjoy lunch, primarily composed of Emperor Salmon.
According to Brother Zhang, without this Emperor Salmon, their lunch would likely have been just ordinary salmon.
"Hmm~ The texture is delicate, soft, and sweet with a lingering aroma, as satisfying as Bluefin Tuna."
Li Xiaopeng praised the exquisite taste after taking a bite of the orange and white morsel.
However, his culinary knowledge was limited to discerning between good and bad flavors.
On the grill over the campfire, the fish sizzled. Once Ivan sprinkled on the seasoning, the aroma spread even more intensely.
Emperor Salmon and mushrooms clashed in the cooking pot, releasing the same mouthwatering aroma.
Carried by the cold wind in the woods, the scent drifted far away.
Perhaps Ivan's culinary skills were too good, as some uninvited guests followed the fragrant wind and arrived quietly.
Curious to discover what gifts from nature were emitting such alluring scents.
Just as everyone was happily enjoying their meal, rustling sounds emanated from the shrubs in the woods.
Upon hearing the unusual sounds, Ivan, the chef, immediately grabbed his rod bag and pulled out a long rifle, aiming it at the source of the noise.
Ivan's seamless movements stunned Lin Yang and the others who had come from China.
After a brief daze, they looked towards where Ivan's rifle was pointed.
Then they saw the bushes shake, and a big bear emerged from within!
"Holy cow!"
Lin Yang was directly shocked; his long-standing impression was that there were many bears in Russia, but he didn't realize there were this many.
Even having a casual lunch in the wild could lead to such encounters!
At this thought, he couldn't help but feel a slight thrill.
"Holy cow..."
"Don't worry, we have guns; these brown bears generally don't dare to come closer."
Seeing everyone's tense expressions, Brother Zhang quickly reassured them, while he also opened his rod bag and drew out another rifle, aiming at the brown bear.
The brown bear that had emerged from the bushes stood still, seeing a group of two-legged creatures gathered around the fire. The shining light made it slightly wary, but the aroma of food immediately overshadowed its caution.
However, upon noticing the long objects held by two of the two-legged creatures, the brown bear immediately chickened out.
Instinctively standing up and raising its hands.
Once it realized that the armed two-legged creatures weren't making any moves, it turned around without hesitation and dug back into the bushes.
Seemingly aware of the power of human firearms.
"A string of Russian words." (Zhang, I'll go check if that brown bear has left; you watch here.)
After saying something to Brother Zhang, Ivan headed towards the direction where the bear had disappeared with his rifle.