The Top Fishing Master

After returning from crabbing and fishing at sea, everyone once again experienced the freedom of the Emperor Crabs.

This time there was an abundance of ingredients, and Lin Yang couldn't help but take down an Emperor Crab, whipping up a pot of spicy crab that had everyone singing its praises.

After eating and drinking to their fill, everyone rested for an afternoon. Then Wang Bo and several other tourists were about to end their Kamchatka adventure and fishing trip.

Originally, Lin Yang and his group also planned to return home together, but since it was a rare opportunity to be out, Lin Yang thought they should stay for another two days before heading back. After all, who knows when they'll get to visit again?

So, Brother Zhang and Wang Bo caught a plane back home together, while Lin Yang and Yue'er decided to stay behind.

Their stay had a purpose: to seek out a particular gourmet food.

Caviar.

Caviar, also known as fish roe or cured sturgeon eggs, is a delicacy.

In Persian, it means fish eggs. Strictly speaking, caviar refers to sturgeon eggs, and it's generally considered that caviar from the Caspian Sea bordering Iran and Russia is of the best quality, with a briny taste and glossy black appearance.

In France, caviar specifically refers to sturgeon eggs, and it's famed as one of the world's three luxurious delicacies alongside foie gras and truffles, earning nicknames like "black gold" or "Caspian black pearl" for its rarity and glossy hue.

Caviar doesn't come with brands, only grades and qualities. High-quality caviar comes solely from wild sturgeon: the Beluga Sturgeon.

The most renowned regions for caviar are Russia and Iran, on the north and south coasts of the Caspian Sea.

The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water and the sturgeon's homeland, rich in the special algae that is a staple for sturgeons. Fishermen harvest female fish in spring and autumn, collecting eggs to make caviar.

Russia has the oldest history of sturgeon fishing, and by the 12th century, Russian caviar was already famous far and wide. The French learned to eat caviar from the Iranian emperor.

Traditionally, caviar refers to sturgeon roe that has been salted. Its value is equivalent to truffles in the plant world, and for a long time, it's been a "luxury item" on Western dining tables.

Due to the high price of caviar, there has been overfishing, leading to a sharp decline in the wild sturgeon population.

After all, the raw material for caviar, fish eggs, directly reduces the sturgeon population at its source.

Russia is a traditional major consumer of caviar. When wild sturgeon resources were abundant, as one of the world's major caviar producers, it exported vast amounts of caviar to Europe and the US while meeting domestic demands.

As wild sturgeon resources dwindled, Russia enacted a ban on the import and export of caviar to protect its domestic consumers' interests.

And it was the Russians who pioneered, in 1830, the invention of salmon caviar, with large, translucent pinkish-red eggs, a delicious but relatively inexpensive alternative.

This is precisely why they stayed two more days on the Kamchatka Peninsula.

Later, other countries followed suit, developing and successfully using herring, cod, and even lobster roe to produce caviar.

From August to January each year is the spawning season for Pacific salmon. During this time, they return from the sea, swimming upstream, leaping over small dams and waterfalls, enduring great hardships to reach their spawning grounds.

During this journey, they rely entirely on their energy, as they don't feed.

However, not all salmon can reach the upper reaches of rivers to spawn. Many exhaust themselves mid-journey, unable to proceed further, and release their roe early in the mid and lower streams.

Just like not all efforts lead to the anticipated reward.

After they spawn, salmon's lives nearly come to an end, dying at their spawning sites.

Providing excellent fodder for the newly hatched salmon, helping the fry get through the toughest early stages.

Moreover, apart from exhaustion, other predators in nature are also obstacles for salmon as they swim upstream.

For example, grizzly bears.

During their fishing in the streams, they saw many grizzly bears.

A large group of vibrant red salmon swam upstream along the river.

Mother bears, with their cubs, stood in the stream waiting for salmon to pass by, ready to catch them for a feast.

During the salmon spawning season, most carnivores in nature gather at the streams, waiting for the salmon, preparing to feast in a bid to accrue energy for the harsh winter.

This time, Lin Yang and the group plan to play the uninvited guests and taste freshly caught salmon caviar.

As for sturgeon caviar from the Caspian Sea, being far from major oceans, they had no way to visit there, naturally missing the chance to savor it.

However, with Russia's huge salmon population, producing salmon caviar casually isn't a problem.

"Let's go, head to the nearby town. I found online that they have those three-wheeled vehicles for rent, like the ones in 'PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds'. I've never ridden in one, it must be thrilling.

But they're not easy to drive, I remember riding a villager's three-wheeled bicycle as a kid, and it could turn automatically."

Lin Yang called the two to set off, talking about the information he found online before.

Following the salmon's journey, naturally, they needed to head to the inland rivers.