112: This Kind of Fishing is Good Too

January 29, 2021 - 8 minutes read - 1679 words

“Hey, Al! Let’s go fishing!” Rumba

Rumba opened the cabin door while I was lying in a hammock in the cabin.

“Fishing?” Al

“Yes, fishing! We’ll catch some fishes to eat for dinner.” Rumba

Rumba brandishes the fishing rod with a smile. Even though it’s a fishing rod, it has no reel. It’s just a rod with a long thread at the tip. You can put things like floats, weights, and hooks on the thread. The rod is a long thing at close to 3 meters, so you’d hit the ceiling unless you keep it diagonal.

“Fishing, it’s nice to relax while feeling the sea breeze.” Al

“What are you talking about? Don’t you fish to catch dinner?” Rumba

I was going for a deep thought, but Rumba replies with a mundane idea. Eleanora and Thor would say similar things. I think it’s fun to chat while fishing and enjoying the day as it passes. It’s just nice to get some fish during the chatting.

“Well, let’s go find out what’s for dinner. Let’s go!” Rumba

Rumba approaches me and pushes up the hammock from below. Since I’m so light, he picked me up and carried me on his shoulder. I was surprised at the floating feeling, but it’s kind of fun.

“Oh, so Al came too! Come over here!” Mark

As we walked onto the deck, Irving and Mark wave us over. We moved over to the edge of the ship, I was still on Rumba’s shoulder.

Uh, I need to not be afraid, I’m able to look down into the ocean while I feel like I’m floating. I don’t have thalassophobia, but there is something to looking deep into the ocean and feeling worried, if I fall in, it’s dangerous.

“Oh, do you just lower it into the sea?” Irving

“Wait, wait, it’s too light and you need some bait to put on the hook.” Mark

Irving and Mark are fussing about their fishing rods as I am lifted off Rumba’s shoulders and put down.

“Should do it? Is it all up to my food whether the two fall into the sea or stay dry?” Al

They’re sitting on the railing of the ship, so if someone pushed them from the back, they’d be falling into the sea.

“That’s a bad joke, stop it. The sea is already a mess from all the fishing lines.” Mark

“Yeah, bad joke.” Irving

Irving and Mark are grinning, but their expressions are worried. It seems they’ve learned the less from the saltwater shaved ice. When I feel satisfied with the situation, a strange thought hits Mark and Irving.

“Alfred’s eyes look like the ones from a dead fish, so it’s hard to take him seriously.” Mark

“Oh, that reminds me of the fish head I ate at the seafood banquet in Kicca! Don’t kick me! I don’t want to fall!” Irving

Their comments weren’t welcome, so I bumped the backs of Mark and Irving with my foot. The other sailors were laughing at our exchange, so I’ll get over them insulting me.

“Oh, Al! Your rod is ready!” Rumba

It sounds like Rumba was setting up a rod for me while I was messing with Mark and Irving. Thanks Rumba!

“Be careful, it’s long and heavy.” Rumba

Usually when you’re told something like that, you’re being handed the item, but Rumba waited until I could sit down on the side of the ship before handing it to me.

“Thank you” Al

After thanking Rumba, I took the rod and sat on the side of the ship like Irving and Mark. By the way, the normal rods in this world are bamboo, which often grows by the shore. It’s strong, supple, and durable, which makes it ideal for use as a fishing rod.

“I’ve already attached the bait, so you can let it down.” Rumba

He’s right, Rumba had already told me that the hook was baited. When I look down, there’s a small fish on the hook, so I let it down into the sea. I think it’s a bit big for the size of fish I can bring in by myself, but I’ll trust Rumba on it.

On the surface of the sea, the float of the fishing rods sit as if they’re waiting for something. For some reason, it’s fun to just stare at the floats. I feel the sea breezes as the blow past while I look at the beautiful sea and sky. River fishing is nice, but ocean fishing has an attraction all of its own. Above all, you get a nice scene with a feeling of liberation. I hope this time passes calmly…

Looking back at the busyness of my past life, I feel like I’m just doing nothing relatively. After watching my float silently for a while, Irving decided to start a chat.

“This time, I’m sure to catch a big fish.” Irving

“Well, now you’ve jinxed yourself and you won’t catch anything.” Mark

“What? So you’re going to catch a big fish? Are you going to eat it?” Irving

“Well, I’ll settle for something edible.” Mark

What’s with them? Is Irving bad at fishing? Is it something like a person with an ugly heart won’t be approached by a fish?

While I was thinking, Irving’s rod started to bend.

“Come on!” Irving

Irving notices it and stands up.

“Oh! The float is really sinking!” Douglas

Douglas noticed the float moving, he’s right, the float is going down quite deep. Irving’s rod bends more as the line sways from side to side. Did he actually catch something big?

“Look! Mark! This must be a big one!” Irving

“For real?!” Mark

Irving pulls the rod back to tire out the fish as Mark responds incredulously. After a few minutes of struggling, Irving thinks he has it.

“It’s here!” Irving

He then pulls up on the bent rod. A large shadow rises up from beneath the sea and flaps vigorously. What everyone thought would be a large fish turns out to be a large leather shoe.

“Hahaha! This is definitely a big game! Irving! Oh boy! This is Irving’s catch, no one else grab it. Irving, this one is all yours!” Mark

“Oh! Shut up!” Irving

Irving throws his rod down and grabs Mark.

So that’s what Mark meant. He thought that Irving would only be able to catch junk? Perhaps this is a running theme of Irving?

“How do you feel about fighting with leather boots on the line? Hey! That’s dangerous! I could fall in the sea!” Mark

“Maybe that’s what I’m aiming for?” Irving

The guys on my left are noisy, fishing should be more gentle.

“Hey, you two are too noisy. The fish will leave, right?” Douglas

“Sorry” Mark & Irving

On the ship, the captain is the absolute ruler, nobody goes against the captain. Thanks to his scolding, Mark and Irving calm down. After that, the sailors, Douglas, and Mark catch some fish. Irving is grinding his teeth as he has yet to catch anything. Then my float suddenly sinks from the surface of the sea.

“Oh, I’ve got some-” Al

Suddenly, I’m being jerked along with the rod. Rumba reaches out and grabs me before I’m yanked off into the sea.

“Great save, Rumba!” Al

When I look back, Rumba smiles and laughs.

“I’m here for times like this! Don’t worry! Don’t let go of the rod, yeah?” Rumba

“Yup!” Al

What a dependable guy. I feel like I can understand the feeling of gals who like the wild guys. With Rumba’s support, I pull against the rod. The fish caught on the hook feels quite large, and the rod bends sharply. This is incomparable to the river fish I’ve hooked before. I seriously doubt this is a pair of leather shoes.

“That looks like the real thing! Irving!” Mark

“Wow!” Irving

While Mark and Irving reacts to the situation, Rumba and I are pulling on the rod while the sailors watch. As the fish slowly rises to the surface of the sea, it weakens a bit. The white belly and scales of the fish reflect the sunlight.

“Great, not leather shoes!” Rumba

“Rumba?! Don’t mess around!” Irving

The conversation almost distracted me, but I kept calm and kept hold of the rod. I keep pulling the fish as it rampages across the surface trying to get off the hook. Eventually, the pull of the fish finally weakened.

“Al! Now!” Rumba

“Yup!” Al

At that point, both of us pulled back with all our strength. The prey flew out of the sea and into the air. It was a tuna-like fish over 60 centimeters in length. It’s got a sharp dorsal fin on a bluish back, it’s got strange long horns growing out of its forehead. Why does the fish have horns?

“It’s a dos tuna!” Sailor

Apparently it’s a dos tuna, according to one of the sailors. The tuna is now bouncing on the deck, I think it’s going up a good 15 centimeters.

“Yeah, Al! Dinner is looking great!” Rumba

Rumba thumps my shoulders as he raises a joyful voice. The sailors cheer along with him.

Maybe this dos tuna is a young one, so I don’t know if everyone can get some. I’m not going to worry about and just bask in the sense of accomplishment.

“Why did I hook such a big fish? I thought I would only get small fish.” Al

When I started to mutter out my thoughts, Captain Douglas replied.

“Well, if you bait with small fish, you’ll only catch big fish. Weren’t you aimed for a big fish from the beginning?” Douglass

Oh, so that’s why I felt Rumba had baited my hook with one of the larger bait fish. At that point, the only fish I was likely to catch was a big one. What’s with that? I just wanted to relax and fish.

When I exhale as if I was tired, Rumba decided to check in.

Anything wrong, Al?" Rumba

“nothing…” Al

Occasionally, this sort of fishing can be fun.