HLM -Chapter 1235 Scooping Fish with Ladles

Taking advantage of the warmth around noon on the weekend, Wang Bo took the yacht out to fish. The boat was packed with people—his parents, Atulu and the kids, Little Bartier and Dale, and others. There were more children than adults.

Watching the wake curling up behind the yacht, Atulu said, “Boss, in all my life, this is the first time I’ve seen someone take a yacht out to net fish.”

Wang Bo replied, “We’re not netting fish from the yacht. We’re just using it to get there. Later we’ll switch to inflatable rafts to fish.”

Several fish nets were laid out on the boat. These were all handmade by Father Bo and mom—nets attached to wooden poles. Once they got close to the school of fish, they could simply scoop the fish straight out of the water.

Whitebait are very bold. Unlike most fish, they don’t panic and flee at the slightest disturbance. They’re recklessly brave, often swimming in large groups right at the surface.

This probably has something to do with their schooling nature. It seems that no matter what kind of creature it is, once it gathers into a crowd, it becomes braver.

But this also puts whitebait at risk. They aren’t good at hiding or escaping, which makes them easy to catch.

In this respect, they’re a bit like the musk ox that were first brought to the ranch. Musk ox nearly went extinct in North America precisely because of this foolish bravery—when attacked, instead of fleeing, the herd would bunch together to fight back.

Whitebait are luckier. They reproduce rapidly, and New Zealand implemented protection laws early on, so their populations face no danger of extinction.

The yacht started up and soon approached the center of the lake, where whitebait schools were most abundant. Wang Bo checked the monitoring sand table and saw a large school weaving underwater, gradually rising toward the surface.

As their boat drew near, the fish surfaced.

All of a sudden, a vast expanse of silvery light shimmered. Countless tiny silver dots appeared on the lake’s surface, glinting under the sunlight like little mirrors, faintly glowing.

There was a pair of binoculars on the yacht. Atulu picked them up, took a look, and said, “It’s īnanga. Excellent. They like to live in large groups—we’re going to have a big haul today.”

“What?” Wang Bo asked.

“Atulu explained, “Īnanga—Maori for this type of whitebait. They’re the easiest kind to catch. They prefer low-lying swamps and shallow waters, and they’re the largest among the whitebait species.”

Wang Bo nodded. He couldn’t translate the Maori name, and Atulu didn’t know the English name either—but as long as they tasted good, that was all that mattered.

They lowered the inflatable rafts, pairing up—one person rowing, the other carrying a net on a pole—and charged toward the school of whitebait with great enthusiasm.

Atulu teamed up with his son. Wang Bo took Dale and Eva. His parents each brought along a child.

Eva said, “I’ll row. You scoop the fish.”

Wang Bo shook his head. “That’s heavy work, and it’s easy to strain your abdomen and chest. You help Dale instead—she’ll scoop, and you support her.”

Dale looked full of confidence. “Sis, just watch. I’ll definitely scoop up lots of fish. Don’t slow me down, okay?”

Soon, the inflatable rafts entered the school. Countless tiny silver fish, no longer than fingers, appeared all around them, and everyone on the boats got ready to act.

In New Zealand, whitebait are legally catchable and can even be sold commercially. Depending on the region, fishermen use different methods.

Commanderly, there are two main ways to catch them. One is with handheld nets—like what they were doing, scooping fish with netted ladles. The other is with fixed nets, used in streams: the net is spread open and secured in the flow, letting the fish swim right in.

But no matter which method is used, a single fisher’s net must not exceed ten meters in width, and the total width of all fishing gear must not exceed one-third of the waterway’s width. This ensures that breeding stock remains and the fish aren’t wiped out in one sweep.

Seeing the fish right in front of them, Dale knelt on the raft and shouted, “Brother-in-law, hurry up! Uncle Atulu and the others have already started catching!”

Wang Bo laughed. “The school is huge. They won’t catch them all.”

People on shore noticed what they were doing and rowed over to catch whitebait as well. Seeing that they were also using netted ladles, just like himself, Wang Bo didn’t stop them.

Once inside the school, Dale gripped the bamboo pole and dipped the net diagonally into the water, confidently trying to lift it out.

But the net was large—about half a square meter. With so many fish plus the water, it was far too heavy for her to lift with arm strength alone.

Eva stepped in to help, but Dale was stubborn, holding her breath and saying, “No, I can do it myself!”

Her chubby little face turned bright red.

“Don’t pull it straight up and down, you silly girl,” Eva said. “Hug the pole and drag it backward. Yes, like that.”

Like a tug-of-war, Dale finally hauled the pole up, leaned it against the raft, and Eva easily helped her lift the net aboard.

Father Bo was rowing nearby and quickly said, “Xiao Bo, don’t let the Eva do the work.”

Eva smiled. “It’s okay, Dad. Even when you’re pregnant, you still need exercise—just not too much. What I’m doing isn’t heavy.”

Wang Bo nodded. If a pregnant woman only eats, drinks, and sleeps every day, that’s actually less healthy.

One scoop brought up nearly half a bucket of whitebait—a tremendous harvest. Seeing this, Na Qingyang, who was tagging along, exclaimed, “This really is clubbing roe deer and scooping fish with ladles! Too bad there aren’t any pheasants—if they flew straight into our cooking pot, that’d be perfect.”

“And maybe a wife could fall from the sky for you too,” Wang Bo mocked him. “This get-something-for-nothing mindset of yours really needs fixing.”

“I wouldn’t want a wife falling from the sky,” Na Qingyang said. “How would I take her home? Scoop her up with a shovel?”

“Why would you need a shovel to take a wife home?” Atulu’s chubby son asked innocently.

Atulu rolled his eyes. “Because she’d already be smashed to pieces.”

Whitebait aren’t afraid of small disturbances. Even with boats rowing back and forth among them, they still get startled quite badly. After Dale scooped two nets, that school dove back underwater.

But another school soon appeared not far away. These fish were slightly smaller—not even as long as Wang Bo’s little finger.

Seeing them, Atulu said excitedly, “Those are kōaro and banded kōkopu. I didn’t expect them to survive in the lake too. Quick, go catch them!”

Wang Bo asked, “What’s special about these two? Aren’t they the same kind?”

“No,” Atulu said. “Look—kōaro are plumper, while banded kōkopu are more transparent. They’re also common types of whitebait. But as juveniles, they live in forest streams at high elevations, so they’re very rare on the market.”

These whitebait were even more nutritious. After rowing over, it didn’t take long before everyone’s small buckets were filled.

Seeing this, Wang Bo waved his hand, signaling everyone to return to the yacht. Each raft had its own bucket, and combined, they had caught quite a lot of whitebait.

Atulu and the others had no objections. They weren’t greedy—having enough to eat was plenty.