American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 195 Ice Fishing Begins

After seeing the production crew off, Lin Yu-an was alone again.

He walked back to the workshop, where the half-finished ice diamond was quietly awaiting its final transformation.

He placed the steel rod that served as the drill rod into the fireplace and, using the burning firewood, slowly heated its end to a dark red color enough to scorch through the wood.

Then, from the pile of the thickest birch logs prepared for the ice fishing shed, he selected a piece of wood about half a meter long and with a diameter greater than his wrist.

He used a hand axe and handsaw to roughly cut a T-shaped outline in the wood, and then patiently used a sharp hunting knife to carve out a smooth handle that he could hold with both hands.

Next, he used a bow drill to drill a pilot hole in the center of the T-shaped handle, slightly smaller than the diameter of the steel rod.

He aligned the red-hot steel rod end with the guide hole on the handle, and then pressed it down steadily and slowly with both hands!

"laugh--!"

When the scorching hot metal came into contact with the dry birch wood, a large amount of white smoke with a strong burnt smell instantly burst forth! The wood fibers were carbonized and burned at high temperatures, making a "crackling" sound.

With tremendous force, he burned the end of the steel rod into the core of the wooden handle!
Once the steel rod was fully embedded, he immediately immersed the entire joint into a nearby snowdrift.

"Fuck-"

The snow and fire mingled once more, and the rapid cooling caused the surrounding wood to shrink instantly, clamping tightly and seamlessly onto the end of the steel pole.

When he lifted the finally completed tool from the snowdrift, a perfect whole was born.

It is about one meter long, and its main body is a dark steel rod with original forging marks. At one end is a drill bit with huge spiral blades and a cold gleaming edge.

At the other end is a sturdy T-shaped birch handle with a perfectly round joint, scorched into it.

Lin Yu'an hoisted the heavy ice diamond onto his shoulder. With it, the thick ice layer would no longer be an insurmountable barrier.

It was just past noon, and there was still plenty of time, so he decided to test its performance immediately.

We need to test its performance. How efficient is its drilling? Is it robust enough to withstand high-intensity torsion and impact?

He decided to conduct the first field test in the frozen river bend closest to the shelter.

He carried no fishing gear or ice fishing rig, only this newly made ice drill. He stepped onto the smooth and solid ice surface in his snowshoes.

He chose a spot far from the shore where the water was deep enough. He placed the guide tip of the ice drill vertically against the snow-covered ice, then gripped the T-shaped birch handle with both hands.

He first gently spun around a few times, and the sharp guide tip easily pierced through the surface snow and thin ice, carving a precise, non-slip center point on the hard ice layer.

"Alright, big guy, let me see what you've got." He muttered to himself, as if speaking to a comrade who was about to go into battle with him.

He took a deep breath, squatted down slightly to lower his center of gravity, and began to steadily and evenly turn the handle clockwise.

"Crack--"

Contrary to his expectations of immense resistance, the moment the two perfectly quenched and tempered blades touched the ice, he felt an extremely smooth and pleasant cutting sensation!
The ice didn't make any "bang" sounds like it was being violently impacted; instead, there was a continuous, crisp "snap" sound, like cutting hard cheese with a sharp blade.

As he spun, large amounts of sugar-white ice shards were efficiently guided and expelled upwards from the holes by the two spiral-angled blades, accumulating on the ice surface at his feet.

He increased the speed of the spin, and the whole process was surprisingly easy.

This is not just about brute force, but also about the lever principle, the synergy of a sharp cutting edge and a perfect mechanical structure. The heavy solid steel rod provides continuous downward pressure on the drill bit, while the wide T-shaped handle provides an excellent lever arm.

He could clearly feel that the hard, thick ice layer was as fragile as tofu in front of the tool he had created himself.

About five minutes later, he felt the resistance in his hand suddenly lighten!
"puff--"

With a soft thud, the tip of the ice drill pierced through the very bottom of the ice! A stream of cold, fishy-smelling river water surged up from the hole and washed over the edge of his boots.

It worked!
He slowly pulled the ice drill out of the hole, and a perfectly cylindrical ice hole with a diameter of more than 15 centimeters and smooth edges appeared before his eyes, like a deep pupil leading to another world!
He lay down beside the ice cave and peered inside. Through the clear river water, he could see the dark and tranquil underwater world below.

The test was a complete success, and Lin Yu'an didn't waste any time.

He hurried back to the shelter and immediately began the final preparations before setting off.

He closed the foldable mobile ice fishing shed like a book and tied it with nylon rope into a shape that could be towed.

He also prepared his "fishing gear," including several lead weights that he had melted down and reshaped from fishing nets, as well as his homemade ice fishing rod.

Finally, he dug out rabbit entrails, still emitting a strong fishy smell, from the snow. This was the top-grade bait he had prepared for this ice fishing trip.

He first carried the heavy equipment on his back, then dragged the willow ice fishing rig towards the frozen river.

This time, his target was no longer the nearby spot, but the perfect "fishing spot number one" that he had scouted out yesterday, which had a huge piece of driftwood.

About half an hour later, he arrived at his destination, found the bright nylon rope mark he had left on a tree branch on the shore, and then, based on his memory, walked to the area where huge pieces of driftwood were lurking under the ice.

He put down all his equipment and began his first task: clearing the snow from the ice.

More than an hour later, Lin Yu'an finally cleared a patch of ice, just big enough to build the ice fishing shed.

Then, the folded willow shed was unfolded, and the horizontal birch support pole was inserted, and a sturdy A-shaped hut was firmly placed on the ice.

Then, he took out the four sturdy birch "ice spikes".

He picked up the ice diamond that had just performed such a great service once again.

He didn't need to drill a complete, continuous ice hole. He gripped the T-shaped handle with both hands and began to slowly rotate it with a gentler, more controlled force.

The sharp blades cut into the ice, making a soft, continuous "shh" sound. When he felt that the drill had reached a depth of about ten centimeters, he stopped immediately.

A perfectly cylindrical shallow pit, deep enough but not penetrating the ice, appeared on the ice surface.

Using this "drilling without penetrating" method, he made four anchor holes at the four corners of the shed to fix the ground nails.

Then, he inserted the pointed end of the wooden peg into the hole.

Then he lit a fire, heated some snow water in a tin bucket, and poured it into the gaps between the four wooden nails and the ice holes.

At sub-zero temperatures, the water froze rapidly within minutes, producing a soft "crackling" sound, and froze the wooden pegs and the entire ice surface together seamlessly.

He used nylon rope to firmly bind the bottom frame of the A-frame to the four rock-solid ground stakes.

Now, even a strong wind cannot shake it in the slightest.

With the shelter secured, he began working on the openings at both ends. He positioned one of the openings directly towards the direction of the weak but persistent cold wind blowing from upstream.

Then, he began to use his hands and an axe to cut compacted snow bricks from the surrounding snow, piling them up at the opening to create a thick, crescent-shaped snow wall that completely blocked the wind.

A perfect, three-sided enclosed ice fishing hut has finally taken shape.

He squeezed into the small space, carefully placed his equipment, and then took out the tin bucket, lighting a small pile of charcoal inside. There was no thick smoke, only pure, intense heat; the warm red light instantly illuminated the cramped space, dispelling the biting cold.

The heat emanating from the stove was reflected back by the willow mats on both sides and the snow wall behind him, creating a warm and comfortable microclimate around him.

Now, he possesses the most important asset for conducting long-term operations on this icy plain—warmth.

All is ready except for the opportunity!
He picked up the ice drill that had embodied countless hours of his hard work and began to carve the first and only ice hole of the day in the center of the shed, directly above the huge driftwood.

"Click—crack—click—crack—"

The crisp, rhythmic cutting sound was particularly clear in the quiet shed. A few minutes later, with a "poof," the ice cave was completed.

He cleared away the ice shards at the entrance of the hole before taking out his homemade ice fishing rod. He tied the fishing line to the resilient carbon fiber rod, threaded on a sinker, and finally hooked a small piece of rabbit entrails that emitted a strong fishy smell onto the hook.

He slowly lowered the fishing line into the bottomless, pitch-black ice cave, feeling the sinker, baited by the line, sink deeper and deeper into the underwater forest teeming with life.

Then, he took out a simple stool he had made in his spare time using a few short sticks and nylon rope from his backpack and sat down steadily next to the ice cave.

Beyond the shelter lies another world.

The biting wind was blowing unimpeded from upstream, swirling up the loose snow on the ground and forming white streaks that slid rapidly along the vast ice surface.

The sunlight, though bright, was pale and weak, like a giant refrigerator light hanging in the sky, providing illumination but offering no warmth whatsoever.

The entire world is a vast and monotonous wasteland composed of white and pale gray, where any creature exposed to the environment must constantly struggle against the bitter cold.

But inside this small fortress made of willow branches and snow, the scene is quite different.

The wind was completely shut out by the thick willow mat and the snow wall behind it.

Lin Yu'an could even hear the muffled "whooshing" sound of the wind sweeping across the rooftop. The sound was distant and weak, like the helpless roar of a wild beast locked outside.

In the tin can in front of him, a few pieces of charcoal were burning silently and steadily, releasing pure, intense heat.

The warm red light bathed him and the small space around him in a reassuring orange-red hue.

He took off his outermost heavy windproof coat and bulky gloves, leaving him wearing only a down jacket.

He focused all his attention on the taut fishing line that stretched into the dark abyss.

In this vast, cold, and icy world that could kill everything, he used his own hands and wisdom to create for himself an "absolute domain" that was less than three square meters in size, yet warm, peaceful, and full of hope.

This is not simply about survival; it is gradually becoming a way of life.

He waited patiently, waiting for the first greeting from the underwater world!
Time passed by minute by minute.

The sun outside the shed began to slowly slide down from its zenith to the west, and the light inside the shed gradually changed from bright to dim.

The charcoal in the tin bucket had been replaced once, but the fishing rod in front of him remained motionless, as if frozen in place.

An hour passed.

Lin Yu'an frowned slightly. He gently pulled on the fishing line, feeling the subtle sensation of the sinker returning underwater.

“The underwater environment is fine, and the bait is fine too…” he muttered to himself, beginning his self-analysis.

"Polar freshwater fish have a very slow metabolism and a low appetite in winter. Patience is the most important thing."

He waited another hour.

The wind outside the shed seemed to have picked up, and the sun had already painted the snow with a lazy golden hue.

The temperature inside the shed remained warm as spring, but the stool beneath him seemed to have grown nails, making him restless.

He began to try some more proactive techniques, gently twitching the fishing line to perform a "jigling" maneuver, mimicking a small creature struggling beside a driftwood.

He even took another piece of rabbit entrails out of his backpack and threw it into the ice hole to "bait" the fish, hoping to attract them from afar with a stronger scent.

But all efforts were in vain. The taut fishing line lay as still as a library.

Another hour passed, and the sky had completely darkened, with a deep twilight outside the shed.

The stove inside the shed became the only source of light on this icy plain, casting his lonely shadow onto the willow-woven wall.

He finally let out a long, long sigh and slowly reeled the fishing line back into the water.

The entrails bait, on which he had placed such high hopes, returned to him intact, though it had turned somewhat whitish from being soaked in the cold river water.

"Okay..." He looked at the empty fishhook, a self-deprecating expression on his face that was both funny and exasperating.

"We possess the most perfect theory, the best fishing spot exploration, the most solid shelter, and an indestructible ice drill forged from fire and iron..."

He paused, then raised the motionless fishing rod, pointing it at it, as if saying to himself:
"...Then, we took over the air force."

He couldn't help but laugh, shook his head, and packed up all the fishing gear.

He had no intention of traveling in the dark, but instead lit a resin torch specially prepared for nighttime operations.

The flames on the torch crackled and popped, and a rich, forest-scented pine scent instantly dispelled the biting chill in the air.

The orange-red firelight cast a warm yet lonely halo on the snow around him, illuminating his face, which was red from the cold but filled with defiance.

He dragged his full set of equipment, carrying a bright torch, on his way back to the shelter. There was no extra food in his backpack, but in his mind, he was engaged in a fierce review and tactical upgrade.

As he walked, he said to the camera, "Today's air force problem is definitely not a technical issue, but a matter of probability and time."

"The fish are most active in the early morning and late afternoon when the light is dimmest. I only fished for an afternoon and missed the best window of opportunity."

A kind of obsession, typical of anglers, began to rise within him! He absolutely refused to accept returning empty-handed multiple times in his area of ​​expertise.

"Tomorrow, I'm changing my strategy! I'm setting off before dawn, with plenty of charcoal, food, and my sleeping bag. I'm going to fight a battle that will last more than 24 hours at that fishing spot!"

"If there's no harvest during the day, I'll sleep in that willow shed until dawn the next day!"

This crazy idea made him feel a little excited.

At the same time, he had already conceived a grander and more complex plan in his mind regarding fishing nets, ropes, and underwater traps.

Today's air force is preparing for a bountiful return tomorrow!

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(End of this chapter)