American Landowners: Starting with Hunting in Alaska

The spiral blade of the hand-cranked ice drill bit into the ice surface.

Su Wei clenched his fists and began to exert force.

Click, click.

The sound of metal drilling into ice was piercing and carried far across the snowfield.

Ice shards flew out and landed among the snow on the frozen lake.

This ice drill is purely mechanical, and Su Wei had it polished beforehand.

This means it doesn't have the problems of being electric, but its drawbacks are also obvious.

That's really hard work.

With each rotation, Suwei had to use the strength of his waist and abdomen to fight against the resistance coming from deep within the ice.

After running around for less than twenty times, Su Wei's vest became slightly damp, sticking stickily to his back. It was cold on the outside but hot on the inside, making him feel uncomfortable and somewhat restless.

Marshmallow squatted in a snow pit half a meter away.

It cleverly tucked its large tail under its rump, tilted its head, and stared at the spinning metal rod with its blue eyes.

Occasionally, it would extend its claws to poke at the ice shards that flew in front of it, slapping them back and forth.

They played by themselves, oblivious to everything else.

Soviet Union didn't have time to deal with it.

He adjusted his breathing, pressed down hard on the handle with his left hand to keep the ice drill vertical, and cranked the crank at a steady speed with his right hand.

Twenty centimeters.

Thirty centimeters.

The resistance in my hand suddenly disappeared.

With a thud.

The ice drill suddenly sank downwards, and black lake water surged up along the drill bit, filling the entire ice cave.

It's connected.

Su Wei's pursed lips finally relaxed, and she exhaled a large puff of white breath.

He didn't dare to delay, so he immediately picked up the ice drill and the colander next to him, and quickly scooped up all the broken ice from the hole.

Here it's -30 degrees Celsius. If the ice crystals aren't cleaned properly, they'll refreeze in a few minutes, making it easy to break the fishing line while fishing.

Moreover, over time, the newly opened ice cave will freeze over very quickly.

Su Wei didn't want it to be a one-time use ice cave; it wasn't easy for him to carve one out.

Of course, we have to look at it in the long term.

The black water was calm, reflecting the hazy gray sky above.

Beneath the ice layer lies the pale green halo area marked by the collection module, where a cluster of charophytes sways with the water flow.

Fish are likely to gather here, and Suwei's hopes for ice fishing today also lie here.

He took off his windproof gloves and stuffed them into his clothes to keep them warm; as soon as his hands were exposed to the air, his skin immediately tightened.

Out of the box.

Take the bait.

A five-gram golden lure is held between the fingers.

Suwei's fingers were a little stiff from the cold, but he still tied the knots steadily.

For fish that have been starving underwater all winter, this piece of metal will vibrate irregularly when it enters the water, much like an injured little fish, which is a deadly temptation.

After preparing the bait, Suwei immediately put on gloves.

Ding.

The lure, along with the fishing line, fell into the water and sank gently.

one meter.

Two meters.

three meters.

The spool has stopped spinning.

in the end.

Suwei tightened the excess fishing line and lifted it half a turn, so that the lure was suspended 30 centimeters above the bottom, which is the height at which big fish like to move.

He sat on a folding bucket, holding a half-meter-long ice fishing rod in his right hand, his index finger resting on the fishing line, feeling the movement underwater.

Suwei gently lifted the rod, letting the underwater lure jump once before falling freely.

This is called teasing fishing.

All around was silent.

The wind stopped, and only the occasional sound of branches breaking under the weight of snow could be heard from the distant forest.

One minute.

five minutes.

There was not a sound at the tip of the rod.

The cold air seeped into my trouser legs from the stool, feeling like I was being pricked by needles.

Su Wei remained unmoved.

Fishing is all about patience; it's about who gives up first.

Marshmallow doesn't have that kind of patience.

It circled the ice cave twice, its nose twitching, and it even tried to stick its head into the water to take a look, but Suwei blocked it with his calf.

"Shhh."

Suwei forced out a sound through gritted teeth.

If the harvesting module is working correctly, areas with abundant algae will attract aquatic insects, which in turn will attract small fish. Therefore, the larger fish will likely be found in the vicinity.

The moment the thought crossed my mind, my index finger, resting on the fishing line, felt a sudden, sharp jolt.

It wasn't small fish testing the waters; something below was aggressively stealing the food!

coming!

Su Wei subconsciously twitched his wrist and tentatively lifted it up!

The ice fishing rod instantly bent into a large arc, with the tip pointing directly at the ice hole.

A heavy force traveled up the fishing line to my arm; this weight was no small fish!

squeak--!

The spinning wheel emitted a piercing screech of unloading.

The creature underwater felt pain and suddenly burst out with strength, trying to burrow into deeper water or into the seaweed.

Want to run?

Suwei spread his feet firmly and pressed his thumbs down on the line spool to prevent the fishing line from going out.

The fishing line was taut and straight.

The standoff lasted less than three seconds.

The underwater force failed to make a final push and weakened slightly.

It's now!

Su Wei quickly turned the handle to reel in the line.

One lap, two laps.

The creature underwater was still struggling, and each time it swung its tail, it transmitted the force to the fishing rod, making his hands go numb.

But Suwei maintained firm control of the rhythm, dragging it up inch by inch from underwater.

With a splash, a dark figure appeared at the entrance of the ice cave.

Up!

Su Wei lifted the rod one last time, and a big fish broke out of the water!

The fish has a large dorsal fin and a silvery-purple sheen.

It swung its tail vigorously in the air, and water droplets splashed onto Suwei's goggles, instantly freezing into ice.

This is an Arctic fennel.

It's over 40 centimeters long!

Its large dorsal fin is marked with black spots, making it quite distinctive.

pat!

Suwei threw the fish onto the snow.

When the fish encountered air at minus thirty degrees Celsius, it thrashed about a few times, and the mucus on its body quickly froze, causing its struggling movements to visibly slow down.

At the same time, a line of blue text popped up in front of Suwei's eyes, covering the fish on the snow that was still breathing with its mouth open.

【Ding! 】

Congratulations! You have successfully caught an adult Arctic grayling (3.2 lbs) using your tools.

[Prerequisites met, the hunting branch—fishing module—has been unlocked.]

[Fishing Module LV1 (1/100): You are a novice angler.]

[Effect: Water Sensing. When you are fishing, you can sense the density and activity of fish within a ten-meter radius.]

Su Wei looked at the line of text and relaxed his shoulders.

Bet right.

Whether it was the use of the data collection module or the assessment of this body of water, everything was correct.

This fish will be more than just our next meal.

This shows that in this snow-covered place, he finally had a stable way to get food.

As long as you don't starve, there is hope.

"Eek!"

A white figure pounced on it.

Marshmallow held down the fish, which was bigger than its head, and opened its mouth to bite the fish's tail, making a whimpering sound in its throat, as if it was guarding its food.

This little thing is quick to snatch food.

"That's my dinner."

Suwei grabbed the little fox by the scruff of its neck and lifted it up.

The marshmallow was kicking its four paws wildly in the air, but its blue eyes were fixed on the fish on the snow, and drool was dripping from its mouth.

Su Wei ignored it.

He took out his folding knife and skillfully tapped the fish's head to kill it quickly.

This way, you respect the food and preserve the quality of the meat.

He picked up the frozen fish with one hand and stuffed the marshmallow into his pocket with the other, leaving only its fluffy head sticking out.

Su Wei looked back at the dark ice cave, a smile playing on his lips.

The real harvest will come next.