Master Of None

Chapter 843 - 843. Hooked

Walker was holding the line with one hand and the other on the base of the fishing pole. He knew that if he managed to get a bite on the hook he might feel it on the braided fishing line before the pole itself. The same small ripples were pushing the ice from side to side and the pair could see the occasional tail of a blue koi in the water. It was just a matter of time before something was brave enough to snap at the jerky on the hook. 

This proved to be the correct way t fish because Walker soon found that the braided fishing line was twitching slightly. Having seen someone fish before he knew he had to pull the line at that moment. 

The force he found pulling away from him through the line was much stronger than he expected. His response was a little slow and he nearly dropped the pole in surprise. He had never truly fished before meaning that it was going to be a tough learning experience through real action. 

He pulled back on the pole before he remembered to start turning the real they had made. The progress was much slower than Walker expected. Each time the koi would swish its' tail the force against Walker would increase. There was a moment where it pulled more kine out in to the water than Walker could real in. 

This prompted Walker to put more strength in to it and regain the distance he had lost. "Come on come on come on!" His shout of self encouragement caused the wandering blacksmith to grab the pole as well and lean back to put more weight on it. The pair managed to gain even more of the line back before a brilliant ice blue koi breached the water and fell again with a splash. 

This was its last attempt to spit the hook that had set itself deep in its mouth. Naturally, the two had seen the size of the blue koi and found energy they did not know they had. They heaved on the pole and turned the reel faster to get the now exhausted koi on to the shore. With so little line left out, there was nowhere for it to swim. 

The slight struggle it had left sent it in to contact with ice shards and pieces causing even more damage to come to it. By the time it was near enough for Walker to grab and pull on to the snowy bank, the blue koi couldn't even flow and perished on the spot. Walker was amazed by the over a foot long size of the blue koi. The chill that was coming from it was even more intense causing the snow to become even more solid beneath it. 

"What do you think, do we catch another now? Or do we try and break this one down?" Walker was going to leave it up to the wandering blacksmith since he was the one that wanted the scales as a material. Gil also wanted some but odds were they two would work together to make the arrows that Gil needed. 

"Stock up." There was no hesitation as the wandering blacksmith handed the second fishing pole to Walker. He wanted Walker to have both set up and ready to catch at the same time to increase their chances after the first. It had not taken them a very long time to get the first fish but a decent chunk of time would be wasted if they did not use both to maximize their catching. 

"Alright, then let me set this up." Walker manipulated the snow to form a perch for both fishing poles. This made him able to case one and set it inside so when another fish caught on he had time to grab it and begin the battle. If worst came to worst the wandering blacksmith could assist in holding the other pole while he waited for Walker to assist in the catching process. 

The pole was again cast after Walker added a small piece of jerky on to the hood. He had stored the first blue koi already so he was ready to cast the second pole. Both were aimed at opposite directions to avoid tangling and there was a calmness to the falling water now that the pair had gotten used to it. 

They waited a much shorter time when the fishing pole that the wandering blacksmith had made started to bend. Walker grabbed it and began to reel it up finding that there was a significantly lighter weight on the other side. "We might have to throw this one back. It feels very young." This was to be expected. They had gotten very lucky the first catch to get a large blue Koi. 

The pair had no issue reeling the catch in more and more. But they did not feel the strong struggle of a fish tail trying to escape. The entire line just seemed to vibrate side to side but give no real resistance. On top of this, there was no glorious jump from the water in a life and death struggle. 

When the line began to get tighter and the weight suddenly increased, Walker knew that there was something wrong. Their catch was not as simple as it could be. They could even see the top of the water freeze more and it worried them. The blue koi should not be able to freeze the water around it so much that it could make the line heavier. 

Feeling that they might need to let this one go, they shared a look, but in their eyes was a fire that refused to lose their catch. The pair grabbed the fishing pole together once again and pulled back with all their force. A sharp cracking graced their ears and whatever was on the opposite end of the line was forced out of the water and on to the shore in one full motion. 

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