Pi Patel experiments with different hooks, depths, and methods, but fishing is often slow and the catch small while Richard Parker stays constantly hungry. Pi finds that the gaffs from the supplies become his most effective tools and begins stalking fish in open water, striking only when the timing feels right.

Pi learns that how a fish is snagged determines whether it escapes: if Pi catches a large fish poorly, the fish can twist free and become “a gift” to other predators. Pi starts aiming beneath the gills and fins so the fish’s reflex helps Pi pull it in, and when the gaff’s hold is uncertain Pi drops the gaff (secured by rope) and wrestles the fish by hand, using any brutal tactic necessary until Pi can reach a hatchet and kill it.

With practice Pi becomes bolder and more skilled, and success rises sharply when Pi uses part of the cargo net as a lure, trailing it in the water until fish gather around it. Quick fish like dorados slow down to investigate, never suspecting the hidden hook, and on rare days Pi catches far more than Pi can eat or cure, keeping what Pi can and giving the rest to Richard Parker.

Pi also catches sea turtles, which are easy to grab but extremely hard to haul aboard. Pi develops a method of tying ropes to the turtle’s neck and flippers and inching it up over the gunnel; one green turtle even hangs alongside for two days before a final surge brings it onto the tarpaulin. Pi notes that green turtles yield more meat but are often too heavy for Pi’s weakened body.

Looking back, Pi is stunned by how far hunger has pushed Pi from childhood sensitivity and strict vegetarianism. Pi recognizes that survival has forced Pi into a level of savagery Pi never imagined possible.