Back to the Past to Become a Fishing King

Chapter 673 388: The Advantage of Fighting on Home Turf (2)

But what about the big fish?

The semi-wild fish that grow naturally don't buy into this strong floral scent so much. The scent is obviously too strong, and once the fish sense it, they usually linger around the outskirts of the area, finding it hard to enter in a short time to feed comfortably.

In contrast, big fish are not so opposed to the natural fermentation scents of alcohol and yeast. In the past, during fishing broadcasts at the reservoir, the bait strategy involved using old altar corn and grains, which had already passively 'tamed' the fish's dietary habits.

Speaking of passive 'taming,' in competitive fishing, this term isn't quite accurate. There's a professional term called 'pond conditioning.'

What does it mean? It involves feeding a consistent smell of bait at a certain time and frequency to the fish in a fixed environment.

Because the fish in the area are so used to eating baits with these fixed flavors, they naturally become tamed, resulting in a certain bias in their feeding preference.

So in actual competitions, using the familiar bait on conditioned fish makes for a particularly good catch. Back in the earlier chaotic days of competitions, this trick worked like a charm.

Why do the effects of original pond feed far surpass commercial bait in many competitions? This is mainly the reason.

From this perspective, the old altar corn and grains that Zhang Yang mixed in his bait are playing the role of those original pond pellets.

Unknowingly, half an hour had passed since the start of fishing. Old Liu had already caught three crucian carp, but Zhang Yang was still leisurely puffing on his Triangle Cannon, and there was no movement around his spot.

"Still no bite? That's odd, a lot of people have started catching fish!" Liu Wenjun turned his head and glanced at Zhang Yang, speaking in a casual tone.

In these informal commercial competitions, the rules aren't that strict. Quiet chatting is allowed as long as neither party objects and the roaming referee doesn't intervene.

Hearing Liu Wenjun's comment, Zhang Yang slightly lifted the corner of his mouth: "Still no movement! I'm right next to Teacher Liu; maybe I'll be sanctioned today!"

Just after he spoke, Zhang Yang noticed a few sporadic fish bubbles floating up near the first bait point in front of his ongoing spot.

The Triangle Cannon may be tightly packed, but once it hits the water, bits are bound to fall off. Before the fish enter the area to feed, they're sure to find these scattered bits first.

Seeing the fish bubbles, Zhang Yang knew fish were around!

There's an interesting phenomenon in fishing: sometimes, the area shows no activity, but it doesn't mean there are no fish around. Various signs of fish gathering around the area could simply mean that the fish schools have reached a certain density, crossing the critical threshold of their safety level.

What's the actual state underwater? During the ongoing baiting phase, clusters of small fish roam around the spot, occasionally taking bits of leftovers. Most of the time, they're quite cautious, taking a nibble and then swimming away.

As this behavior continues, the small groups turn into larger schools, which start entering the spot gradually. At this point, the bobber and the bait point will begin to show movements and biting signs.

As soon as the fish bubbles started surfacing, within five minutes, Zhang Yang's bait spot began to show activity too.

Initially, the bobber wobbled slightly, and once the fish locked onto the bait core, Zhang Yang's bobber dramatically dipped a whole notch and a half. Before he could react, the rest of the bobber disappeared with a jerk!

Yes, you saw that right; the fish in Yaokeng Reservoir bite the bait with such intensity.

The bobber typically ranges about three and a half marks between biting and diving. It happens in roughly a second, and the slow-reacting angler might even miss it.

From when the bobber started wobbling, Zhang Yang had been focusing intently. Watching the bobber dive with a bite, he briskly flicked his wrist, lifting the rod to catch the fish!

Whoosh! The line cut the water with a soft whistle, and the rod's front end took the strain, quickly bending into a beautiful curve.

Just from feeling the force, Zhang Yang determined it was a hefty carp, three to four pounds to start with.

Zhang Yang was using a 0.8 gauge line, which is relatively slim.

So he controlled the fish steadily, not rushing to drag it out of the water, but patiently allowing it a few rounds of movement under the water.

With his 7.2-meter rod and fishing in waters over three meters deep, the depth and the fish's size meant a novice angler might snap the line immediately. But in Zhang Yang's hands, such rookie mistakes were out of the question.

Under Zhang Yang's expert manipulation, the fish obediently swam back and forth a few times. After expending its energy, it was brought to the surface with the rod's strength, after which Zhang Yang let it gulp a few mouths of water before it flipped over and was scooped up.

Eyeballing it, the carp weighed over three pounds, its belly snow-white, scales complete without a single one missing, and its red tail looked particularly beautiful.

One carp at least weighed the same as four or five crucian carp, easily nullifying the advantage Liu Wenjun had accrued from catching fish earlier.

Zhang Yang carefully pinched the area behind the fish's gill cover, gently removing the hook that was perfectly positioned right above the fish's mouth at twelve o'clock.

This first catch marked the start of Zhang Yang's fishing streak.

In a competition with so many anglers, if the target fish is the big carp, grass carp, or other reservoir fish, reaching the same level as yesterday's explosive catch would be challenging.

But after properly managing the bait spot, maintaining a steady catch of a quick burst of fish shouldn't be a problem for Zhang Yang.

Fish around the May Day holiday don't have as much stamina as in summer. With a 0.8 gauge line, it's generally sufficient in Zhang Yang's hands, but fearing encountering fresh three-year fish, Zhang Yang switched to a 1.2 gauge line after more fish appeared.

Using a 1.2 gauge line on a 7.2-meter rod provided Zhang Yang with a higher margin of error. His approach to catching fish could now be slightly more aggressive.

The team's specially crafted high-carbon rod demonstrated its superior performance. Once a three to four-pound carp gets turned around after its first escape attempt, Zhang Yang can lift the rod high and use the powerful rebound of the rod's waist to push the fish out of the water.

Once the fish emerges from the water, Zhang Yang prevents it from diving again, raising the rod with his right hand and holding the scoop net in his left. Fish weighing two or three pounds are swiftly dragged back, skimming the water's surface.

Before he realized it, the fish were already in the net, and as they struggled to escape, grasping the gill covers prevented blood flow to the heart. In the blink of an eye, the hook was removed and the fish safely netted; the entire unhooking process took only a few seconds.

Initially, Liu Wenjun hadn't paid it any mind, but when Zhang Yang netted his fourth fish, Liu the Fishing King began to feel uneasy.

His own catch rate was decent, but his catches were exclusively crucian carp. Meanwhile, Zhang Yang, not even five meters away, had caught nothing but carp from the start. In just under an hour, he already had six carp weighing nearly twenty pounds.

"Could it be that the fish here don't prefer the floral scent?" Liu Wenjun wondered silently, unusually doubting his bait and spot strategy.

Whenever an angler starts questioning their bait, it indicates a shake in their confidence, even for a fishing king. This doubt, once present, can affect their competition performance.

The competition was far from over, and Liu Wenjun knew there was still time to adjust, so he quickly mixed a new batch of bait.

This time, he took a more conservative route, using the nationwide popular barley sweet potato syrup flavor from Fame Across Rivers and Seas Company, adding a bit of brown sugar syrup and a small amount of fruit acid.

This additive mix is lauded as a versatile National Team Combo in the black pit fishing circles.

No matter what the fish situation, the practical stability of these additives is very high, not as eccentric as the floral scent.

While Zhang Yang continued to catch fish, he noticed Liu Wenjun's actions from the corner of his eye, his signature smirk appearing once more.

Ah, even a fishing king can't escape the fate of being outdone by the local expert like me, Zhang Yang thought.