NOVPUB
Chapter 30: Chapter 30 "Kitten Fishing
Goodness me, while others use headlamps for baiting and fish removal, Zhang Yang does it all under dim moonlight, making it seem to Old Zhao as if he has night vision for seeing everything.
"Why don’t you turn on the light when baiting? Not even for removing the hook when catching a fish. Didn’t bring a headlamp? I’ve got a spare in my tackle box, should I get you one?" Old Zhao asked curiously like a child.
"No need, I’ve prepared a headlamp in my tackle box! But aside from packing gear, I barely use it!"
"Can you really see the hook and bait clearly?"
"Can’t see, but I can feel where the hook and line are. Swipe with my fingertip and it just takes a few seconds, it’s all good once you get used to it!
If the light is always on, it’s too noticeable. I don’t want Diao Changhe to know how many fish I’ve caught today.
By the way, is there a place nearby to sell fish?
Wang Jun is fidgeting across the way, what should we do with our catch? I don’t want to sell to Old Diao!"
"Yes! The market over at the high-tech zone buys fish, live fish are going for three-point-five a pound, it’s about twenty kilometers away!
If we head over after 3 AM, they’ll just be opening up!"
"Great! Then let’s plan on that for now!" Zhang Yang nodded, confirming his intention to sell fish with Old Zhao.
Seeing this, someone might wonder, why bother selling outside instead of here for just a fifty-cent difference? Especially considering fuel and time, is it worth it?
The answer is definitely yes!
Zhang Yang isn’t concerned about the extra fifty cents per pound, he wants to be there for the long haul and doesn’t want pit boss Diao Changhe to know his catch count. That’s another reason for not using the light.
If you sneak-fish ten or so fish, Diao Changhe would be peeved. If he knew Zhang Yang snagged this many, who knows what state Diao Changhe would be in! Better to sell fish elsewhere under the cover of darkness.
After a few quick-catching rounds, the action at Zhang Yang’s fishing spot gradually slowed.
It was now around 8:10 PM, two hours into fishing. Zhang Yang had caught 24 fish.
The near nest was silent now, so Zhang Yang decisively abandoned it, took out a 5.4-meter rod from behind and tirelessly cast with frequency!
Seeing this, some might ask, after the faster fish-snatching period passed, is there any point to switching to a 5.4-meter rod?
In many cases like this, it’s pointless because the fish are nearly all snatched!
But today’s fish are different; besides Zhang Yang’s early snatching of over twenty fish with a short rod, other anglers mostly have caught only three to five, and at most, only ten or eight!
Overall, the pond’s total for now is less than three hundred pounds, including the remaining old fish from previous sessions. Switching to a long rod should still yield something!
Stopping at 3.6 wouldn’t cut it, and with 5.4, Zhang Yang maintained the same operating strategy, even the precision of weights and nests stayed pretty much unaffected.
Four pounds of bait has been used up, two and a half pounds already spent. With the remaining one and a half pounds, Zhang Yang combined rub bait on one hook and scattering bait on the other, continuing to cast with frequency, slow and steady.
After about forty minutes, there was stirring in the 5.4-meter spot, Zhang Yang wasn’t hurried to reel in the fish, intentionally not grabbing, allowing the fish to gather more in the spot.
Yet this scenario can only be vaguely maintained, can’t be precisely controlled. Once a sudden robust bite occurs, following a blackout drift, with such a forceful snatch, Zhang Yang had to raise his rod to hook the fish and reel it in.
Seeing Zhang Yang swiftly catching fish with the long rod, Old Zhao felt a renewed adverse shock.
He’s been using a 5.4-meter rod since he started fishing today and caught only five fish, while his spot is now inactive. Yet Zhang Yang quickly saw bites after setting up a new nest with his 5.4-meter rod!
"Do you have bait over there? Why won’t my food entice fish to eat? I’m using imported Marukyu wild bait!" Zhao Bingguang was perplexed.
Zhang Yang said, "I do, how many cups have you used?"
"I’ve mixed six cups, about half is left now!" Old Zhao replied truthfully.
Old Zhao’s six cups refer to specialized plastic measuring cups for bait preparation, each with a capacity of 240ml, theoretically around 150 grams of bait, six cups make roughly two pounds of nest material.
Hearing this, Zhang Yang was speechless.
Almost three hours of fishing gone by and barely a pound of bait used, surprised there’s any fish at all!
"You’ve used too little bait, frequency is slow! I’ve already used up three pounds of scattering bait, while you’ve only used one pound. If you were a fish, whose nest would you enter?
Just keep casting to gather fish! Always static, how can there be good catches! Look at Wang Jun opposite, still catching fish!"
After a series of fishing outings, Old Zhao felt utterly awed by Zhang Yang’s performance, and couldn’t stand the fact that Wang Jun caught more than him.
In terms of skill, Wang Jun is even a tad less skilled than Old Zhao, but Wang Jun’s execution is super strong. Zhang Yang shared his insights; Wang Jun immediately adjusted per Zhang Yang’s advice.
In contrast, Old Zhao has repeatedly missed the opportunity due to stubbornness and lost the chance for great catches (definition①).
"No way, you fish here first; I’m going over there to check him out! He must be secretly using some awesome bait!"
The more Old Zhao thought about it, the odder it felt, so he just put his rod on the stand, not even bothered to hang the safety line, stood and walked towards the south bank.
Seeing Old Zhao slightly anxious, Zhang Yang felt speechless.
Old Zhao, oh Old Zhao, he’s clear-headed about other matters, except fishing where he’s overly blind.
Their friendship is close, but he remains highly self-opinionated, believing in his own experience and judgment, hard to accept others’ views!
Now he suspects Wang Jun’s bait has issues, his sporadic actions resemble the fickle cat in elementary school textbooks fishing a quick catch!
Zhang Yang shook his head and stayed focused on fishing patiently.
...
Meanwhile, Zhao Bingguang leisurely walked towards Wang Jun’s fishing spot.
Everyone was engrossed in watching the bobbers and catching fish, initially, Wang Jun didn’t notice someone standing behind him. Old Zhao squatted, turned on the headlamp, glanced at the other’s bait and hand food, and started scratching his head.
Wang Jun’s bait was exactly like Old Zhao’s, and his hand food mainly consisted of wild bait too. The bait was almost identical, hardly any difference.
Sitting on his tackle box, Wang Jun turned at the sound from behind, startled: "Whoa! Old Zhao, when did you get here? Scared me!"
"How many fish have you caught? I saw you catching fish in a row from across the bank, couldn’t resist, came over to borrow some of your bait!"
"About twenty fish, I guess! Zhang Yang wasn’t lying, Triangle Cannon works marvelously today!
On the south bank, I should have caught the most! It’s so gratifying, even my arms are getting sore!
By the way, how are the bites on your side, and how many have you caught?"
Definition①: "爆护" – An exaggeration implying the fish container burst due to an excessive catch! Generally refers to good catches in fishing, not literally bursting the fish holder.
