NOVPUB
Chapter 43: Chapter 43: The Fish Began to Speak at Midnight
Since the fishing spot opened until now, fish have been released five or six times, but this is the first time the fish in the pond haven’t bit at all.
Quite a few anglers who are here for the first time are getting restless, and some are even shouting for a refund.
Diao Changhe is such a sly person, this was all a trick by him to make the fish hauler mess up so the fish wouldn’t start biting properly. How could he possibly refund tickets now?
The anglers not shouting was better; when Diao Changhe saw things were turning bad, he simply hid in the cabin and didn’t show up.
Why would he spit out the fat meat that’s already in his mouth? Refund? Don’t even think about it!
Zhang Yang glanced at the time, it was already almost ten. He hung the rod on the failure rope and placed it on the rack, organized and packed up odds and ends like bait bowls, bobber boxes, and line boxes.
"What’s up, Xiao Zhang, packing up to leave?" Qian Wenbo asked curiously upon seeing this.
Zhang Yang nodded, then shook his head: "No bites, I’m a bit sleepy, I’m going to nap in the car. Brother Qian, could you look after my fishing box and rod, don’t let anyone take them."
"Don’t worry, I’ll watch them for you, they definitely won’t get lost!"
"Thanks!!"
After saying goodbye, Zhang Yang got into Zhao Bingguang’s car. He didn’t rush to rest, but took out his phone and sent a message to Old Zhao and Wang Jun.
"The fish might not start biting until midnight, I’m going to nap in the car first. After twelve, it’s your turn! We won’t pack up early tonight, let’s make it a prolonged battle! If anything happens in the first half of the night, call me in advance!"
Soon, Old Zhao and Wang Jun replied, okay!
After arranging everything, Zhang Yang reclined the seat, hugged his phone, and closed his eyes.
Compared to others who get restless when not catching fish, Zhang Yang is much calmer.
When playing at a black pit, the probability of catching something spectacular is far lower than not catching or catching unsatisfactory fish. This is the norm after balancing the cost of releasing fish and the profit calculation for the pond owner.
Having filled pits many times in the previous life, Zhang Yang’s mindset remained very stable when encountering such fishless situations again today.
In the past life, he also encountered similar situations where no fish were caught the night fish with red bellies was released. Back then, Zhang Yang left early knowing he had work in the morning, but the anglers who persisted until late night found the fish started biting and had continuous catches for several hours, causing a huge sensation at the time.
With this experience, Zhang Yang was considering a prolonged battle this time too. Whether it fills the pit or strikes hard in the second half depends on what fortune brings.
With a relaxed mind, Zhang Yang fell asleep within moments.
Three hours later, the alarm on the phone rang on time.
Zhang Yang opened his eyes, got out of the car, and stretched.
His eyes swept across the fishing spot, of the thirty anglers that started, over ten had left, leaving seventeen or eighteen anglers still steadfast in their fishing spots.
Zhang Yang strolled over to where Old Zhao was, at the midsection of the south bank.
"How’s it going, Brother Zhao, caught anything?"
Old Zhao shook his head: "Don’t even mention it, only caught one fish, and it was snagged by the tail! As for Wang Jun, he hasn’t even started yet!"
Zhang Yang nodded, speaking softly: "I’m guessing the fish will start biting in the second half of the night, you guys should get some sleep in the car. I’ll keep an eye out! I’ll call you if there’s any action!"
"Not even tired yet! Tonight we pull an all-nighter!" Wang Jun smoked one cigarette after another, determined to battle the poor fishing conditions today.
Zhang Yang chuckled: "Why keep pushing yourself! Nothing’s biting while sitting here, go nap in the car, recharge your energy, I’ll call you if anything happens!"
"Xiao Zhang has a point! Let’s go, Jun, it’s better for us to take turns than all stay up all night!" Old Zhao rose from the fishing spot, pulling Wang Jun towards the car.
Seeing the two of them going to sleep in the car, Zhang Yang strolled back to his fishing spot.
Qian Wenbo, who claimed to be keeping an eye on Zhang Yang’s gear to ensure nothing got stolen, had long disappeared. His own rod wasn’t even on the rack, leaving only a bare fishing box at the spot.
Zhang Yang took out the food box and the like, cast a few times to test the bite, found no activity, then took out a box of Dandan rubber particle bait (explanation①) from the fishing box and hung it on the hook to cast it to the fishing point. Crossing his legs on the fishing box, hands tucked under his armpits, he sat like a meditating monk, spacing out.
This sitting went on for a good few hours.
On average, every hour or so, Zhang Yang would put a few baits into the water to refill the nest and cast a few times to test the bite. If there was no action, he would get up to stretch his legs and then return to the fishing box, resuming that meditative posture, staring blankly at the gleaming neon green on the water.
Strangely, in the previous life, Zhang Yang was an impatient young man, but after being reborn, his patience improved significantly.
With no movement from the bobber, his mind wandered in all directions, making time seem less arduous.
Before he knew it, the time had reached half-past three in the late night. By this time, most anglers had left the fishing area, leaving only five anglers still clinging to their spots, plus those who returned to the car without packing their gear, totaling seven or eight people.
Zhang Yang habitually fixated on the bobber, when suddenly, with a plop, it made a downward nudge.
Zhang Yang’s mind didn’t quite catch up, and the second bite directly dimmed the glow stick on the water.
Only then did Zhang Yang suddenly react, grabbing the rod and slowly lifting it.
The tug of fish transmitted through the rod’s tip confirmed a catch. Though the fish’s strength was weak, it barely struggled after lifting the rod, being maneuvered out of the water with the rod’s waist force in one go, landing smoothly into the landing net while skimming the water’s surface.
Not one to often use lights during night fishing, Zhang Yang got a bit excited after catching this fish, turning on the headlamp for a closer look.
The No. 3 New Kanto fishhook caught the fish right at twelve o’clock, and the belly of the caught fish was slightly reddish, but not quite visibly anymore!
The caught fish was obviously new, indicating that the newly released fish last night had started biting!
Zhang Yang nonchalantly unhooked the fish and placed it into the fish keeper, then set down the rod, stealthily walking towards the small car where Old Zhao and Wang Jun were. 𝘯𝑜𝑣𝑝𝑢𝘣.𝑐𝑜𝑚
From a distance, he could hear Wang Jun’s snoring, unafraid of mosquito bites, with the car window wide open, and a foot propped on the center console, sleeping snugly!
Zhang Yang quietly woke up the two of them, and then the three strolled back to the fishing spot to begin fishing.
Once this kind of fish activity begins, most of the fish will likely start feeding.
The three used the leftover bait from earlier to form Triangle Cannons silently, starting the battle of casting to lure and setup the nest.
Old Zhao and Wang Jun had learned Zhang Yang’s aggressive method of nest fishing to gather fish; even at this crucial moment, they did not fish blindly, patiently casting Triangle Cannons, first gathering the fish before proceeding.
After about half an hour of casting, Zhang Yang noticed more subtle movements around his fishing spot, indicating the fish had gathered to a certain degree.
Feeling optimistic, Zhang Yang replaced the underhook bait with a pinched bait and cast one last rod to test. Sure enough, as soon as the bait reached the bottom, the bobber signaled with a prominent tap and thud, pulling the rod, striking the fish, and making a successful catch!
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Explanation ① Dandan rubber particle: A type of simple fishing bait. It’s an 8mm fish feed pellet with a rubber band loop on top, where you can attach a fish hook into the rubber gap for fishing. It lasts a long time in water without dissolving. Dandan rubber particles were a product from Autumn Knife Fish Co., and they were popular in most northern black pits around 2012.
