Chapter 380: Chapter 230: Using Strong Medicine for Serious Illness_2
After getting everything ready, Zhang Yang briefly observed anglers number two and three beside him. They also hadn’t caught any fish yet and were busy preparing the bait to lure fish.
Zhang Yang shook his head and casually tossed two peanut-sized dough baits on the double hooks into the spot, waiting patiently.
Seeing this, some might want to complain: with such an exaggerated amount of bait, won’t it scare the fish away?
It’s worth mentioning here that while excessive bait can indeed have some side effects, unless it’s low-quality bait made from crude chemical ingredients, it typically won’t scare the fish away entirely.
What does it mean to scare the fish away? Essentially, it’s when the concentration of certain sensitive components becomes too high, causing a stimulus to the fish, making them feel uncomfortable and thus avoid that area altogether.
The effects might be minor, like making the fish restless and frenzied, or bubbling but not biting. In more serious cases, they might not even dare to approach the baited area.
The reason Zhang Yang dared to use such a high dosage is because he had no other choice, and also because the bait he used was top-grade on the market, which maximized attraction while minimizing harmful substances.
During the initial period after the baiting was done, the bait concentration in the spot was too high, exceeding the threshold of the fish’s sensory limits, so the fish wouldn’t bite.
But as the water flowed, the concentration of the bait would gradually diffuse and decrease, at which point it would promote feeding behavior in the fish.
Based on Zhang Yang’s understanding of several types of bait he had, as long as the fish in the pond began feeding normally, the concentration at the edge of the baited spot should reach an attractive level in about fifteen to twenty minutes.
If everything developed ideally and smoothly, the fishing point should start attracting fish in about half an hour.
In such competitions, the waiting time is more torturous than constantly casting the line. Despite feeling extremely nervous, Zhang Yang maintained a calm demeanor on his face.
On average, every three to four minutes, he would slowly lift the rod to replace the bait. After changing the bait, he would deliberately cast it to a different position, followed by a long wait.
Fifteen minutes into the fishing.
Twenty minutes into the fishing!
Twenty-five minutes into the fishing!
In the first twenty-five minutes, even the number two angler had caught five or six fish, and anglers at other spots generally had varying catch results. Overall, the fish condition in the second round wasn’t great but was just passable.
At this moment, Zhang Yang still hadn’t caught a single fish.
The turning point came at thirty-two minutes. Zhang Yang, after routinely changing to two new baits, casually cast and the double-hooked bait landed near the edge of the slope.
The sides of the Competition Pond have rather steep slopes, and this cast landed the bait right at the junction between the slope and the pit bottom.
This position was over a meter away from the primary fishing point, already considered the edge of the baited area.
It was just a probing cast, but unexpectedly there was an abrupt bite, a distinct nibble just above the bottom.
Zhang Yang decisively raised the rod to hook the fish. Feeling through the tip of the rod, Zhang Yang knew he had hooked a fish and soon caught a carp weighing about half a pound.
Could it be that fish came to this side near the shore?
Zhang Yang glanced at the position of the hook in the fish’s mouth to confirm it was fine, then casually removed the hook into the net. Swiftly, he baited the hook and cast again.
Still in the same spot, with the same float reaction, there it was—a bite again!
Zhang Yang lifted the rod again, but this time missed, an empty strike!
"Damn! Interesting! There’s still a chance here!"
Zhang Yang wasn’t upset at the empty strike at all and quickly grabbed a bowl of loose bait from behind him.
The bait in this was prepared when there was nothing much happening earlier; its fragrance was normal, even a bit mild, with about just one-and-a-half pounds worth. Compared to a normal loose bait mix, it had a noticeably higher water content, approximately at a ratio of 1:0.6, and was wetter, leading to much poorer atomization.
Re-baiting the double-hook, with two new portions of loose bait on the shank, he flicked his wrist and cast it again to the same slope-edge junction.
If the occasional bite was luck, consecutive reactions indicated that fish had come to the edge!
This also indirectly proved that Zhang Yang’s potent bait was starting to take effect.
What to do now? Of course, increase the baiting frequency, first attracting all fish in the surrounding area!
With great anticipation, Zhang Yang silently did a ten-shot high-frequency baiting round.
According to Zhang Yang’s expectations, if fish came around, there’d be a noticeable effect, and the fishing condition would change significantly.
As he predicted, after ten shots of wet loose bait, another cast with dough bait prompted a quick series of nibbles.
Zhang Yang lifted the rod again, employing his strength and the rod’s mid-section to easily bring the half-pound carp to the surface, skillfully netting it with a flying copy maneuver.
The second fish went into the net!
After removing the hook, Zhang Yang repeated the process, fully entering an offensive state.
The old fish in a mixed-breed pond can have peculiar tempers. They are timid but quite greedy; with too much atomization from loose bait, they might not dare enter the feeding area out of fear.
At this moment, Zhang Yang’s wet bait played its role. By controlling the baiting method, the bait mostly dissolved near the bottom, attracting fish without dispersing so much as to scare them away.
The potent bait attracted fish to the edge of the fishing spot, and the wet bait further concentrated them,
Quickly, Zhang Yang’s bites went from one every three or four casts to consistent bites, followed by rapid catch-and-release periods, transitioning to where every cast yielded a bite.
In the last fifteen minutes of the match, it was a continuous bite scenario upon every cast.
As a top-level Taiwan style angler, this high-speed fishing condition was Zhang Yang’s specialty. With focused attention, he frequently employed the flying copy technique to haul in carp of varying weights from half a pound to just over a pound.
After conserving energy in the first half, Zhang Yang surged effortlessly in the latter stages, right until the whistle signaled the end of the match with the final fish secured just in time.
"Phew!" Zhang Yang let out a long breath and wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve.
"Wow, ruthless! You revived the dead spot!" At this time, a voice came from Zhang Yang’s back; it was referee Old Li.
Hearing the voice, Zhang Yang turned around, feeling a bit startled.
Good grief, with two ponds running simultaneously and four patrol referees total, he didn’t know when they had all gathered behind him to watch.
"Uh...when did you guys get here! Gave me a scare!" Zhang Yang scratched his head, sounding a bit awkward.
Referee Old Li smiled and looked at Zhang Yang: "Haha, we started watching once you began your streak! You were too focused and didn’t notice! Nice fishing! Turned a dead spot into a highlight!"
"Hehe, desperate measures for desperate times, used a lot of bait right from the start.
Never expected such luck; the potent bait really kicked in during the later stages!" Zhang Yang replied with a grin.
"The weigh-in team is here, let’s see the results. I think you’ve got a chance at placing!" suggested Old Li.
"I’ll take your good wishes! Let’s weigh!" Zhang Yang stood up, lifting the net from the water.
In an hour of competition, with only half an hour of catch time and at least ten minutes of rapid to constant catch phases, Zhang Yang’s total wasn’t too exaggerated.
A glance estimated around thirty to forty fish.
Calculating an average weight of six ounces per carp, Zhang Yang predicted his total would be between 10-13 kilograms.
The staff responsible for weighing poured the fish into a basket, covered it with a towel, and placed it on the electronic scale.
After deducting the tare weight, the net weight was 12.8 kilograms!
"12.8 kilograms, not bad!" read Old Li aloud.
Upon hearing the result, Zhang Yang finally let out a sigh of relief. With over twenty-five pounds of fish, even if it didn’t earn him a point, conservatively, it would place him within the top five of his group. If he performs well in the next two rounds, there’s still a chance!