Chapter 331: Chapter 206: Low Probability Event_2
Seeing Zhang Yang leisurely haul a big fish into the fish protector, weighing it and filming it, Zhu Wu couldn’t help but feel like there was a naughty kitten stirring restlessly in his heart, itching with envy.
If only I hadn’t lost that big fish earlier, it would be me calling for the referee to weigh my catch!
The more Zhu Wu thought about it, the more frustrated he got. He glanced at the remaining bait in his basin, gathered it together, and made a couple more bait bombs, tossing them into the water without hesitation.
Zhang Yang was already used to Zhu Wu’s series of disruptions. Since the rules didn’t forbid it, he had no grounds to question the other’s actions and could only endure it silently.
However, this time, Zhu Wu didn’t throw his bait near Zhang Yang, but instead baited directly in front. Obviously, he still harbored hopes of encountering another big fish.
Zhang Yang glanced at him indifferently, put down his fishing rod, and stretched his back.
After tossing the bait bomb, at least ten to twenty minutes would pass without a bite, and Zhang Yang had already gotten the hang of the situation.
Taking advantage of this time, he decided to relax and catch his breath. Carefully reeling in fish with a bent rod earlier had been quite exhausting.
Just then, Zhang Yang’s bobber showed some movement again.
This time, however, it wasn’t a sudden sink; it tilted as if something was brushing against the line — a subtle phantom drift.
What the hell? Is there still a fish brushing against the line in the baited area?
This was Zhang Yang’s first reaction. The next moment, he noticed something strange.
How come there was another unfamiliar bobber less than half a meter beside his own?
Even someone as knowledgeable as Zhang Yang was momentarily stunned, suddenly realizing it might be the big fish that snapped the rod next door that had come back!
Big fish are cautious feeders, but they also have a better memory than small fish. They remember where the food is better.
After escaping with the shattered rod for more than an hour, this big guy clearly went back into a feeding state. It circled back!
The phantom drift on Zhang Yang’s bobber was most likely caused by the big fish inadvertently pressing down on Zhang Yang’s line with some part of the fishing tackle it was towing.
In such a situation, lifting the rod was definitely not an option. Piercing the fish or snagging the tackle on its body wouldn’t do Zhang Yang any good. Any mishap would disturb the bait area, wasting all the effort and preparation made earlier.
While lifting the rod wasn’t an option, Zhang Yang adjusted himself from a relaxed to a combat-ready state. Smaller fish might struggle to feed with a hook in their mouth, but larger fish over ten pounds would not be affected by a hook.
When previously fishing for big fish in black pit ponds, Zhang Yang had caught an old lake fish with three hooks in its mouth; it feasted as if there was nothing amiss.
Thus, a strange scene unfolded near Zhang Yang’s fishing spot.
In the baited area, not far apart, one bobber stood as still as a mountain, while another bobber moved slightly up and down in a small range.
As long as the fish remained in the baited area, it was a good thing. It could attract other fish to enter, and there was still a chance of a bite, even though the probability of catching this fish wasn’t high, theoretically, it was possible.
Zhang Yang transformed into a patient hunter, awaiting the moment the fishhook was swallowed.
Persistence paid off. After another ten minutes or so, the signal to lift the rod finally reappeared.
The four-eyed bobber on the water surface instantly sank, disappearing by two and a half eyes, then the remaining eye was also pulled down.
This bobber movement was the classic signal of a big fish firmly taking the bait and turning away, pulling the tackle, with Zhang Yang counting to three in his mind before lifting the rod again.
Swish!
A steady lift of the rod to set the hook, the line sliced softly through the water. This sound, though less piercing than the whistling from more violent hook setting, was still enough to make the neighboring angler turn his head toward Zhang Yang.
The anglers on both the left and right sides looked over at Zhang Yang. Seated on the fishing box, Zhang Yang held the rod with both hands, demonstrating an air of calm mastery over the fishing battle.
With the experience gained from the first big fish, Zhang Yang had already gained some understanding of the physical state of the big fish in this small reservoir.
The stocked farmed fish were not pure wild specimens. If the rod-setting technique was correct, the difficulty of battling the fish was relatively lower.
Upon hooking the fish, since the big fish didn’t make a frantic dash for freedom, Zhang Yang felt confident that he could reel it in while sitting on the fishing box.
After Zhang Yang hooked the fish, the other floating bobber hovering around the bait area disappeared too. This indicated that the fish caught was likely the one that had escaped earlier, and Zhang Yang’s anticipation grew even more.
When the fish is pulled ashore and he calls the referee to weigh it, he wonders what expression the fool next door will have!
With this sense of anticipation, Zhang Yang commenced a new round of fish battling, sitting firmly on his fishing box, continuously fine-tuning the fish’s direction, back and forth, wearing it out.
At this point, even if Zhu Wu remained oblivious, he finally realized.
This seemingly young angler next door had quite the skill; the previous big fish over ten pounds didn’t even cause a ripple before being captured, and now, not long after, he caught another.
With half jealousy and half admiration, Zhu Wu focused all his attention on Zhang Yang, observing how he maneuvered the fish and operated, secretly anticipating how large the fish underwater might be.
Whether or not it was because this fish had exhausted too much energy during its first escape with the broken rod, after being caught again by Zhang Yang, it wasn’t as powerful. Zhang Yang took only seven or eight minutes to reel it to the surface.
Seeing this fish, Zhang Yang laughed!
This fish was at least a size smaller than the previous twelve-pounder, and at most looked to weigh seven or eight pounds alive.’
To think this was the fish that broke a rod worth thousands, Zhang Yang found himself at a loss for words.
With a twelve-pound fish already weighed, this fish didn’t even warrant an official weigh-in. Zhang Yang casually scooped it up and placed it on the shore.
While removing the hook, Zhang Yang took a closer look. The fish’s mouth contained two hooks: besides the new Guan Dong style hook he used, there was also a sturdy Ise Nui barbed hook, along with a complete set of fishing tackle lines, bobber, and the first and second sections of the rod brought up by Zhang Yang.
If it were an average angler, Zhang Yang would at least return the bobber to the other guy.
But after all the nonsense this neighbor pulled, Zhang Yang couldn’t be bothered to deal with him.
He tossed the tackle bundle straight into the garbage behind him. The bobber was pretty nice though; a genuine Alu reed bobber cost over a hundred per piece.
Without any politeness, Zhang Yang placed it into his own bobber box and continued fishing.
Throughout the process, Zhang Yang didn’t feel the least bit awkward.
The fish from the water and the tackle attached to the fish belong to whoever catches them. There’s no issue, even if you argue till daybreak.
However, Zhu Wu noticed this scene.
The fish carried a thick fishing line, a reed bobber, and two rod tips.
Oh damn, isn’t that the fish that got away from me?
"The fish you caught is mine!" Zhu Wu, upon regaining his senses, stood up from his fishing spot as if he had just realized something and wasn’t very thoughtful.
"What? What did you say?" Zhang Yang feigned deafness, frowning as he glanced over.
"I said the fish you caught is the one that ran from me, it still has my rod tip and fishing tackle bobber on it! My bobber is a two-hundred-a-piece Alu! Give it back to me!" Zhu Wu demanded aggressively, as if it was only right.
With a more polite angler, Zhang Yang wouldn’t typically claim a caught bobber. He had plenty of good ones himself, almost a full set of Alu and Wujis. Typically, Zhang Yang had no interest in petty gains.
But faced with someone he was already dissatisfied with, Zhang Yang was not so easygoing.
"Bobber? What bobber? The fish was caught fair and square, I don’t see any bobber on it!" Zhang Yang chuckled disdainfully, not engaging further.
Before the competition, arguments, and even brawls had occurred, and they had cursed Zhang Yang, who had tolerated it. Zhang Yang believed in not meddling; he didn’t know either person beforehand anyway.
During the competition, Zhang Yang was tolerant of his disruptive bait spreading! Given the rules permitted this, Zhang Yang had no other choice!
But now, they claimed a fish he caught, along with the ownerless tackle, as theirs? Zhang Yang had had enough.
Returning the tackle might be kind, but it wasn’t obligatory. Zhu Wu demanding it outright like a grandmaster wasn’t something Zhang Yang would tolerate.