Seeing this, some people might be confused. Zhang Yang received information from the old gatekeeper that there were a lot of big carp, and now someone has caught one, and it's a big carp too. So why is he complaining about being tricked?
The size of the fish doesn't matter much; it's mainly the fish's shape and appearance that led Zhang Yang to keenly judge the difficulty of today's competition.
Compared to the popular Hebei and Tianjin Jian carp in the market's competitive angling spots, this type of carp is not the same variety.
Jian carp are long and slender with high activity levels, robust and symmetrical bodies, and large mouths. Their feeding behavior is aggressive, making it easy to catch a burst of feeding frenzies in competitive spots.
However, the fish Zhang Yang just saw is another story altogether.
Mentioned in the text earlier, local anglers like Zhang Yang prefer to name this fish by its place of origin, calling it Jiangsu carp.
This type of carp is round and short, with a wide back, shaped like a sycee, small mouth, and eats very calmly. Even in densely populated competitive spots, it's hard to trigger a frenzied feeding situation.
This type of carp requires high precision in bobber adjustment and the angler's timing. A slight mistiming can easily lead to losing the fish, foul-hooking, or the hook coming off.
The carp caught just now had the typical Jiangsu carp characteristics.
What made Zhang Yang frown more was that this fish was much larger than usual, visually estimated to weigh at least four or five pounds.
The larger the size, the slower the swimming speed, and the less aggressive the feeding, which is not good for Zhang Yang, who aims to catch fish quickly.
In the seafood market, Jiangsu carp is at least a dollar cheaper per pound than Hebei or Tianjin carp.
This means that the several thousand pounds of fish put down were also a cheaper choice. Budget cuts are evident in all aspects.
The next half-hour confirmed Zhang Yang's initial speculation.
The competition started with fish being caught sporadically, but there were all kinds of mishaps: hooks coming off, fish escaping, tangled lines from slingshots, and other frequent operational errors.
Many anglers unfamiliar with this type of fish clearly saw standard downturn bobber actions. Still, after repeatedly having fish escape at the start, they began questioning their angling skills.
In contrast, Zhang Yang's competition strategy was relatively steady.
Today's competition lasts for seven hours, from eight in the morning to three in the afternoon. Jiangsu fish would consistently feed throughout the day, making a quick frenzy difficult, so Zhang Yang consciously adjusted his strategy, not planning to catch right away in the first two hours.
The fewer fish in the nest, the more cautious they are about eating bait, leading to higher error rates in successful catches. It was better to solidify the nest first and then stabilize the feeding conditions.
Based on this tactical arrangement, Zhang Yang methodically cast his rod repeatedly. Whenever the bobber showed subtle actions, he restrained himself from taking immediate action, avoiding giving fish at the bottom a chance to be caught. He managed his fishing spot with great moderation.
In contrast, neighboring spirited youngster Zhu Wu performed even worse than Zhang Yang expected in terms of angling skills.
Using three bags of waste bait to build a spot, he did succeed in attracting fish, with bites on his bobber within forty minutes.
But the bait paste mixed with massive amounts of Lubricating Powder lacked proper form, weight, and under the youth's rough handling, performed terribly!
Whoosh!
After the screech of a rapidly pulled rod, Zhu Wu once again, unsurprisingly, created a slingshot effect, leading to a lost catch!
"Damn! What kind of stupid fish is this? A big downturn movement and still damn hit a slingshot!" Zhu Wu frustratedly ruffled his hair, his expression twisted.
This was the third fish he lost consecutively, all escaping within the nest without even being brought out, leaving the spot blown up entirely.
Zhang Yang silently baited and cast his rod, his peripheral vision sweeping past Zhu Wu before continuing to observe other anglers.
In a competition of this scale, keeping an eye on all directions is a necessary skill. Constantly paying attention to the situation on the field allows one to respond and adjust flexibly.
Within the range of his vision, most anglers were still struggling to grasp the situation. Fish escaping and nests blowing up were common. Occasionally, a few lucky ones firmly hooked a fish and caught it, celebrating as if they'd won the lottery, their joy written all over their faces.
Zhang Yang glanced at the time. Two hours into the competition, with the continued baiting. The fish activity in his nest was increasing, and Zhang Yang felt the time had come to start catching!
He casually took out a small pair of scissors and snipped off the 1.5-sized leader that hadn't caught a single fish, then opened the leader box and replaced it with a size 1.0 fine leader paired with an eight-sized Gold Hai Xi hook.
Seeing this, some might again be curious: why use a small size 1.0 leader wire for four or five-pound big carp in deep water?
The line is indeed small and risks breaking if the fish control is unstable. However, taking a risk is better than a thick line that blocks the bite and leads to a slingshot effect and losing the fish.
Normally, when fishing for such large carp, one should use a number two or three Xin Kanto hook, and a 1.5 or even 2.0-sized leader!
But for Jiangsu carp with small mouths and finicky bites, such hooks are obviously too large.
Although Gold Hai Xi hooks can't compare to Xin Kanto hooks in strength, they have thinner shanks, lighter weight, and shorter handles, making it less likely for the hook to come loose once set. It's more suitable for this fish condition.
As the saying goes, choose the lesser of two evils. The more complex the fishing condition, the more it tests an angler's attention to detail. Zhang Yang fully maximized controllable details from the angling technique aspect, and now it's up to further practical experience to capture fish with the right bobber actions.