Back to the Past to Become a Fishing King

Chapter 863 - 577: Fishing for Bighead Carp (Part 2)

Bighead carps are filter-feeding fish that produce a certain pressure of undercurrents when they suck and blow water. Just now, the bobber movement was likely caused by these big fish blowing water, Zhang Yang thought.

Tensing up, Zhang Yang kept a close eye on the subtle movements of the bobber until the bait completely dissolved. Only then did he gently lift the fishing rod and attach another bait ball to the hook on the leader line, this time significantly smaller than the previous one.

Not only was the bait ball smaller, but Zhang Yang also applied more force when baiting. This way, when the bait entered the water, it would take a longer time to dissolve, giving the big, experienced bighead carps more opportunities to eat.

Some might wonder, since it’s Zhang Yang’s first time here and he hasn’t caught a fish from start to finish, how does he know about the old, large bighead carps in the water?

It is indeed Zhang Yang’s first time here, but he could gather some partial information about the fish situation from the reports provided by insiders in the group.

The East Lake Reservoir hasn’t dried up in decades. In the past ten years, it has been open for fishing annually. For bighead carp, which are typically fished at the surface or mid-water, the line set is more prone to breaking, losing hooks, or escaping fish. The large bighead carps in the reservoir, those that reach dozens of pounds, must have had their fair share of swallowing hooks and escaping, making them battle-hardened beyond exaggeration.

Why hasn’t Zhang Yang been able to catch any fish since fishing started, yet he remains unhurried? He knows the habits of these elusive old bighead carps.

Frequent casting, a lot of atomization, coupled with various obvious sounds and movements, can scare big fish from entering the nest. To catch fish of this caliber, pre-baiting the nest and being patient during actual fishing are only the basic conditions.

Sure enough, perseverance paid off, and finally, the bobber started showing some movement.

With anticipation, Zhang Yang cast the bait back into the spot.

However, after watching the bobber for a long time, everything went silent with no response.

Something is not right, the bobber movement earlier clearly indicated fish activity nearby.

Zhang Yang mused inwardly and suddenly realized the problem when he saw the bobber’s position, slapping his forehead.

Damn, how could I forget this!

The fish bit on the previous cast because both hooks had bait, and the cast missed the mark by half a meter, targeting the edge of the nest.

Now that he’s fishing back in the middle of the nest, no wonder there’s no bite!

Realizing the problem, Zhang Yang quickly lifted the rod, rebaited, and cast again. This time, the bait landed on the edge of the nest, half a meter away.

Sure enough, that was the issue. Sometimes precision casting isn’t always beneficial. Take this situation, if Zhang Yang stubbornly fished in the middle of the nest without realizing, he might have ended up empty-handed.

A side note here; many times, beginners catch big fish by chance, similar to Zhang Yang’s current situation. Beginners have poor casting skills, causing the bait to land imprecisely; this imprecision often targets the edge of the nest.

Big fish are cautious eaters, reluctant to venture boldly into the nest. Instead, they wander along the edges, making it easier for beginners to catch them.

Cut back to Zhang Yang, after readjusting the bait’s landing spot, the bobber soon started moving again.

It rose slightly, dipped, rose again, then dipped again.

This bobber movement resembled the legendary ’breathing bite,’ moving up and down only slightly, never giving a clear pause or lifting the bobber high. It leaves one unsure whether to yank the rod, and not doing so while watching it sway keeps you itching with anticipation.

Seeing this ’breathing bite,’ Zhang Yang instinctively tensed up.

His judgment was correct; fish had entered the nest, and big ones at that!

Why the hesitant ’breathing bite,’ then? Most likely, the fishing depth is insufficient; the fish are beneath, sipping and venting the bait atomization.

When they suck, the line is drawn downwards by the suction; when they release, the bobber returns to its initial position, sometimes slightly upward. This situation resembles fishing sly old fish with brushy bait in a Competition Pond.

Aware of the problem, Zhang Yang remained calm, not rushing to yank the rod. He allowed the bait to dissolve fully, then slowly lifted the rod, raising the depth by another twenty centimeters.

Using the same trick again.

A few seconds after the bobber stabilized, heart-racing movements followed once more.

A gentle rise, slight dip, rising again, and dipping again.

After several consecutive movements like this, suddenly a clear and crisp pause of about one and a half bobber notches occurred. Zhang Yang promptly flicked his wrist to yank the rod, striking the fish!

If there was a camera underwater, it would show a large carp dumbfounded, intermittently sucking and releasing atomized bait beside the bait ball. The newly immersed bait ball was relatively large, with a slightly hard core. The fish didn’t gulp it all at once but rather nibbled it smaller.

Once the weight, size, and texture of the bait reached a critical point, a decisive gulp signified the fish taking the bait.

The force transmitted from underwater was immense, more stable than the feeling when helping Xiao Wei retrieve earlier. As Zhang Yang arched the rod, his entire body weight pressed down.

The hooked big fish underwater began its struggle, pulling the line and rod, causing a buzzing sound that excitedly reverberated through anglers’ spines, seemingly with magical power.

Zhang Yang was certain the fish was correctly hooked, so as it began its exertion, he didn’t rush to let go of the rod and retrieve using a slipknot, maintaining his arched rod position to confront the fish head-on.

When fishing, acquiring a fair catch is Zhang Yang’s goal, but at the same time, he relishes the process of fishing and battling the fish.

For Zhang Yang, a slipknot is a last resort, only used when there are no other options. In situations like this, with a properly hooked fish and a strong fishing line plus allowance for the rod to lift the fish, Zhang Yang won’t easily let go.

Thus, Zhang Yang soon began employing the ’figure eight’ technique to play the fish.

The fish’s strength was immense, making it impossible to control single-handedly. Reluctantly, Zhang Yang held the rod with one hand, while the other arm cradled the rod’s midsection, adopting the Hua Clan’s technique of hugging the rod to play the fish.

From the moment the fish was hooked, the buzzing never ceased. Zhang Yang’s stance was unshakably stable, deftly redirecting the rod tip’s force direction at crucial moments, turning the fish back towards him in the water.

Five minutes of playing the fish, and it still hadn’t surfaced. Zhang Yang’s back was slightly drenched. Compared to big-headed fish in typical ponds, those caught in natural reservoirs had significantly more stamina and endurance, offering truly thrilling experiences.

After a full thirteen minutes, Zhang Yang finally pulled the big fish to the water’s surface.

As the fish’s head surfaced, Zhang Yang quickly forced the fish to gulp a few mouthfuls of water. As the big fish, still trying to resist at first, finally exhausted its energy and flipped belly up.

"Hahaha, what a thrill! What a thrill this fish is!" Zhang Yang laughed heartily while still holding the rod, not rushing to pull the fish up. He motioned for Xiao Wei to bring over the large scoop net.

Xiao Wei put down her fishing rod, picked up the net, and approached.

"Should I net it for you?" Xiao Wei, knowing her own lack of skill, hesitated to act and first sought Zhang Yang’s approval with a questioning glance.

Zhang Yang shook his head, "You take the rod, and I’ll net it! Let’s switch!"

"Okay!"

Soon, Zhang Yang handed the rod to Xiao Wei, signaling her to pull the fish to their feet, while he held the rod, expertly positioning the pre-set net in the water.

"Alright, keep pulling forward! Alright, slack the line! Yes, like that, perfect!"

Zhang Yang guided Xiao Wei to bring the fish close. Then, aiming skillfully at the fish’s head, he executed a textbook ’drawer pull’ netting move. Just as the fish line was slackened, the bighead carp, weighing at least 20 pounds, was netted into the fish crib by Zhang Yang.

Finally, after nearly two hours of waiting, they had their reward!