In addition, the area to the right is shaped like a shallow basin, where the falling bait accumulates. All the bait that Zhang Yang painstakingly cast might have been swept away by the undercurrents. Meanwhile, the angler next to him is getting bites as Zhang Yang stands there frustrated, which makes perfect sense now.

Realizing this, Zhang Yang immediately got up and took out the last unopened pack of aged corn bait from his tackle box. No need to crush it, just squeeze it a bit by hand, and mix it with the moist ground bait.

The yellow storm bait is light in weight, but the aged corn is heavier with larger granules. In this case, the adjustment of mixing them provides a more obvious bottom retention effect.

After a simple adjustment of the bait, Zhang Yang added ten balls of bait to the right-side fishing area, switched the double hooks to the moist ground bait, reduced the casting frequency to one cast per minute, and continued targeted casting.

If you don't know where the problem lies, it's hard to find a solution, but once the issue is analyzed clearly, the rest is no big deal for Zhang Yang.

Indeed, not long after making the new spot, Zhang Yang's bobber showed signs of movement, a slight up and down tremor of half an eyelet. Based on the frequency and the bobber's reaction, Zhang Yang preliminarily analyzed that there were fish coming into the spot, causing disturbances in the water flow by swimming around in the baited area.

After working hard for so long, fishing for an hour and a half without a single bite was indeed a bit unreasonable. Realizing this, Zhang Yang lifted the rig, applied wet ground bait to the large hook of the Triangle Cannon, molded a standard weight-like bait between his fingers, and flicked it back into the spot with a twist of his wrist.

The bobber went into the water normally, flipped over, and settled down smoothly. After a second oscillation, it stayed at around three and a half eyelets.

Just three seconds after the bobber stabilized, there was a slight lift, followed by a strong two-eyelet drop.

Bang!

A strong bite, this kind of movement where the bobber first lifts and then drops is definitely a typical bite sign of a carp taking the bait. Zhang Yang decisively struck to set the hook.

Gotcha!

Swish!

The sound of the fishing line slicing through the water came, while Zhang Yang firmly grabbed the rod handle and bent the rod.

The force was quite strong, giving a heavy, sinking feeling after setting the hook. Based on how hard it was to lift the fish with the rod's backbone, it was clearly the sensation of a fish with a certain size and weight.

Finally, with a fish on the line, Zhang Yang's tense nerves relaxed slightly. He firmly gripped the rod handle with his right hand, while habitually placing the back of his left hand on the mid-section of the handle, starting a steady fight with the fish.

For Zhang Yang, the tackle setup of 4+2.5 is almost guaranteed to succeed with fish around ten pounds or so, as long as the fish doesn't charge forward right after the hook is set.

After several rounds, the first fish below the water ran out of energy and slowly surfaced.

The silver scales and relatively elongated body showed the state of an old fish in the pond, a state that could be described as perfect.

The size of the fish was decent. Zhang Yang grabbed the landing net with his left hand and easily scooped up the fish.

Holding the landing net handle, Zhang Yang shook his head, unhooked the fish directly, and released it back into the water.

"Hey, buddy! Aren't you going to weigh that big fish? If it's over eight pounds, you could get a hundred bucks for it!"

Seeing Zhang Yang simply weighed the fish with his hand and released it, a chubby fellow next to him kindly gave a reminder.

Zhang Yang smiled and nodded, "The fish isn't over eight pounds, thanks for the reminder, buddy!"

"Oh, I see! I still think you should weigh it; sometimes you can't trust the feel of your hands." the chubby guy nodded, though he still felt it was a bit off not weighing the fish before releasing it.

"Haha, you're right. I'll weigh it next time I catch something similar!" Zhang Yang grinned and acknowledged his advice.

After catching the first fish, there were noticeably more fish taking interest in Zhang Yang's spot.

With signs of fish biting, Zhang Yang had the basis for judgment and analysis. Patiently, he continued to work the new spot, trying to expand the size of the fish school around the baited area.

Twenty more minutes passed unconsciously. Most of the fish bites Zhang Yang could let go were ignored to nurture the spot. By around 9:30, the chubby fellow next to him once again finished the sequence of striking, hooking, and losing a fish seamlessly!

Since Zhang Yang was far from the center and had his own baited area, the chubby guy losing a fish didn't affect Zhang Yang much. The fish would return shortly after a brief pause.

But Zhang Yang's newly baited area, with both the advantage of terrain and the amount of bait, meant the fish that the chubby guy lost wouldn't return here.

For a while, the chubby guy's side fell silent, while Zhang Yang's side welcomed its first wave of dense fish bites.

Another beautiful series of black bobber movements, Zhang Yang decisively struck to hook another fish!

Gotcha!

This time, the force transmitted through the fishing line from below the water made Zhang Yang immediately serious. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Couldn't move it! It was just like it was snagged on something at the bottom, completely motionless!

Zhang Yang knew this was what they call 'bottomed-out piglet' under the water; the fish was piling.

This phenomenon has been mentioned before. Larger fish, past a certain size in the water, if accidentally hooked, often smartly burrow into the mud at the bottom and remain motionless like an ostrich.

With less experience, an angler might wrongly assume it's snagged and attempt to drag the line, often ending in a broken line.

But Zhang Yang, well-versed in handling large fish piling, knew how to react. The bite was clear and strong, and with no debris previously at this spot, snagging could be ruled out.

He calmly lowered his center of gravity, planted the rod firmly on the ground, and after ensuring the fish wouldn't suddenly charge, he started to lightly tap the butt of the rod with his left hand.

By tapping the rod handle, vibrations are transmitted via the rod and line to the fish's mouth. In the water, large fish are exceptionally sensitive, and this high-frequency vibration is a strong stimulus, prompting the fish to attempt to escape after finding it unbearable.

Indeed, after Zhang Yang tapped the rod about thirty times, the fish below began to move.

It tried to powerfully dash towards the center of the pit.

Noticing the fish's escape attempt, Zhang Yang swiftly adjusted the direction of force with the rod, tilting it firmly to his left.

This strategic tail swing didn't turn the fish's head back, so Zhang Yang immediately lowered the rod, firmly planting it in the water.

When a large fish makes a direct dash outward, confronting it head-on with the rod bent can be very unwise, risking breaking the line or even the rod.

While the 2.5 line has decent strength, it can't withstand a direct clash with a large fish. Zhang Yang's strategy leaned towards subtly leveraging tactics to redirect the fish's head.

Indeed, the rod-down technique proved highly effective, as the fish below sensed the opposing force from lower underwater. After struggling for a few moments without breaking free, it soon changed swimming direction.

After the fish's head shifted direction below the water, Zhang Yang keenly felt the change in tension on the rod, slightly adjusted the rod's angle, and after confirming it was correct, gradually lifted the rod again.

Within merely a few seconds of hooking the fish, Zhang Yang had navigated past the highest risk phase after hooking a big fish. With the fish turned back and the rod uprighted to seventy to eighty degrees, the margin for error and subsequent adjustments would only grow, increasing the chances of successfully landing the fish.

Steadily holding the rod with both hands, Zhang Yang felt the fish's struggle beneath wasn't too intense, and attempted to stand up from the tackle box, stepping backward.

With this backward motion, the fish indeed started to drift toward the bank, and Zhang Yang smoothly stepped back several feet.

Seeing he had gained at least two to three meters of maneuvering space, Zhang Yang's tense nerves relaxed even more. This fish was as good as caught.