Back to the Past to Become a Fishing King-Chapter 599 - 345: First Match of the Second Day

Even though Zhang Yang wasn't very happy with the draw results, the competition still had to continue.

After locating the 18th spot in Area A, Zhang Yang set down his fishing box and got busy.

The bait used by other team members was prepared by Zhang Yang beforehand, but his own bait was prepared only after entering the venue.

This competition was about mixed fast fish species, and even though he fished all day yesterday, Zhang Yang still had a positive outlook on today's morning fish situation. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Considering the density of fish in the pond, and the fact that the pond had been oxygenated overnight after being sealed yesterday afternoon, Zhang Yang felt that the first round of fishing shouldn't be too challenging.

Based on this judgment, Zhang Yang's bait preparation was relatively bold.

What does bold mean?

To be specific, for an hour-long match, Zhang Yang prepared three pounds of scattered bait, with the additive dosage usually being one cap per pound, but today he used 0.8 caps. The flavor was slightly mild but still quite aggressive.

If there were any differences to spot in Zhang Yang's bait preparation, it would probably be the water ratio in the bait.

Normal scattered bait for quick fish of pure health has a bait-water ratio of about 1:0.3, generally forming a large triangle that explodes upon entering the water and dissolves completely mid-depth.

For slightly slower fish conditions, the ratio is about 1:0.4, beginning to scatter and dissolve about half a meter below the water surface and dissolves completely by the mid-bottom layer.

However, today Zhang Yang's bait water ratio was approximately 1:0.5, situated between dry scatter and wet scatter, in a state some anglers refer to as soft scatter.

People who don't understand might think the 0.1 difference in water ratio doesn't mean much, but to be responsible, this 0.1 difference in water ratio can make a big difference in the practical application of bait.

The soft scatter bait prepared with a 0.5 water ratio has over 90% of the dissolution and scattering effect of dry scatter bait. When needed for fish conditions, it can achieve almost the bottom fishing effect using baiting techniques.

If the fish condition becomes aggressive, one can quickly adjust by grabbing some light bran or dry yellow meal powder to reduce the water ratio.

From the perspective of practical adaptability, it can be aggressive or defensive, greatly increasing the flexibility of bait application.

After preparing the wet scatter bait, Zhang Yang switched to a lead-required fishing setup he had pre-adjusted.

A 2.3g lead-consuming reed bobber, tuned to six points, fishing at three points, paired with size 1 new Kanto fish hook—this bobber and line setup is aiming for good fish conditions.

The twenty-minute preparation time was more than enough for an experienced angler like Zhang Yang. After busy preparing the bait, adjusting the bobber and line setup, he looked at his wristwatch, and only thirteen minutes had passed.

With the preparation complete, Zhang Yang finally had the time to observe the neighboring anglers.

Both sides were unfamiliar faces, and everyone was busy with their own tasks, not noticing Zhang Yang's presence.

This was the best kind of outcome. Why is that? Although Zhang Yang could accept the bad luck in the draw, he feared interference due to human factors the most.

After the first four rounds, to put it bluntly, many who didn't perform well were no longer in contention. At this point, if someone harbored malicious thoughts and decided to sabotage their rival anglers, their success rate could be very high.

In competitive fishing, it's quite challenging to help neighboring anglers positioned so close, but it's very easy to stir trouble.

Especially since Zhang Yang was close to Han Mocheng, yesterday Qiu Wu, a member of the Northwest Wolf team, had passed a message. Don't fear a thief stealing, fear a thief thinking; in guarding against such things, Zhang Yang remained quite cautious.

The last few minutes before the competition quickly passed, and the stadium announcer sounded the loudspeaker, marking the official start of the second day's first match!

At the moment the starter gun fired, Zhang Yang's wrist flicked, and a heavy Triangle Cannon with double hooks swung into the nest at the tip of his 4.5-meter fishing rod.

In the first three minutes of fishing, Zhang Yang was constantly building the nest. After about seven to eight rods worth of nest material were placed, Zhang Yang then began using a small scatter on one hook and dough bait on the other to attempt mouth analysis for the actual fish condition.

When fishing in a high-density mixed pond, a nest is indispensable. The upfront seven to eight rods of wet scatter can basically build the foundation of the nest.

Given the slightly significant water ratio, Zhang Yang squeezed the bait firmly when applying. Upon entering the water, less than half of the bait dissolved during travel, with the remaining portion scattering on the bottom during a rod shake, forming a nest about 30 to 40 centimeters in diameter.

At this moment, Zhang Yang's double-hook test bait's underwater landing position was at the outer edge of the nest spot, and if fish entered the nest, they would typically attack the bait first, providing effective signal action to the bobber.

Luck was on his side; the actual test fish condition matched his pre-cast prediction closely, with the first dough bait sent in quickly causing a reaction from the bobber.

A gentle upward movement, followed by a small downward motion indicating a bite action.

Seeing this bobber action, the experienced Zhang Yang did not lift the rod to catch the fish but intentionally allowed the fish to take a bite.

With a size 1 new Kanto fish hook paired with a 0.8 lead line, theoretically, the bite action shouldn't be this soft. For mixed fish species aimed mainly at carp weighing over half a pound to a pound, the small bite action was too weak, making a successful catch unlikely, risking a hook-off on lifting the rod.

Zhang Yang patiently let go of two bites. The expected strong downward bobber action still didn't appear, so Zhang Yang gently raised his rod, lifting the fishing setup out of the water.

Before baiting and casting the next rod, Zhang Yang consciously pushed the bobber seat up by about half a point, then baited and cast normally again.

After a simple upward bobber adjustment, the biting action was noticeably clearer when the bait reached the bottom the second time.

A gentle upward movement of half a point, settling down, followed by a robust downward motion with a bite indication.

Got it!

Zhang Yang flicked his wrist, lifted the rod to catch the fish, feeling the sensation of a captured fish from the rod tip.

The fish was not large, surfacing after a maneuver, a carp of about half a pound. Zhang Yang effortlessly used the rod's waist power to lift the fish above the water, trailing an arc in the air before landing precisely into the net basket on his left hand.

The flying kicking technique wasn't suitable for the current fish condition, but a round of flying copies was still feasible.

With his left hand holding the fish, Zhang Yang gently pinched the recessed area behind the fish's gills, and the fish obediently stayed still while he scanned the position of the fishhook on the fish's mouth.

The hook was lodged in the fish's mouth at exactly twelve o'clock, with a neat bite.

Seeing this detail gave Zhang Yang confidence.

The bait was prepared using wet soft scatter material, and since the fish took the upper hook, it indicated no significant wariness towards the wet scatter bait condition.

This also meant that the fish in the high-density mixed pond weren't particularly wary; they didn't resist the scattering and dissolution state of the bait.

Having made an initial judgment, Zhang Yang's subsequent fishing strategy became clear.

Since the fish weren't afraid of the wet scatter bait, dough bait could be temporarily set aside, focusing instead on double-hook scatter bait with frequency, directing the fish conditions toward an aggressive fishing style.

In no time, Zhang Yang significantly increased his casting frequency, with a clear intention to attack, immediately lifting the rod if the bobber showed no bite upon settling.