Back to the Past to Become a Fishing King-Chapter 667 - 385: Familiar Faces (2)

Master Xiao Qiu, who was the earliest to help Zhang Yang catch fish, has also been contacted by friends, and the information basically matches up!"

"Damn, this means that the fish density in the Yaokeng Reservoir is quite high!"

Liu Wenjun nodded: "Right! We can't control others, but for us brothers at the table, starting this afternoon, let's make some targeted adjustments when we continue fishing!

Xiao Qiu, though you haven't signed up, you're responsible for keeping an eye on those anglers in Zhang Yang's team, see what bait and techniques they use, and communicate with everyone if there's any issue.

The rest of you, don't slack off! Let's try to get a decent rank in today's first round!

The championship prize is a million dollars, even third place gets you a hundred thousand. Since we're in this together fighting side by side, let's all bring our strengths into play!"

"Alright!"

...

Seeing this, many people might be a bit confused, wondering how did they end up in this together in a solo competition, and not a team match, what does this mean?

It's actually quite simple. Anglers who are familiar with each other and understand each other's level had made a pact before the competition started.

During the competition, they share information, form an alliance of interest, and if they win any ranking or prize money, they distribute it according to the pre-competition agreement.

For a Fishing King level expert like Liu Wenjun, he naturally doesn't lack teammates to cooperate with. He's also quite capable, and wherever he goes, he utilizes his connections and reputation to gather the most authentic fishing conditions and related information.

In the end, this is quite similar to those big 'sect brothers' teaming up for competitions. There's strength in numbers, and through collaborative partnerships, they increase their overall competitiveness and chances of winning in the competition.

Groups like Liu Wenjun's are actually more than one among the eighty participating anglers. What people usually refer to as mixing in circles is really about these small groups.

Centered around certain key figures, various information circulates within the circle. After years of effort, they eventually encounter situations where everything aligns perfectly for success. That's when they achieve results and get the rewards.

Anglers like Liu Wenjun, who are at a stable peak in their physical condition, can easily achieve success if given an opportunity.

...

After a one-hour lunch break, at one o'clock in the afternoon, the second half of the competition began on time.

Zhang Yang returned to his fishing spot, and the first thing he did was use scissors to cut the seal tied on the mouth of the keep-net.

This was a preventive measure taken during the lunch break to prevent sneaky actions. Cutting the seal means the afternoon competition continues.

According to Zhang Yang's understanding of his spot, the weather in early May hasn't warmed up too much yet, with today's weather, he can have bites all day.

After cutting the seal, Zhang Yang casually rolled two balls of bait and flicked them towards the edge of the nest.

Why the edge of the nest? This is a small technique worth mentioning.

Before lunch, Zhang Yang had set up a whole half-basin of nests. After an hour's fermentation, there should definitely be fish in the nest, especially since Zhang Yang's nest is mainly rice for making wine, with many particles that fish are not easy to disperse.

However, there are also downsides to having too many nests. It can easily result in fish rubbing against the line without taking the bait.

After resuming fishing after a break, the most taboo situation is blindly grabbing bites without confidence.

It's better to be steady when grabbing bites, because if the fish escapes the nest or hooks are snagged unexpectedly, the previous nesting efforts will be greatly reduced, or even completely ineffective.

At this time, starting from the edge of the nest is more stable, as there is less food to eat at the edge of the nest, providing a better chance for fish to be attracted to the bait.

The fish density would be slightly lower, and the chances of accidental line hits or snagging fish with the pole would also be less, allowing a few casts to roughly gauge the fish situation and get back into the fishing rhythm quickly.

Zhang Yang's rice for making wine nest effectively attracted and retained fish. On the first attempt to fish on the edge of the nest, just a couple of seconds after the bobber settled, a small upward move was noticed.

Zhang Yang resisted the urge to raise his pole, instead gently teasing the end of the rod.

The next second, thud! An evident downward bobber motion appeared.

Hooking the fish! A steady force transmitted from underwater.

Feeling the strength of the hooked fish, Zhang Yang reflexively swung the rod to the right side, immediately pulling the underwater fish away from the nest area.

This fish was slightly larger, so it wasn't wise to let it swim around in the nest; if it thrashed around a few times, it could easily scatter the fish school with just a bit of bad luck.

Zhang Yang patiently maneuvered with the fish for two rounds underwater before slowly raising the rod.

The fish's strength was essentially spent, and it was slowly lifted by the rod's backbone out of the water.

A yellow belly, red tail, a two-pound or so carp.

Damn, there's a carp in the nest?

Seeing this fish, Zhang Yang couldn't help thinking to himself, feeling something was wrong.

Catching a fish and it's not a good thing? Is he getting cocky?

Not cocky at all, it's mainly because today's competition results are judged by count.

If a carp wanders into the nest, especially this naturally grown wild carp from the original pond, with a big appetite and aggressive eating behavior, it could eat up half the nest.

Without the nest, naturally, the fish school will scatter, which would be very unfavorable for today's final score.

Even though Zhang Yang knew he was currently ahead, there were still four more hours left, and only the final outcome matters.

With a million dollar prize at stake, Zhang Yang had boasted beforehand but couldn't afford any carelessness.

Patiently guiding the carp along the water's surface into the net, Zhang Yang swiftly unhooked and placed the fish in the keep-net and quickly moved to the other side of the nest's edge and cast again.

No bite.

Lifting the rod, replacing the bait, the third cast went straight to the center of the nest area.

The bobber settled, and Zhang Yang silently counted to five. Just when he was about to lift the rod and change to the next cast at five, the bobber showed a slight wobble.

Could it be another carp? Zhang Yang thought to himself, feeling a bit annoyed.

Fearful of what might happen, the bobber lightly bobbed a few times before suddenly displaying two consecutive distinct downward bobs.

Such a bobber motion cannot be ignored, lifting the rod and hooking the fish, it was another hit!

From the moment the fish was hooked, Zhang Yang felt a jolt internally, damn, with such strong resistance, it's another carp!

Fearful of what might happen, a carp had entered the nest!

After several rounds of maneuvering, the second carp was brought up by Zhang Yang, weighing over three pounds, with pristine skin, good shape, and high vitality, yet Zhang Yang was not happy at all.

With a slender shape and a slightly bulging belly, it undoubtedly ate a lot of the nest.

Can't continue fishing like this, must reinforce the nest, otherwise, the fish school will be entirely dispersed.

Zhang Yang immediately scooped the second basin of rice for making wine he had prepared beforehand into the food tray, adding lead weight, busying himself once more.

Afraid that the lead weight in the nest might scare away the fish, Zhang Yang set up a plum blossom layout for the nest in the afternoon.

Centered at the main nest area directly in front of him, nests filled with rice for making wine were placed half a meter apart on the left, right, and rear sides, ensuring that no matter if it's carp or crucian carp roaming nearby, they'd be drawn in and stay.

This nesting method has its pros and cons. The downside is dispersing nest points, making fish school gathering slower, but the upside is a wider nest distribution which, even if larger fish enter, won't entirely scare off smaller fish.

Using its advantages to offset its weaknesses is precisely how a pro angler demonstrates skill during live competition.