Stop worrying about the bait, let's get the tackle and leader line ready first.
For grass carp weighing 5-10 pounds, using the previous leader line is risky, grass carp aren't picky about the rig! I suggest beefing it up a bit!"
"You're the captain, whatever you say, we'll do!"
"Okay then, use No. 4 main line, 2.5 or 3 leader line, No. 4 New Kanto hook, let's just get it all set up in one go!
Everyone take out your leader line boxes, let's get prepared ahead of time!"
With Zhang Yang as the backbone, everyone had no objections and took out their leader line boxes, getting busy preparing the rig needed for fishing.
On Saturday, the three guardians teamed up and went to Meng Village for another round of competitive fishing, while Zhang Yang already had the secret weapon for grass carp fishing ready.
Early on the weekend morning, before dawn, everyone gathered at Zhang Yang's shop.
Besides loading the fishing gear in the car, Zhang Yang also carried out two mysterious bags, a large one and a small one.
"Look, today's secret weapon for catching grass carp! Share it amongst yourselves, and once we're at the fishing ground, don't make a big deal out of it!"
"What do we have here, let me check first!"
Wang Yan eagerly opened the snake-skin bag and glanced inside, finding fresh sweet corn from the supermarket. The other small bag contained a mesh bag with live grasshoppers.
"Wow, I get using corn for grass carp, but what's with the grasshoppers, are we fishing with these?"
Han Qiang, seeing the grasshoppers in the net bag, felt somewhat uneasy!
"Just trust me, these are surprisingly effective for grass carp, out of the three baits we prepared, surely one will work! Let's get in the car, time to go!"
With a shout, the four anglers and a cameraman drove three cars directly to the Joyful Forest Fishing Ground.
By the time they arrived at the fishing ground, it was already slightly light.
To Zhang Yang's surprise, there weren't many people fishing today, roughly around twenty, which was quite low for a weekend, even fewer than when carp were released.
Wang Yan surveyed the fishing ground and whispered, "There don't seem to be many people! I've scanned the water surface, and there's no grass carp seen drifting on the surface anymore!"
"Perfect, grass carp are timid and afraid of noise, fewer people make fishing easier!" Zhang Yang was in good spirits.
After parking the cars and unloading the fishing gear, everyone gathered to have breakfast as the sky gradually lightened.
It's six o'clock.
While Zhang Yang and the others waited for the draw to enter the venue, Liu Mazi in the boardroom was somewhat anxious.
Usually, a little gimmick draws the anglers, but today's grass carp venue had far fewer sign-ups than expected.
Only twenty-six registered over the phone, just over half capacity. They could only hope for last-minute arrivals in the morning.
But, as he braced himself and waited for a long time, by 6:30, not many extra people showed up at the fishing ground, ensuring a financial loss if the fish aren't caught.
At 6:40, Liu Mazi came out from the boardroom, holding the sign-up list, his expression unchanged.
"Everyone, come over for the draw!"
With a call from the boss, many anglers swarmed up.
"There are fewer people signing up today, but the announcement was made, so even if we lose money, we'll proceed! There are many empty spots, but no switching is allowed before ten o'clock, chaps, let's draw!"
Shouting hoarsely, Liu Mazi quickly started drawing according to the list.
In grass carp fishing, the fishing spot factor influences slightly less than other fish types, but the middle and larger edges still hold certain advantages. Zhang Yang caught a glance with the others, everyone eagerly focused on the draw.
The same poker cards, the same cheating method, Zhang Yang and his group had nothing to hide, specially picking slightly darker colored cards.
In a short while, the draw ended. Zhang Yang got spot 12, the middle southern shore, Wang Yan spot 13, right next to him, while Zhou Chu and Han Qiang got spot 35 at the big edge and 41 at a regular position.
Among the four, only Han Qiang didn't draw a good spot, irritated, he rubbed his face: "Damn, Wang Yan, are you a buddy or not? Swap spots with me!"
Wang Yan gave his buddy a blank stare and said one word: "Buzz off!"
Zhang Yang grinned: "Alright, let's enter. Just follow my method and see how it goes! Good luck!"
Arriving at spot 12, Zhang Yang swiftly prepared, forming the overnight-fermented beer wheat bran bait into balls and placing them on the bait plate.
By late June, the temperature was already high, and the bait, after fermenting overnight, had a faint sour smell.
If you sniff closely, you can catch a whiff of hops aroma. Zhang Yang simply tested the bait by pulling it, and it worked well. Mostly, the bait was flaky; pull once and you have two large bait balls.
After a simple float adjustment and finding the bottom, the rod was placed on the stand. Zhang Yang took out a wallpaper knife from the fishing box and started to shave the corn cobs.
Unlike rules for carp or crucian fishing, grass carp fishing allows baiting, but only corn and pellets are permitted; traditional hand-thrown bombs are not allowed.
As he prepared, Zhang Yang observed everywhere.
Most anglers had prepared fresh corn, and most commercial baits used items like "Grass Carp Generation 2." Even from a distance, you could see the baits were a greenish hue.
Based on the bait approach alone, Zhang Yang knew most anglers were stuck in traditional grass carp mindset, so he felt little pressure.
At 7:10, anglers were ready, and with a call from the boss, fishing began!
For the first cast, Zhang Yang used a double hook to attach bait balls the size of dates and cast them into the fishing spot.
In these competitive grass carp scenarios, open casting with random baiting is a big mistake; the sound and splashes scare away grass carp nearby, and it takes a long time for them to come back.
Instead, starting normally, using the spread from floating bait to lure fish is much more stable.
Other anglers were either scattering pellets or tossing corn kernels, while Zhang Yang did nothing, patiently casting his rod into the water and staring at the bobber's movement.
If the grass carp are active in the pond, bites should occur within minutes at a middle spot, but Zhang Yang patiently cast a few times, and the bobber showed no sign of movement.
With no bites in bottom fishing using lightweight setups, Zhang Yang decisively pulled down the float, switching from bottom fishing to mid-water fishing.
This is also experience in competitive grass carp fishing; with about two meters of water depth, if bottom fishing yields no bites, start looking from one meter upwards to find the fish layer, if the fish are active, bites should come quickly.
Just when Zhang Yang patiently searched the bottom, an earsplitting reel screech sounded from across the pond.
Whoa, just as the angler lifted his rod, the pole acted like it was hooked on a motorcycle, racing downwards at a terrifying speed towards the distance.
In under two seconds,
Woosh~~Snap!
The hook-up and fish run happened instantly!
Judging by the fish's state after the hook-up, Zhang Yang knew this fish was snagged on its body, explaining the terrifying speed. Even a wild fish wouldn't escape so dramatically if the hook was in its mouth.
Sure enough, the angler across fixed his line and saw the severed leader line, cursing, "Damn, hooking fish at the water surface when changing bait scared the hell out of me!"
The speaker was uninvolved, but Zhang Yang listened intently, capturing a keyword, hooking fish at the water surface!
This indicated the fish were higher up in the water column, and the bobber needed further lowering!
Therefore, Zhang Yang promptly adjusted the bobber to about seventy centimeters, the leader line for big fish was a meter folded, near the lead clip position.
After adjusting the water depth, Zhang Yang had an idea, taking out a water bottle with several burned holes from the fishing box.
Pouring out a live grasshopper from the bottle, he directly pierced its back with the hook, exiting from the abdomen.
Pinching the bottom of the grasshopper's belly, he tore off a small part, revealing the seed-laden innards.
On the other hook, he attached two fresh corn kernels, flicking his wrist, with the rod casting, off they went!
Talking about hooking grasshoppers, many people might not have tried it. These creatures struggle briefly when submerged, absorbing much water before drowning, with weight gradually decreasing.
In his mind, Zhang Yang silently counted numbers. By the time he reached 10, he suddenly noticed the bobber take a sharp dip, two pops, the four-eyed bobber sank.
Zhang Yang felt a stir within, here we go!