Zhang Yang nodded: "Don't worry, you can catch fish near the base of the dam, so the fish here won't be bad either!"
After quite some time of cooperation, everyone had come to greatly trust Zhang Yang's fishing techniques. He said it would work, so they decided to give it a try and soon started unloading their gear from the car.
Reservoir fishing requires more equipment compared to fishing in black pool or the Wen River.
After a winter of dormancy, fish need to eat a lot once spring begins to store energy for spawning later, but the low environmental temperature affects their activity, so at this time, fish are usually in deeper areas where the water is slightly warmer, at least two to three meters deep.
Based on these considerations for fishing spots, a fishing platform and the rubber waders for setting up the platform are essential. Although the ice has melted and temperatures are gradually rising, the season hasn't passed the 'Awakening of Insects' yet, and the water is painfully cold, so it's not safe for people to go in.
Zhang Yang quickly put on his waders, then carried the fishing platform into the water, while Wang Yan, now getting into work mode, began capturing footage of Zhang Yang's preparation work before and after fishing.
Zhang Yang set up the fishing platform simply and used a 5.4-meter fishing rod to roughly test the water depth.
It was about the same as he remembered; on the platform with the 5.4-meter rod, the depth was roughly over three meters, quite flat underneath, with the depth nearly the same in all directions, creating a shallow water area suitable for gathering fish.
Seeing Zhang Yang using a 5.4-meter rod on the platform, Meng Fan was a bit confused; it seemed different from the information he got. He had deliberately brought an 8.1-meter long rod to fish deeper and gain some advantage.
"Yang, is 5.4 meters enough? I heard they were all using 7.2 and 8.1-meter rods!" Meng Fan asked.
Zhang Yang responded: "Using 8.1 meters near the dam root, here with 5.4 meters on the platform is about the same depth. If it works there, it should be good here too!
If you're not confident, you can try the long rod first. If we're getting bites, then you can switch later!"
Meng Fan shrugged, his eyes shifting: "Uh, never mind! You're all using 5.4 meters, I'll go with 5.4 meters too! I'll switch to longer rods if the short one gets no bites!"
Wang Jun heard Meng Fan and puffed out a smoke ring: "In terms of cleverness, you're the clever one, Meng Fan! Never taking a wrong step!"
"Hahaha..."
Everyone setting up the fishing platform laughed together.
Once Zhang Yang had set up the platform, he began to prepare the baiting.
For this reservoir fishing at over three meters deep, using lead skin for baiting wasn't necessary. Large amounts of Rice for Making Wine mixed with pure grains were squeezed into fist-sized bait balls. After determining the approximate water depth, they began tossing them in.
For this new fishing spot, Zhang Yang used a relatively large amount of bait, at least two to three catties in the first round, with Rice for Making Wine accounting for at least a third of it.
After tossing the bait in to develop the spot, it's not too late to prepare bait and adjust the bobber. Spring weather means slow development of bait sites, and gathering fish can take two to three hours, so there's no rush.
Once four or five people tossed in their bait, they returned to the shore, with Zhang Yang routinely preparing bait. He took four catties of fresh red worm buds from the foam box in the car, lightly shook out a bit of water, and started adding worm glue.
Spring water is cold, and commercial bait doesn't work well, so Zhang Yang opted for pure worm kneaded bait. After shaking off the water, the red worms were slightly moist, then he sprinkled a thin layer of worm glue and shook the bait bowl to cover the worms evenly, repeating for a second and third time.
As the water is fairly deep, Zhang Yang added an extra layer of worm glue to improve hook adhesion when the red worm bait entered the water.
After several rounds of mixing the worm glue evenly, Zhang Yang gently molded the worm bait into balls, and each person took a ball of red worm kneaded bait, with the rest kept in the bowl for later use.
Spring had just arrived, and red worm buds weren't expensive, only about twenty yuan per catty, so Zhang Yang chose the highest quality large buds. The bright red worms squirmed ceaselessly even when glued into balls, showing great vitality.
The fishing spots were set, the bait was in place, and the hand bait was ready. Next came the patient waiting; everyone wrapped in thick outerwear, gathered to smoke and chat.
Finding it really cold, they got into Zhang Yang's van, turned on the heater, and spent the waiting time sharing stories and chatting.
Though the surface had melted, early spring temperatures were still quite low, around seven or eight degrees, but they were lucky that the wind was minimal today. The fishing area Zhang Yang chose faced the sun and sheltered from the wind, so everyone was eager and didn't mind the wait.
After baiting at around seven, they patiently waited until eight-thirty when Wang Jun couldn't hold back any longer and waded to the fishing platform for a test catch.
After trying four or five casts, he unexpectedly caught a wild carp weighing at least half a catty from the baited spot.
"The bait's working, check out my first catch!"
Wang Jun flaunted his first catch, holding up the fish for everyone to see. After winter, the carp was slightly slim but very beautiful, shimmering silver in the sunlight.
With Wang Jun's first catch, everyone else couldn't sit still and got out of the van, eagerly taking their prepared red worm bait, wading to the fishing platform to fish.
Fish at this season were still relatively inactive, and the water was deep, so Zhang Yang used a very low indicator, choosing a bobber weighing about 1.7 grams, balancing at water level and fishing at two indicators.
Zhang Yang also quickly got onto the platform, baiting two hooks, with two round red worm bait balls attached, and flicked his wrist to cast into the water.
Unlike the others who cast their line and left the rods on the platform to wait passively for bites, Zhang Yang understood the fish's lack of activity and liked gently stirring the rod to provoke them.
Carp are very sensitive to the color and movement of red worms, and Zhang Yang's teasing soon attracted the fish's attention underwater.
The bobber gently twitched, then slowly rose.
In wild carp fishing, bobber rising is the steadiest indicator. Zhang Yang calmly raised the rod for a hook set, and struck!
With a depth reaching nearly three and a half meters and a sizable fish, the moment of hook setting felt incredibly good.
Using a main line of 1.0 and a sub-line of 0.6#, the first round of hook setting and fish landing was so fierce that the line faintly hummed.
When Zhang Yang patiently got the fish above water, it turned out to be a large carp,
at least two sizes larger than Wang Jun's initial catch.
"Wow, this carp is nearly a pound! Wang Yan, help with the net, don't let it escape!"
The first catch turned out to be a big one, Zhang Yang quickly called, and Wang Yan handed over the net, catching the fish securely, allowing Zhang Yang to breathe a sigh of relief.
It was clear that Zhang Yang's judgment was spot on; the big carp was easily over a pound when de-hooked.
Wide back, round body, flawless silvery scales, slightly broader than Zhang Yang's palm, almost the size of a size 43 shoe sole.
"Wow! The first catch is a pound-plus big slab carp! Gorgeous!"
Zhao Bingguang saw Zhang Yang's fish and was enthralled, eagerly casting out to fish for his own.
Zhang Yang shared: "Fish this season love teasing, stir the rod more often. This big one came from teasing!
The bite was light, less than half an indicator, and quickly hitting the bobber hooked one! I fished at two indicators!"
"I'll give it a try too!" Meng Fan eagerly tried after hearing.
In the next ten minutes, each person gradually started catching.
Through testing, everyone confirmed Zhang Yang's chosen new fishing spot had great fish conditions.
Among the four with their first catches, none were smaller than half a catty, and Zhao's first fish also weighed over a pound, making everyone excitedly cheer.
Early spring's chill felt trivial amidst the thrilling fishing conditions.
After catching their first fish, the subsequent catch rate wasn't fast, averaging a fish every ten minutes, but everyone was content. Trekking in the early morning to fish was all for that gratifying bite and the thrill of hooking.
As time passed and they fished until about nine o'clock, the bite rate started noticeably increasing.
Zhang Yang knew the bait spot was fully active now.
Increasing cast frequency, teasing more, Zhang Yang kept control of the catch pace and in less than an hour managed to haul over twenty big slab carps into the net.
Starting the new year with such a successful first fishing session felt immensely rewarding today!