Zhang Yang shook his head.
Old Zhao was asking if there was a bobber, a fishing method used specifically in competitions,
float fishing, which is an extreme fishing method targeting fish that swim higher in the water column. After all, when the density of crucian carp reaches a certain level, the fish layer tends to rise to a higher position,
when fishing at the bottom, the time it takes for the bobber to get in position is quite long, whereas with float fishing, this time is negligible. As long as you get bites, it's much more efficient than bottom fishing.
"Float fishing probably won't work. I just fished with a rapid frequency for half an hour, and there weren't many bites near the bottom; most of the catch was from steady bites after the bobber was in position below!
But that's just a preliminary judgement. I didn't bring the bait cannon to experiment with float fishing!"
"Did you bring it? Now that you're here, why not try a bit!" Old Zhao continued.
"Alright! I'll give it a shot!"
Prompted by Old Zhao, Zhang Yang didn't hesitate, opened his tackle box, took out some light bran, mixed it with grain powder and some basic feed to make an extremely light scatter bait adjusted for float fishing.
Because of the high proportion of light bran in the scatter bait, the bait looked all white, making it noticeably different from typical bottom fishing scatter bait.
Just as Zhang Yang buried his head in casting the rods to try float fishing, a stranger's voice came from behind him.
"Hey, buddy! Your hands are really black; look at your setup, are you going for float fishing?"
At the noise, Zhang Yang turned his head and saw a young guy with a fancy floral hat standing behind him.
The young guy looked about twenty-three or twenty-four years old, around 1.78 meters tall, wearing a flamboyant colored print hat, with a long face, and a pair of photochromic half-frame sunglasses. From his complexion, he was definitely a seasoned angler.
Zhang Yang recognized this person in his memory, called Ding Wen, a notable figure in W City's competitive fishing scene, someone he had once known in the past, but at this point in time, this was Zhang Yang's first meeting with him.
So, Zhang Yang hesitated slightly for a second, then smiled: "Hello, buddy! It's my first time here, just trying it out!"
"Old Xu here, the target fish doesn't need float fishing; they can't be pulled up! We've tried many times! If you have time, don't waste your light bran!" Ding Wen, seeing that Zhang Yang was approachable, said casually.
"I see, thanks! I was wondering why I've been casting over ten rods and didn't see any bites!"
"Buddy, you look a bit unfamiliar? Are you from out of town?" Ding Wen continued to inquire.
Why did Ding Wen take the initiative to greet and then keep asking questions? There's some deeper meaning to it.
At this time, the float fishing method hadn't spread nationwide in competitive fishing circles. Generally, those who could master it were mostly experts either taught by a master or who competed everywhere.
Ding Wen took the initiative to greet Zhang Yang to feel him out.
"I'm local, here to see the sights with a friend! I'm Zhang Yang! What's your name, buddy?" Zhang Yang introduced himself, formally getting to know Ding Wen.
"You're Zhang Yang? I've heard of you, do you own a fishing tackle shop? I'm Ding Wen, living in Anfang District!" Hearing Zhang Yang's name, Ding Wen's eyes lit up.
"Nice to meet you! That's me!"
"I've been hearing about you! A fishing master has emerged in W City this year! That what's-it-called, the 'Little Yellow Face'? Is that your creation? It's even sold in Old Ma's shop!"
After confirming Zhang Yang's identity, Ding Wen became noticeably more enthusiastic.
"Haha, just doing some small business to make a living!" Zhang Yang remained calm and composed in the face of Ding Wen's enthusiasm.
"Let's sit together sometime if we get a chance! I'll stop chatting for now, my friend's calling me!"
"Alright!"
As he watched Ding Wen walk off to the others, Zhang Yang was lost in thought.
Strictly speaking, Ding Wen is also one of Ma Yuhua's core group, having started fishing quite early, his skills are quite good, and he hasn't officially become anyone's disciple. He's one of the few in the local area who can be on par with Old Ma in fishing prowess.
In a past life, when Zhang Yang started competitive fishing, he had gotten close to Ding Wen for a while, though he didn't realize the complexities at the time. He only learned the hard way later on that this guy wasn't very straightforward.
By Zhang Yang's standards, this person has a slick demeanor and is adept at socializing – making acquaintances was fine, but he wasn't worth befriending deeply. Anyone who wasn't quick-witted might easily get led astray by him.
After Ding Wen walked away, Old Zhao squinted and whispered, "Ding Wen, who's hanging out at Old Ma's place! This kid, despite his young age, is quite good at fishing!"
Zhang Yang chuckled, "A sudden greeting startled me; I thought something was going on!"
While talking, Zhang Yang skillfully hooked up two small baits with dual hooks and reflexively pinched a scatter bait on the hook shank, casting it into the designated spot.
For the past chunk of time, Zhang Yang had just been priming the spot, casting the rod, and reeling it in after at most one second in the water, ignoring the bobber's position, let alone the float indication.
However, because of the conversation with Old Zhao during this cast, his mind wandered a bit, and as he refocused on the spot, the bobber had flipped over normally.
At this point, Zhang Yang realized that the bobber was stuck at the body and couldn't sink further.
"Whoa, it's stuck! Is it possible?"
When Zhang Yang lifted the rod to strike the fish, surprisingly, he hit the mark!
What does stuck mean? It's simple; right when the bobber flips over, the bait gets intercepted at a high level, the fish is pushing against the bobber's weight, preventing the float body from sinking any further.
This sort of float action is rare. Usually, when you get such bites, the fish layer is very high; with float fishing having such stuck bites, it means the fish have been brought up, staying high in the water.
Zhang Yang efficiently unhooked the floating-caught fish and tossed it back in, then proceeded to rebait and cast his rod again.
If following casts continue to catch bites at high levels, it indicates float fishing is viable; if there are no more bites, it means the previous instance was just a coincidence.
This is the first time Zhang Yang felt slightly tense during a test fish.
The bobber went in the water normally, flipped, and the expected stuck bite didn't happen, the float tip started descending steadily.
Just when Zhang Yang thought there was no hope, the bobber got another high-level bite!
At this moment, Zhang Yang immediately felt enlightened,
two consecutive high-level bites meant float fishing was feasible. His previous feeling that bottom fishing wasn't working wasn't due to the fish, but because he was only using dual-hook bait at high frequency without the cannon.
Now, with both the frequency and bait capacity increased, the fish rose!
Having initially found his footing, Zhang Yang buried his head and continued casting, raising the frequency until the fish layer was drawn right up to the surface, all within 13 minutes.
Confirming the float fishing fish condition, Zhang Yang eased up his frequency, resting the rod on the stand.
"There is some float! My initial judgment was off!" Zhang Yang whispered to Zhao Bingguang in a low voice.
Old Zhao nodded, "Not bad, I was just casually asking, and it turns out you really know how to float fish!
Now it's all about the luck on game day. If we draw target fish in the first match, the chance for a good score increases significantly!"
"Brother Yang, how to play float fishing? Teach me?" Meng Fan, hearing the murmuring, eagerly came closer with shining eyes.
Zhang Yang never liked to keep his fishing skills a secret. Since Meng Fan wanted to learn, he gave a simple explanation.
"For float fishing, choose a shorter bobber, about thirty centimeters is good enough, longer ones are prone to tangles!
Push the float seat down; I like to start fishing from about forty centimeters deep!
Use dual-hook bait, then pinch the floating scatter on the hook shank, focus on the point of fall, and cast as fast as you can. Did you see the fish school that formed around my spot earlier?
The more bait in the spot, the more the crucian carp chase it to the surface!"
Seizing the moment while the school of fish in front of his spot hadn't dispersed, Zhang Yang explained to Meng Fan while demonstrating in practice.
Fish brought to the surface compete so visibly, the sound of water splashing as soon as the dual-hook bait hits the water, there's simply no need to watch for float signals; lifting the rod means catching fish, sometimes even catching two at a time.
Noticed by Ding Wen at the southeast corner of pit number one, Zhang Yang caught the fish by floating them up, which sank his spirits.
Damn it, couldn't hold him off; the float fishing condition in pit number one got leaked!