Chapter 366: Chapter 224: Single Pinch
With the problem of bites but no catches resolved, Master Liu’s expression visibly relaxed, like a high school student who had just found the solution path for a full score in an exam, his expressions and actions showing a sense of calm satisfaction.
If it weren’t for the weirdo Zhang Yang next door, Liu Xiaoyun’s performance would definitely stand out.
After all, nearly ten minutes into the competition, the majority of anglers were either blindly drawing from their spots or slowing down their frequency to wait for fish, but the results were basically the same; around the usual spots, there were no bites.
...
"Damn it! The fish in the afternoon are acting strange! In the morning, I could catch over a hundred in an hour, but as the temperature rose, there were no bites anymore!!"
A buddy who knew Ding Wen quite well couldn’t help but shout out in frustration.
"Yeah, nothing happening here either, not taking the bait! It’s really bad luck, didn’t have any alcohol at lunch, and was planning to go big in the first round this afternoon!"
At this point, Chen Xueqiang glanced at Zhang Yang and Liu Xiaoyun’s side, knowingly asking: "Xiao Zhang, are you and Master Liu fishing close points by frog spearing?"
"Yes! Had a few bites at the close point!" Zhang Yang didn’t shy away and nodded in confirmation.
Chen Xueqiang definitely belonged to the kind of person who understands the situation well. His partner Ding Wen was organizing a "fish pinch" (competition), and if everyone kept catching zeros, the team would be at risk of disbanding. Ding Wen wasn’t in a position to say much, so Chen Xueqiang thoughtfully broke the ice on this fishing technique.
Upon hearing Chen Xueqiang and Zhang Yang mention there were bites at closer points using the frog spearing method, those who hadn’t started fishing suddenly caught on and joined in.
No matter if they mastered the frog spearing technique or not, as long as there were bites at close points, it was better than having no response at all at the usual spots, and whether they caught more or less could be dealt with later.
So, in the next half an hour of the "fish pinch" time, the dozen anglers all turned to frog spearing,
each holding their rods, aiming for the close points below them, occasionally getting bites and catching fish, but more often only seeing movements with the bobber and little success.
Some, due to lack of proficiency with this technique, exerted too much force when raising the rod after hooking a fish, leading to either the fish escaping the hook or unfortunate tangling of the line—an embarrassing mess.
In contrast, Meng Fan and Liu Zi, who had undergone several days of intensive frog spearing training before, performed much better.
While there were occasional flaws in some hooking details, at least they had no issues with the basics, and their choice of bobber and technique were pretty suitable for searching for crucian carp near the bottom at close points. After identifying the fish situation at close points, they frequently caught fish.
An hour of "fish pinch" competition passed in this somewhat noisy atmosphere, and as Ding Wen’s phone alarm went off, everyone simultaneously put down their fishing rods.
Zhang Yang put down his rod at the same time, stretched his slightly sore arm, and took out his phone to check WeChat.
"How did you do in the last round, little buddy? How many did you catch?" At this point, Liu Xiaoyun once again proactively struck up a conversation with Zhang Yang.
Zhang Yang shook his head: "I don’t remember clearly either, around a few dozen, I guess! I’ll count them later!"
"Have you been specifically practicing the frog spearing technique? From your responses, you should’ve caught more than me!" Liu Xiaoyun continued to inquire.
Zhang Yang shook his head: "Just messing around, I usually fish black pits and reservoirs more, rarely engage in such practice ponds!"
"Oh, I see, I was overthinking it!" Liu Xiaoyun nodded, lighting up a cigarette for himself.
Outsiders look at the scene, insiders look at the technique. From Liu Xiaoyun’s perspective, Zhang Yang performed quite well in this round.
He was the first to determine the frog spearing fish situation through early probing, with almost no obvious mistakes throughout.
In the middle of fishing, Liu Xiaoyun tried to follow Zhang Yang’s rhythm deliberately, but due to differences in bobber and line setups, ended up unable to keep up.
In the same tit-for-tat casting state, Zhang Yang’s fish catching rate was significantly higher.
Soon, Ding Wen came up behind Zhang Yang with a basin full of catch: "How did it go this round, Master Zhang? Damn, almost got a zero, the entire ’fish pinch’ round went bald on us, saying that would be embarrassing!"
Zhang Yang casually lifted his fish basket, revealing a scarce collection of two or three dozen small crucian carp at the bottom. Though the catch looked similarly pathetic, it was noticeably better than others.
Ding Wen exclaimed: "Wow, this much! Almost thirty! So far, the most is Chen Xiaodao with 22 fish; your catch could break the record!"
Zhang Yang chuckled and said: "Let’s count and see, I can’t quite remember either! By the way, are we continuing with the small crucian carp next round? Or let Boss Ge start up the oxygen machine? It’s not exactly exciting with such a poor fish presence!"
"Damn, how’d I forget that!" Ding Wen slapped his forehead, raising his voice to shout out loudly.
"Boss, start the oxygen machine for Pool No.1! The fish are surfacing!"
The shout of "fish surfacing" startled the practice pond owner, Ge Xiufeng.
The competitive pond’s fish density is relatively higher than that of black pits; if they really surface, it’s no small matter, potentially causing an overturning of the pond.
Boss Ge hurriedly dashed out of the room and quickly ran to the pondside, scanning the water with a few glances, finally calming down.
"Damn you, Ding Wen, you just like scaring me! I thought it was really overturning, there’s no fish surfacing, you’re just pulling my leg!"
Ding Wen pursed his lips, holding up Zhang Yang’s fish basket for Old Ge to see: "Caught these few fish in an hour, not much difference if they’re surfacing or not. Just open the oxygen machine already; if you delay more, we’re all leaving!"