CHAPTER 512: CHAPTER 298: DIVINE WATER, EMOTIONAL FISH, LACK OF PASSION_2

This is the level of an athlete that a top-level domestic competition should have!

If you all do well in the future, there will be higher-level competitions waiting for you like master tournaments, invitationals, and the Fishing King Cup!

Treat today as a drill, and display all the key points we discussed in yesterday’s debrief meeting, and you’ll have achieved your goal!"

Just as I was helping the team adjust their pre-competition mindset, I heard someone over the loudspeaker call out, Zhang Yang!

"Present!" Zhang Yang replied, striding toward the lottery desk.

Right now, Zhang Yang is still an uncertified and unrated mud-legged angler, but unlike his first official competition where hardly anyone knew him.

Many athletes who had heard of or seen Zhang Yang were whispering below, discussing things about Zhang Yang.

His fame has spread, and Zhang Yang’s achievements in previous competitions, coupled with his popularity in online streaming rooms, have made his name quite influential in some circles.

Zhang Yang sauntered onto the stage and, following the staff’s guidance, casually pulled a numbered tag from the lottery box.

Upon opening it, it was D Zone Number 55!

The D Zone, located on the south bank with the sun at its back, made it easier to watch the bobber without straining the eyes. Plus, today has a bit of a north wind, and the lottery-drawn position is downwind. Zhang Yang felt this was not a bad spot.

Afterward, several other teammates were called by name to draw lots on stage. With over 600 people participating, the chances of drawing the prime spot were quite small.

The team members were spread across different competition zones, and most of them ended up in quite standard, ordinary fishing positions.

If we must pick a good number among the six people, Wang Yan was slightly luckier, drawing F Zone Number 41 on the floating bridge, roughly where the old 139 fishing spot used to be.

Patiently waiting for all athletes to finish drawing lots, the chief referee still hadn’t announced entry into the competition area but first directed all zone referees to enter their respective areas in advance.

A group of uniformed staff with referee certificates hanging on their chests stood ready.

Once the staff had coordinated and assigned everything, the athletes finally entered the venue together!

Can you imagine four banks plus a floating bridge corridor all bustling with fully armed fishermen entering?

That scene truly had the momentum of an ancient battlefield charge.

Zhang Yang entered with the crowd, carrying his fishing box and equipment. After finding his spot, he immediately began to survey the surroundings.

Looking at the big map of the Garden Fishing Ground, the D Zone Number 55 spot that Zhang Yang drew was located on the southeast corner of the south bank, and being number 55 in the 60-people group meant it was slightly to one side, a few places away from the anglers in E Zone.

Overall, the actual conditions of the fishing spot matched Zhang Yang’s first impression after drawing it—no obvious advantages or disadvantages, quite average.

Zhang Yang didn’t recognize the people on either side of him, and no bait or gear was allowed in the water during the preparation phase.

Zhang Yang placed a large basin of loose cannon next to him, and then began a series of pre-match preparations, putting all the equipment that might be used in the competition in the handiest positions, ready to start fishing as soon as the match officially began.

As the fifteen-minute preparation time ended, with the referee’s order, the competition officially started!

At the beginning of the fishing, Zhang Yang didn’t worry about anything and first used lead skin to create a nest with at least five casts the size of a fist, and only then began to follow the fishing process.

He cast two baits with double hooks into the nest with a flick of his wrist.

Seeing the bobber disappear beneath the water surface, Zhang Yang frowned slightly.

Damn, the water on the south bank is much deeper than on the floating bridge and the north bank.

The fishing setup he had adjusted yesterday didn’t work now that it was on the south bank.

Zhang Yang repeatedly adjusted the float position, and soon found the actual fishing depth.

Around 2.8-2.9 meters on the floating bridge, and in this position at D55 on the south bank, the 4.5-meter rod found the actual water depth to be over 3.5 meters. A full 60 to 70 centimeters deeper!

Realizing the depth, Zhang Yang’s expectations were quickly dampened.

Those who often fish in black pits know one common fact: newly stocked fish won’t choose to stay in deep water areas.

Wherever the water is shallow, that’s where fish schools are likely to gather, and certain large edge areas or specific shallow zones are likely to have quick successive catches.

In contrast, deep water areas are different; with deeper water, newly stocked fish typically don’t congregate in these zones, greatly affecting the surrounding density.

With this understanding, Zhang Yang didn’t rush to continue casting to lure fish, instead probing the closer locations that would normally be cast with a 3.6-meter rod.

The depth in the near area was around 2.23 meters or so, and after probing back and forth, the slope was slight, basically a gentle slope.

Since the 3.6-meter fishing spot was shallow enough, Zhang Yang was certainly not going to continue using the 4.5-meter rod to target deep water areas.

Zhang Yang decisively switched rods, changing to a 3.6-meter short rod with 12h hardness, while both neighbors used 4.5-meter long rods.

After switching to a short rod, Zhang Yang patiently began re-casting to create a nest, using lead skin cannons with each cast to build the nest below.

After several rounds of casting, the bobber began to show signs of activity.

Zhang Yang’s idea was simple: seize new fish in the shallow areas and switch to the long rod to fish in the deep area if the bites slow.

In total, the competition lasted four hours, which was much longer than the usual 90 minutes of mix-nurture four-type match schedules, giving Zhang Yang more time for on-the-spot adjustments.

After focusing for seven or eight rounds, the bobber started to show bites, and Zhang Yang decisively began using double hooks and baited them to catch fish.

Even though the south bank water was relatively deep, the water for the short rod was still relatively shallow, and some new fish would still gather here, quickly lured into the nest by the loose cannon and promptly caught by Zhang Yang.

The bobber flipped normally, descending steadily, then paused gently close to the bottom, and then boom—a big two-eye pause in the float!

Zhang Yang seized the moment, lifted the rod to hook the fish, and with his powerful arm, he quickly brought the fish up from the bottom with the ultra-strong waist power of the 12H hardness rod, flipping it to the surface.

The fish emerged from the water, his arm slightly increasing force, tracing a graceful arc through the air, landing smoothly into the net on his left hand.

Zhang Yang stepped lightly on the net handle with his left foot, lifting the net swiftly onto the mouth of the fish guard.

With his right hand holding the rod to maintain tension on the fishing line, his left hand found the hook handle in the fish’s mouth, pressing gently to remove the fish hook.

After tidying up the baseline, the two bait balls were secured, and with a tight clench of the lead sinker, he flicked a new cast right into the nest.

After finishing all this, his left hand quickly flipped the net head, smoothly placing the fish into the guard.

The operation of using a hard rod for flying captures had become second nature to Zhang Yang, a battle instinct that wouldn’t go wrong even with eyes closed.

A smooth series of actions, practically a template for flying carp, without a single detail of error.

In the following one hour or so, Zhang Yang was like a fishing machine without emotion, continuously capturing fish one after another with his net.

During the fish-grabbing phase, the bites were decent; even the floating bridge’s best fishing spots couldn’t match Zhang Yang’s efficiency in reeling in fish.

However, the good times didn’t last long. After an hour of continuous casting, Zhang Yang clearly felt the fish activity waning in the nest.

The number of fish dwindled, and even adjusting the fishing rhythm and increasing the feeding rate to attract fish didn’t yield significant effects.

Zhang Yang knew the fish in the surrounding shallow area were nearly depleted.

Time is precious, and if he delayed any longer, efficiency would take a major hit, so Zhang Yang decisively switched back to the 4.5-meter rod.

The target switched from new fish in the shallow area to old fish in the deep area.

After another round of focused lead-skin cannon fishing, Zhang Yang realized the dry loose state seemed ineffective for old fish.

So, he got up from his fishing spot, adjusting the dry loose bait to wet loose by splashing water on site.

Meanwhile, he increased the concentration of medicinal wine in the fishing box; the newly adjusted wet loose bait now exuded a strong herbal aroma.

After completing these, Zhang Yang focused on a series of lead-skin cannon bursts, setting up new nests in the direct front of his fishing spot, left and right, just waiting for the old fish to enter.