"Coming here at this time, planning for some night fishing?"
Hou Xiaojun lit a cigarette, turned his head to glance back, and with the corner of his eye caught Wang Jun and Zhang Yang standing behind him. He nodded slightly, treating it as a greeting.
"How do you think the fishing conditions are tonight? Worth casting?" Old Zhao continued to ask for useful information.
"Hard to say, but the fish aren't biting much today. Up until now, I might be the top at the sinkhole! In total, less than ten fish! So many anglers today and Boss Diao really got a handful!"
"How many have been stocked?" Wang Jun couldn't resist asking.
"Five big baskets of fish, weighing about 500 pounds or so! Xiao Liang helped stock them yesterday! They were fishing too, but no fish came up!
These fish are a bit large, over three and a half pounds, with high water temperature and low air pressure, they're slow to bite!"
"Fish aren't biting well, but you still caught five, that's something; your skills are improving!" Zhao Bingguang laughed, complimenting him.
"Lost almost as many as I caught, what's there to brag about skills! In terms of technique, I'm definitely no match for you, Old Zhao! Came at around five in the morning, took over Xiao Liang's spot from last night! By the time it was five-thirty, I figured it was doubtful they'd bite!"
It has to be said, though Hou Xiaojun is a bit petty, when it comes to discussing fishing conditions with Old Zhao, he remains fairly honest, at least not making up useless stuff, and still can share a lot of useful insights.
While Old Zhao was chatting with the others, Zhang Yang kept scanning the pond. The area of this sinkhole is at least four or five acres, with a few big willow trees near the southeast corner, and beneath the trees is a mobile prefab house.
Today's anglers all chose the south bank, where it's easier to watch the bobber. Fishing during the day, facing away from the sun, anglers are more comfortable especially with an umbrella.
But judging by the orientation of the fishing ground, the south bank is clearly not the best spot. By the shore, it's like a mirror, without a hint of wind.
While on the other side, near the north bank, the water surface is rippled by a light breeze. From an oxygenation perspective, the fish would be more comfortable over there!
Throughout the entire time, Zhang Yang didn't say a word, but he already had a preliminary assessment of the pond's overall condition.
After Old Zhao chatted with Hou Xiaojun for a while and finished a cigarette, the three of them moved to another spot, hung around a few more anglers, and gathered information that was basically similar, giving Zhang Yang a sense of assurance.
Once the three got into the car, Old Zhao squinted slightly and turned his head, asking, "Shall we head back to gear up and sneak a fish tonight? Not much fish seems to have been caught here yet!"
Wang Jun nodded, "The rods are in your car, I'm fine with whatever!"
Zhang Yang shook his head, "I don't think it's good tonight, if you really want to play, let's come early tomorrow morning?"
Zhang Yang said, "The fish are off the bottom, the one Hou Xiaojun lost was because it was hooked mid-water! Another angler named Sun also lost one, with the same bobber action as Hou Xiaojun! Baked all day in the sun, the bite won't be any better at night either!"
Hearing Zhang Yang's reasoning, Old Zhao, who was initially determined, hesitated again.
Going for night fishing to sneak some fish and taking over Hou Xiaojun's spot was tempting for Old Zhao, but if the fish are truly off the bottom, night fishing might not yield much.
"How do you know the fish are off the bottom?" Wang Jun asked, puzzled.
Zhang Yang grinned, "The bobber's movement is slanted downward, they were fishing rather low, just about one and a half eyes, maybe you guys didn't notice!
This kind of bite is mostly from line-jumping and tail-hooking! Even the high-tension line (Explanation①) was snapped if the hook was in the mouth, it shouldn't exert such a force!"
Seeing Zhang Yang's explanations backed by logic, Old Zhao nodded, "Then let's go back and get some rest early, and come sneak a fish in the morning! What about you, Little Zhang? Should I drive you here early tomorrow morning?"
Zhang Yang waved, "You guys try sneaking one in first, for the next session in the evening, I'll join in then!
The shop just opened, and I can't close in the busy morning session. Once the morning rush at the shop is over, by eight at the latest, I'll bring breakfast and look for you! I can use any of your rods for a bit!"
Old Zhao's idea of sneaking in a night fishing session was also considering Zhang Yang's tight schedule at the shop, especially since business is slower at night and closing for a fishing session has less of an impact. However, Zhang Yang had his own views.
"Alright, then we'll follow your plan! Do you still have any imported wastrel feed at the shop? Grab a pack when you go back; if we're paying to play rod pond, we can't use cheap bait, the fish here have been spoiled by these anglers, and they don't like inferior bait!"
"Let's go back first! Damn, it's so hot, the T-shirt is practically sticking to me!"
The three of them wandered around the Oil House Fishing Ground for a while, then drove back to Zhang Yang's shop, turned the fan to the highest setting, and gulped down several large cups of iced tea to beat the heat. They chatted idly until evening before leaving.
The following morning, Zhang Yang arrived at the shop bright and early before dawn to open up.
After serving a few waves of morning anglers, Zhang Yang checked the time, it was 7:40 AM. Zhang Yang went to the corner to buy breakfast for Old Zhao, locked the door, and cycled to the fishing ground.
After two sessions of sneaking in a fish over a day and night, noticeably fewer anglers showed up today. From afar, Zhang Yang saw Old Zhao sitting at the spot where Hou Xiaojun had fished yesterday, currently holding his rod with both hands, playing a fish!
"Hey Brother Zhao, how many have you caught? Let me help you net the fish!" Zhang Yang parked his bike, strode over, and grabbed the net, playing the part of Fisherman.
"You really called it! Not many fish were caught last night either, this morning, Little Wang and I came over, set the rod and baited the spot, got bites in less than an hour, this is the fourth one!"
After landing a few carps in a row, Old Zhao was visibly excited, the corner of his mouth holding his cigarette was starting to tremble.
The fish swam a few more circles underwater before slowly surfacing, Zhang Yang held the net in the water ahead, and Old Zhao, with a flex of his rod, brought the fish to the net.
Zhang Yang, quick on the draw, thrust the net out, scooped, and successfully netted the fish!
It was a decent size, at least four pounds, round and chubby, with flawless scales and great condition.
"Nice size and great condition!" Zhang Yang nodded approvingly.
"Paying to fish and hitting the Wen River for wild fishing, that's a heck of a difference, really satisfying! Here, take the rod, there's still activity at the spot, you should be able to get a few more!" Old Zhao unhooked the fish, placed it in the fish basket, then handed the rod to Zhang Yang.
Having been away from the rod for a while, Zhang Yang's eagerness was hard to contain. Without any pretense, he took the rod and sat on the fishing box.
"See that smokestack far off on the other side? Cast toward the smokestack, the spot's directly ahead!" Old Zhao pointed to the location of the baited spot.
Zhang Yang skillfully pinched a glob of neither black nor green bait from the food box, hooked it, and with a slight raise of his arm, steadily cast the rig into the water.
With just a glance, Zhang Yang could tell the bait was the imported wastrel kind, but the way Old Zhao had prepared it left zero texture, completely kneaded into a solid lump.
Clearly, the granules of the imported wastrel were overly mashed during preparation, what a waste!
Explanation ① Dali Ma line: A fishing hook line tied with the Dali Ma fish line. Dali Ma was originally a brand for braided fishing lines, later becoming a generic term for all nylon braided lines. These lines have strong tensile strength but absorb water and swell, unsuitable for standard pole fishing, but valued by many amateur anglers for their durability.