Starting from the next cast, Zhang Yang replaced the double-hook Triangle Cannon used for gathering fish with an upper-hook Triangle Cannon and a lower-hook soft sticky bait.
Normal casting, start fetching fish!
After such a long period of gathering fish, the fishing spot was already teeming with fish bubbles, and the first cast after changing the bait attracted a textbook hungry carp bite.
The bait sunk twice consecutively with powerful tugs, as if the fish were afraid the bait would be snatched away by their companions.
Familiar with the previous fish, Zhang Yang's slight awkwardness vanished completely, and with swift movements, he hooked the fish, effortlessly brought it to the surface, and smoothly went through a series of standard techniques to retrieve the fish and remove the hook.
It had been more than forty minutes since the fishing began; today started early, and it's not yet dark.
Zhang Yang's consecutive catches quickly caught the attention of anglers on the opposite bank!
Others were using 5.4-meter long rods and hadn't seen bites, except for a few lucky enough to catch one or two fish.
But for Zhang Yang, he started on a high note, skipping the slow phase and catching fish in quick succession with five fish already in the keep net, every cast with a bite.
Short rod + smooth fish retrieval + explosive succession put Zhang Yang ahead among many anglers, instantly making him the most eye-catching fellow by the pit.
"Look quickly, anyone know that young man across there? He's sitting on the unused north bank and started catching fish in succession!"
"He's using such a short rod? 3.6 meters? Wow, how can a short rod catch fish? What's going on here? Anyone knows!"
"Don't know him, unfamiliar face, I was at the previous few competitions, never saw this guy!"
"I know him! He's Zhang Yang, the owner of Mingyang Fishing Equipment!
In spring, we fished for crucian carp at the Southeast Embankment of Wen River, where he sold bait grains and provided lunch to everyone. He's a nice person!
Didn't expect him to be so skilled at wild crucian fishing and also unerring with black pit carp!"
"Zhang Yang? Rings a bell, the guy who delivered boxed lunches by the river! This fellow has opened a fishing gear shop? I was away recently, just got back, didn't know!"
"Where is his shop? I'll check it out later! This guy caught fish so quickly, could he have a secret bait?"
"Just behind Government Street in the town, I'll take you there later!"
At least fourteen or fifteen people on the opposite bank, of whom only Hou Xiaojun and Liu Shulin knew Zhang Yang; the others didn't know him.
Liu Shulin's introduction at least made the unfamiliar anglers remember the names Zhang Yang and Mingyang Fishing Equipment, which alone made Zhang Yang's trip worthwhile.
Looking at Zhang Yang now, after pulling out eight fish from the spot, the bait could finally sink properly!
Zhang Yang knew there were still fish there, but once the double-hook can sink normally, it means the fish density has decreased significantly. At this juncture, he couldn't continue blindly pulling out fish.
Thus, Zhang Yang decisively restrained the pleasure of consecutive catches, adjusted his fishing rhythm, switched back to the bigger Triangle Cannon with double hooks, and continued gathering fish!
"Zhang Yang! No bites now? Why the sudden stop after consecutive catches?" Zhao Bingguang asked curiously beside him.
Zhang Yang shook his head: "There are bites, I'm intentionally not fishing! If I keep fishing, the spot will go empty!"
"The spot empty? What do you mean? Aren't there bites still? If it's empty, lure them again, what's the problem?"
Zhang Yang smiled and explained: "Of course it matters! A single fish lacks a sense of security, but once they form a group, they can eat confidently, even fight for food!
Their feeding action can be sensed by their companions! So luring fish with bait is far slower than luring fish through fish group activity!
If the spot's fished empty, it's like eating the seeds early, without seeds, what will you use to harvest later?"
"Wow, your theory is novel, never heard of this reasoning before!
I also switched to a short rod, damn, the long rod only caught one fish so far!" Zhao Bingguang pursed his lips, feeling a bit regretful.
"Switching to a short rod now? Too late! You should continue with the long rod!
The fish group has gathered over here; unless you scare them away with a slingshot, being as close as you are, it's hard to keep the fish!
With a long rod farther away, you might catch a few more!"
Zhang Yang gestured dismissively, preliminarily sentencing old Zhao's fishing situation today!
This left Zhao Bingguang frustrated! He hesitated to switch earlier on his own attempt, resulting in an inevitable fizzle!
Zhang Yang, having changed back to Triangle Cannon, patiently threw another dozen or so scattered bait into the spot, slowly seeing increased movement there again.
Soon, a near-bottom bite appeared but the float wasn't very stable, Zhang Yang released the bite, letting the scattered bait core disperse without swallow.
This bite indicated to Zhang Yang that the fish numbers in the spot increased again, and he could grasp another wave of fish!
Hence, the prior sequence of consecutive catches repeated once more!
Zhang Yang relied on precise control over fish dynamics at the spot, firmly managing the rhythm of alluring and catching fish, until it became too dark to see the float clearly.
From starting at around six-ten, until dark, over twenty fish were already in Zhang Yang's net!
In many fishing arenas, anglers have switched to bright electronic floats, but Zhang Yang did not.
He calmly removed his daily float from the fishing set, casually attached a small glow stick to the float tail and bit inside the powder to release.
This is a common wild fishing glow stick, 2.2mm diameter, with fluorescent stuff, after biting it releases a green glow.
In twilight, it's a bit blurry; once complete darkness falls, it becomes clearer.
The electronic night float's sensitivity is too low, Zhang Yang rarely uses it for fishing, regardless of the venue, he always prefers this glow bean for night fishing.
By observing the float's position relative to the water's surface, he determines fish bites; many new anglers may not be used to it, but for Zhang Yang, he knows what each movement means, without any hindrance.
After switching to a glow stick, Zhang Yang initiated another round of gathering fish.
At this point, the south bank began to see fish bites and catches too, slightly lessening Zhang Yang's distinctness among the anglers.
Beside him, Zhao Bingguang also caught a fish with his long rod, quickly turning on his headlamp, standing up early to net fish, and after a few rounds of playing, successfully netted the fish!
After removing the hook and putting the fish into the net, old Zhao loaded bait again, reeled and then realized something seemed off!
Zhang Yang had caught several fish, why hadn't he turned on a headlamp?
With confusion, Zhao Bingguang observed Zhang Yang, watched for a while, and was startled by Zhang Yang's impressive maneuver!