Having prepared the natural bait, the three boats continued together, quickly arriving at the first designated waypoint of the fish observation platform.
On their way, they also took the opportunity to start the live broadcast and briefly introduced today’s job task.
After shutting off the engine and stopping the boat, Lin Yang began to instruct two students to place the first fishing apparatus into the water.
A box about the size of a milk crate opened to reveal a sea-blue plastic product, small and compact in appearance.
On one side at the bottom, there were two wires nearly as thick as chopsticks, the forefront of which was made of multiple strands of alloy wire woven together, heat-melt bonded to the semi-transparent wires.
Following the instructions, Lin Yang opened a clasp and took out two giant fishhooks designed for use.
These two matching fishhooks, each bigger than a child’s palm, looked somewhat exaggerated.
"These are the hooks we use for catching big fish, almost as big as a woman’s palm. Don’t think they’re too large. Facing targets that might weigh over a hundred pounds or even more, only hooks this sturdy can withstand the impact of the big fish. Now let’s hook these fishhooks onto these two metal wires."
Lin Yang held the fishhook in mid-air to show his live audience, then proceeded with a hardcore hook-tying tutorial.
Like a sea fishing hook, this large hook had a loop at the handle. He carefully threaded the metal wire through the loop at the handle, then used the traditional sea fishing hook’s tying method to secure the hook, tightening the wire end with pliers.
"How weird, why are you using metal wire at the connection? And such thick lines, what’s the breaking strength?"
"I’m curious too, such huge hooks with barbs, if you accidentally hook it onto your buttocks...."
"Brother above, I advise you to be kind. I’ve been hooked by a number nine Ishiyaki before, and that piercing thrill, I still vividly remember it to this day."
Lin Yang glanced through the barrage of comments and said with a smile, "Using this kind of multi-strand alloy-woven wire actually has different purposes. One is to prevent biting; some large predatory fish have very sharp teeth, and while nylon lines are strong in tensile strength, they can be bitten through."
The second purpose is better fatigue resistance to repeated bending. As long as you use proper binding methods combined with a nylon fishing line, you can maximize the strength of the entire fishing assembly.
Everyone should know, after a big fish is hooked, it’s impossible to exhaust its strength in a short time and pull it to shore. During the struggle, there will be repeated collisions, similar to bending a wire with our hands non-stop. Once the fatigue value is high, the wire will break, but this alloy-woven wire has better bending resistance."
While speaking, he finished tying the second hook in the same manner, finally tightening it with pliers, concluding the hook-tying process.
"The upcoming scene might be a bit inhumane, but for the success of our catch, we have to do it. If you’re young, or have a fear of blood or similar psychological frailties, you can choose cartoon mode. The following images might make you uncomfortable...."
After repeating the warning twice, Lin Yang put on a pair of gloves and grabbed a live black fish that had been caught not long ago from the bucket.
The black fish, weighing about 4 pounds, writhed non-stop when grasped behind the gill cover, but couldn’t break free.
Lin Yang slightly bent down, took out a medium-sized pair of scissors from the tool bag on the boat, and clipped off the black fish’s dorsal fin, tail fin, and pelvic fin.
Especially at the dorsal fin, which had a bony structure, thin wisps of blood dripped out after cutting it completely.
From start to finish, Lin Yang handled the entire process with crisp efficiency. Calmly dealing with the fish, he then quickly picked up one of the hooks he had tied.
Holding the large hook, he decisively hooked it into the fleshy middle part of the black fish’s back, where the meat was thickest. This did not harm the fish’s internal organs, ensuring the bait stayed alive for a short period, while also greatly reducing the black fish’s swimming ability.
Feeling the pain, the black fish struggled non-stop, but with the large hook attached to its body, there was nothing it could do.
Witnessing this scene, many viewers felt it was somewhat cruel.
"Damn, this... Host, your action is a bit extreme."
"Who was talking about getting a big hook on their butt earlier? Damn, now my back feels a bit chilly."
"What is this operation, directly using live bait for big fish? I’ve seen people use mudfish to catch Mi Qiao, but using a black fish weighing three or four pounds as bait, isn’t that a bit too domineering?"
"I’ve been fishing for three years, and the biggest fish I’ve caught isn’t as big as Master Lin’s bait, it’s disheartening."
After hooking the first bait, Lin Yang tossed it into the water, then repeated the process, taking out a second fish to treat and hook.
With two fish in the water, he explained, "In this area of Dongting Lake, due to geographical and human conservation factors, the fish resources are abundant. Big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat shrimp. When there is plenty of food at the bottom, naturally, there will be more big fish. We are using live black fish as bait with this consideration in mind. If there are big fish within a certain range, there may be a chance to hook one.
Now that both fish are hooked, the next step is to adjust the depth of the bait underwater, which can be set freely using a large reel next to the fishing device."
Lin Yang opened the cover of the reel and pressed the drag release switch, pulling the fishing line bit by bit to adjust its length to different depths.
Setting the depth of the water layer also requires certain considerations; with two fish and two hooks, he set them at three meters and ten meters depth respectively, covering the middle and upper layers of the water.