81: Chapter 81 Catching the Fish 81: Chapter 81 Catching the Fish For a fisherman, a bite is a command.
Hearing the call, Yue Feng scrambled up from his fishing chair and ran toward the fishing spot with his legs churning.
From a distance, Yue Feng could see that Wei Liang had already set up the rod.
The fish underwater was pulling strongly, making the 7.2-meter rod buzz, suggesting it could break at any moment.
“What fish is it, Liangzi?” Liu Fengnian already asked before Yue Feng could open his mouth.
“I can’t really tell, I was using corn for bottom fishing!
I was distracted for a moment, and suddenly the float plunged down!” Wang Liang held the rod firmly in both hands, his breathing rough with excitement.
“By the sound of it, I’d say there’s an eight or nine out of ten chance it’s a carp!” Liu Fengnian guessed based on the technique and bait.
“Hard to say, but the pull is really strong!
It’s not a small fish!”
“Tie on the slip knot!
Don’t wait for it to bolt downstream!” Liu Fengnian reminded with experienced foresight.
The fish underwater had impressive stamina and thrashed back and forth for a good fifteen minutes before it exhausted itself and surfaced.
However, upon seeing what kind of fish it was, Yue Feng and Liu Fengnian, standing next to him, exchanged glances and almost burst out laughing.
The fish hooked was not a carp at all, but a grass carp weighing over ten pounds!
In the local area, grass carp is commonly referred to as “bighead” fish, a common type of freshwater aquaculture fish and one of the traditional four major domestic fishes—so named for its rapid growth, frequent surface activity, easy capture, and relatively high economic value, all of which have led to its widespread cultivation in reservoirs and lakes.
They had done some research before coming and knew that the reservoir was rich in fish species with conventional fishing mainly targeting grass carp.
In late autumn, some larger Silver Carp could also be caught.
Other species were generally not targeted.
Thanks to their relationship with Qiangzi’s family, there were no issues with whatever kind of fish they caught in the reservoir, but the grass and bighead carps were farmed by the locals.
The reason why Yue Feng almost laughed was that this fish, once out of water, died easily and didn’t taste very good, so before coming, everyone agreed not to fish for grass carps.
But who would have thought that using corn to bait and as groundbait could still hook a grass carp?
The density must have been quite high.
“It’s just a bighead, unhook and release it, they die easily once out of the water!” Liu Fengnian lost some interest after seeing the catch.
“Damn, it’s kind of weird!
Corn beans properly hooking a bighead carp!” After scooping up the fish, Wei Liang unhooked it and promptly tossed it back into the water.
Liu Fengnian said, “It looks like the density of bighead carp in this reservoir is quite high, so let’s avoid using any groundbait that scatters, otherwise we’ll draw a crowd of them to our spot, and we won’t be able to fish properly!”
“Fish hardly bite around noontime anyway!
If it doesn’t work out, let’s rest in the shade, being under the sun isn’t doing us any good!
We’ll wait for the evening, the fish activity should be better and we can even fish at night,” Yue Feng suggested.
“No way, we’ve come a long way not to sleep.
That’s not how we do things.
You go back and rest, I’ll call you if I get any bites!” Wei Liang shook his head, changed the bait, and cast his rod out again.
Are you going to stay and fish too, Liu, or shall we go rest in the shade for a while and then fish later in the afternoon and evening?”
“I’ll watch for a bit longer, then head back,” Liu Fengnian said, having the same idea as Yue Feng but not in a rush to go and rest.
“Fine, you keep an eye out, I’m heading back!” Yue Feng turned to leave, but before he had taken two steps, Ma Boqiang, not far away, struck another fish.
Ma Boqiang’s tackle was rather heavy, with a size 5 mainline, 3.5 leader, and a size 10 Ishiyama hook.
The force with which he struck was so strong that it even produced a piercing whine!
“Damn, what a strong pull!” Ma Boqiang’s fish was going crazy underwater, darting around frantically.
The rod was barely standing up when it was suddenly yanked down again, almost going horizontal.
Perhaps many people don’t quite understand what horizontal means, so let me briefly explain.
Taiwan Fishing rods used in hand fishing are generally telescopic, and the rod bends into a certain curve when a fish is hooked, with larger forces causing greater bends.
However, the majority of stiff rods cannot bend indefinitely, and bending too much beyond their capacity can cause damage.
Horizontal rod refers to when the fish’s pull is so strong that it bends the rod completely parallel to the ground.
In this state, the rod’s action doesn’t help in buffering and relieving the force, and most of the fish’s power acts directly on the line, which can easily lead to a snapped line or lost hook.
“Qiangzi, let go of the rod, release your grip!” Liu Fengnian shouted another warning, and the highly tense Ma Boqiang nearly reflexively let go upon hearing it.
Once released, the rod was dragged through the water by the fish, shooting out like an arrow, until it finally slowed down dozens of meters away.
“This fish definitely isn’t a silver carp or bighead carp; nine times out of ten, it’s a Grass Carp!” Liu Fengnian said excitedly as he ran towards Qiangzi’s fishing spot.
With the rod in the water, no one was worried, for Qiangzi had a fifty-meter slip knot attached!
“It’s got a strong pull, definitely a clean bite, got old jar corn on the hook, took two nibbles without a sound, and then the float went straight under!” Ma Boqiang said enthusiastically.
“Can you handle it yourself or not?
If not, give me the rod!”
First get the rod and reel the fish in!” Qiangzi jumped down from the fishing platform naturally, making room for Liu Fengnian.
Liu Fengnian stepped up to the platform, grabbing the slip knot and started pulling it in.
After its initial burst, the fish had calmed down a lot, and as the slip knot was reeled in, Liu Fengnian was able to get a hold of the rod’s handle.
Feeling the force of the fish underwater for a moment, Liu Fengnian didn’t rashly straighten the rod, fearing the fish’s power might disturb the fishing spot.
How to play the fish without straightening the rod?
The answer is with the slip knot!
Liu Fengnian adeptly followed the tactical guideline of retreating when the enemy advances, advancing when the enemy retreats, and causing confusion when the enemy tires; letting out line when the fish powers on and reeling it back when it eased up.
After several such exchanges, the fish’s energy was greatly diminished, and finally, he safely straightened the rod.
“This fish has a strong fight, but it doesn’t seem very big!” Having not yet seen the fish, Liu Fengnian judged based on his experience.
“Nonsense, this fish isn’t small at all, I could barely hold onto the rod just now!” Ma Boqiang disagreed with Old Liu’s assessment.
Once we play the fish up, we’ll see!”
A few minutes later, the fish finally surfaced.
A Grass Carp, indeed not very big, probably about five or six pounds at most.
“Damn, such a small fish and it’s this strong?” Ma Boqiang found it hard to accept the outcome, having estimated the fish to be no less than ten pounds!
“The fish in the reservoir move around a lot, they’re firmer and much stronger!
Besides, the water here is over three and a half meters deep.
It’s normal for them to be strong!” said Liu Fengnian nonchalantly.
Soon, the fish was pulled close and landed with a net.