The Top Fishing Master
Chapter 42 - 041: Night Fishing by the Stream

Chapter 42: Chapter 041: Night Fishing by the Stream

A meal lasted nearly two hours, and in the end, only a few men of the older generation were left in the house, drinking heavily, while everyone else had dispersed.

The great-aunt and her companion had just finished eating and had bid everyone farewell, promising to attend the wedding banquet before they left.

They lived quite far away, and it would take about two to three hours to drive back, including taking the highway.

Moreover, as they were leaving, the space in front of Uncle’s house was a bit tight, making it awkward to turn the car around, but the skilled driver great-aunt managed it.

As for the great-aunt, she wasn’t in a hurry to leave. From what she said, she planned to stay the night to spend more time with her father and their relatives. Hearing this news, cousin Yue’er excitedly dragged Lin Yang around the yard.

It had been some days since Lin Yang’s mother and the great-aunt had seen each other, so they also planned to return home later.

"Cousin, let’s go fishing! I brought all my gear this time, it’s in the trunk," Xiao Peng, the cousin, said as he came over.

Lin Yang thought about it, and since there was nothing else to do that evening and the bait supply was plentiful thanks to Old Lin’s efforts, he agreed.

He also decided not to ask Yue’er to edit that morning’s live broadcast.

Hearing that Lin Yang and another person were going fishing, cousin Xiao Han insisted on joining them, much like she used to behave when she was younger.

Finally, her mother dissuaded her with, "Young girls should stay at home properly, or I’ll deduct your allowance."

Uncle, who was supposed to entertain the guests at home, also got excited when he heard Lin Yang was going night fishing.

Luckily, most of the guests had already left, and those who remained were Lin Yang’s mother and the great-aunt, who were very close sisters, so he could sneak away to join them.

After the three of them had consulted, Uncle initially suggested they all go in the same car.

However, Lin Yang felt it would be simpler to go separately because the fishing spot wasn’t far, being right between his own home and Uncle’s. Thus, he decided to ride his electric scooter.

After fishing at night, he could ride straight home without having to make a return trip.

So, Lin Yang led the way on his electric scooter, with Uncle driving behind, carrying cousin Xiao Peng, as the three of them headed to Qingshui River for some nighttime fishing.

About ten minutes later, they arrived at a riverbank.

The river was not very large; the widest part of the river was about ten meters, while most of it was around 4-5 meters wide.

After getting out of their vehicles and grabbing their fishing gear, since both the cousin and Uncle were also regular fishers, their equipment was quite comprehensive.

Having grabbed their gear, Uncle Yang Xincheng sat down in the widest part of the river, a receding bend where the river took a sharp turn. Constant water erosion had made it the widest area along the river.

"Let’s fish here. There are more fish inside the bend. I’ve fished here a few times before and always had a good catch," he suggested.

"I’ll take a look first," Lin Yang said as he walked along, examining the fish situation.

Shining his flashlight into the river, he could clearly see how the fish were distributed, just as Uncle had described; plenty of fish had gathered in that spot.

However, because the area was wide, the fish were scattered and many were hiding in the weeds, making it difficult to fish.

Lin Yang carefully examined the area as he walked and soon found a promising fishing spot.

But it wasn’t at the river bend; instead, it was in a place with stronger currents.

The Crucian Carp in this area were generally bigger than those in the bend, and Carps also passed through this part.

Both Crucian Carp and Carps swim upstream; the bigger the Crucian Carp, the more it prefers to stay in areas with strong current.

The high flow of water meant ample nutrients, and food would rush down with the currents, eliminating the need for extensive foraging.

Moreover, in areas with strong currents, the fish were less cautious, and they would bite at food almost without hesitation.

However, due to the strong currents, fishing was also significantly more challenging.

"Xiao Peng, I’ll fish here. Do you want to go over to Uncle or stay with me?" Lin Yang set down his fishing gear and asked the cousin who was following him.

"I’ll stay with you," Li Xiaopeng decided after a glance.

On the other side, Yang Xincheng, who had already started preparing his fishing spot, didn’t say anything when he saw that the two weren’t joining him.

He had fished here several times, always catching a good number of small Crucian Carp. It was almost bewildering that they chose not to come over.

A while later, his previously prepared fishing spot began to show results, with a few Crucian Carp already gathering in the baited area.

With continuous casting, the atomized bait effectively created another baited spot. He felt confident that he would have a substantial catch that night, at least five or six kilos.

Having a catch like this during a night fishing session was quite good, especially since it was still early spring and the water temperature was low, which generally reduced the fishes’ feeding activity.

As an experienced angler, he could gauge the potential catch as soon as he cast his line.

Meanwhile, Lin Yang had also found a good spot and began adjusting his rod.

This time, he was using his cousin’s 4.5-meter rod with a 37-tune, which was very flexible; a gentle pull would form a large arc.

It could even form a full circle without any issue, and the tip would return to normal once released, showing that his cousin was indeed willing to invest in good fishing equipment.

For the line setup, he used a 1.0 main line with a 0.6 leader, and a size 4 gold-sleeve hook, capable of handling up to three or four kilos of grass carp without a problem.

Above the hook were two space beans, with a lead sheath seat in the middle wrapped with several rounds of lead sheet.

The fishing float was inserted into the float holder, with its position locked by two space beans above and below; adjusting the space beans would allow for changing the depth.

Lin Yang cast his bare hook into the water, and the night-light float lit up instantly with eight different colors of light, clearly showing the movements of the float at night.

After adjusting the float to show seven sections above water, as this was an area with strong currents, he raised the float slightly because the currents would push it down.

This didn’t affect Lin Yang much, though; his skills allowed him to easily discern the underwater behavior of the fish biting the hook.

Cousin Li Xiaopeng took the rod and made a cast, but the float quickly sank below the water surface due to the swift current. Frowning, he looked at Lin Yang and said, "Cousin, the current here is so fast, isn’t it difficult to fish?"

Although he had just started fishing not long ago, he still knew some basic aspects.

Lin Yang grabbed the fishing rod, baited the hook with a worm, and cast it into the water, laughing as he said, "Haha, you don’t understand, the fish are more abundant and easier to catch in fast currents."

Uncle Yang Xincheng, not far from them, overheard the conversation between the two cousins and said softly, "It’s true that there are plenty of fish in fast currents without needing to bait; however, fishing in strong currents is very challenging. The intense flow makes it hard to see the float...."

"Got one!"

Before he could finish his sentence, Lin Yang exclaimed softly and then lifted the rod to set the hook.

The 37-tuned fishing rod, highly flexible, bent significantly.

Whoosh!

The fish in the water thrashed violently, the loud sound of splashing water startling Yang Xincheng for a moment.

With his years of fishing experience, just by listening to the sound of the water, he could guess the weight of the fish, and he hastily said, "Get ready with the net, this is a Crucian Carp weighing over half a pound!"

"It’s not a Crucian Carp."

Lin Yang spoke as he already had the fishing net in hand.

"Not a Crucian Carp?" Yang Xincheng stood up abruptly.

Night fishing... not a Crucian Carp, and with such a loud splash... could it be??

He quickly put down his rod and ran over, only to see a Yellow Perch about twenty centimeters long that Lin Yang had pulled to the shore.

"Be careful with such a big Yellow Perch, it’d be a pity if it got away."

"A 37-tuned rod doesn’t have the capacity for flying fish, be careful, let me do the netting." As Yang Xincheng easily netted the Yellow Perch, he submerged the net into the water.

"Quack quack quack!!"

While unhooking, the Yellow Perch made a sound similar to a duck’s. It was Li Xiaopeng’s first close encounter with such a fish, and he couldn’t help but try to grab it with his hands.

Lin Yang quickly stopped him: "Be careful, the spines of a Yellow Perch are venomous, and getting pricked can be quite troublesome."

Li Xiaopeng: "Uncle, this Yellow Perch is really beautiful, it must be at least three ounces."

"About that, I’ve fished this river several times, and it’s rare to see such a big Yellow Perch. Xiao Yang, you’re really lucky."

Fishing relies not only on skill but also on luck.

Yang Xincheng, who had been fishing for many years, had frequented Qingshui River countless times, tried many fishing methods, but never caught such a big Yellow Perch.

It must be said, Lin Yang’s luck was unbeatable.

"We’ve got a treat this time!" Li Xiaopeng laughed on the side, "If we could get three or four more of such Yellow Perches, we’d have enough for a meal to take back."

Lin Yang jokingly scolded, "Three or four? You really have no ambition."

"Hahaha!!"

Yang Xincheng laughed heartily and helped Lin Yang secure the fish underwater, placing the Yellow Perch in the fish keeper.

At this point, he wouldn’t belittle Lin Yang; having never caught such a big Yellow Perch himself after many attempts, Lin Yang’s success in catching one was incredibly lucky.

Asking for more?

Fat chance!

Seeing Uncle’s unconvinced expression, Lin Yang laughed and said, "Hey Uncle, if I catch a few more later, how about you treat us to late-night snacks tonight?"

"As long as you can catch them, sure!" Yang Xincheng immediately agreed.

"That’s a deal," Lin Yang cast his rod into the water again.

Yang Xincheng watched for a while, noticing that Lin Yang’s float quickly submerged, he sighed and shook his head.

With such speed in the flowing water, pole fishing was impossible. With less lead on the small float, the moment it entered the water, the hook would likely be swept far away, making static fishing impossible, and the effect of baiting in fast currents was virtually nil.

After watching for a while and seeing that Lin Yang had not caught another fish, he decided to go back to his fishing.

But just as he was halfway there, he suddenly heard Li Xiaopeng’s excited voice: "He got another, Cousin caught another fish!"

Whoosh.

Again a huge splash sounded, Yang Xincheng wondered if he was hearing things—how could it be that shortly after pulling up a big fish, another one bites?

Forget his three years of fishing experience, even a fishing Master rarely encounters such a situation.

However, what followed shook his composure.

He only heard Li Xiaopeng excitedly shouting, "Damn, another big Yellow Perch like that! Cousin, your luck is truly unbeatable."

Yang Xincheng hurriedly ran back, grabbed the net, and upon seeing the Yellow Perch Lin Yang had pulled to the shore, he started questioning life.

"Damn, catching such big Yellow Perches back to back while fishing in the wild, Xiao Yang, how on earth is your luck so good?"

Lin Yang, carefully handling the fishing rod, somewhat boastfully said, "What luck? This is called skill."

"Stop joking...."

Yang Xincheng knew Lin Yang well; about a month ago, when he first took Lin Yang fishing, Lin Yang didn’t even know how to adjust the float.

Yet now, less than a month later, Lin Yang was already boasting about his skill in front of his teacher.