Back to the Past to Become a Fishing King-Chapter 582 - 334: Second Round

Regarding the technique of fishing above the bottom with a fixed layer, I've briefly touched upon it in previous sections.

This method might sound mysterious, but when you break it down, it's not that complicated.

Fishing above the bottom with a fixed layer can be understood quite literally from its name.

"Above the bottom" indicates fishing at a position higher than the bottom, and "fixed layer" means the water depth is fixed during fishing.

To sum it up, it's controlling the bait at a certain water layer for fishing that is above the bottom.

Crucian carp belong to the mid-to-lower water layer species, typically moving in deeper water near the bottom, but if the fish density is high, they might chase bait to a higher position.

In such fish conditions, there's still a distance before the fish chase the bait to the surface, but the fish layer is considerably higher than pure bottom fishing. Thus, the fishing method of fixed layer above the bottom came into being.

Before this fishing contest began, Zhang Yang already had a very clear prediction of the fish conditions, though in front of Liu Wenjun, he prepared bait meant for midwater fishing, but significantly increased the water ratio. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Increasing the water ratio was one thing, but Zhang Yang also made specific adjustments in the baiting technique.

When pinching the bait at the hook shank area with his fingertips, he applied extra strength to ensure the bait with light bran could still fairly stably reach a water layer about 60 to 70 centimeters above the bottom.

If this trick were against someone like Liu Wenjun, an experienced veteran, it would likely be seen through in just a few casts, making it hard to achieve the desired effect.

But against someone inexperienced like Liu Jun, he didn't notice at all!

Seeing this, some might wonder again.

Both are casting frequently to create a fishing ground, so even if Liu Jun was fooled, is there no risk? Once the fishing spot is established, the bait is already in the water, what substantial impact could it have?

The answer is yes, there is an impact, and the impact is significant!

Why would one say that? In midwater fishing, the focus is on high atomization and high frequency. In normal operations, the bait will quickly disperse upon entering the water, forming a visible cloud trail from the surface down. Fish around the area are attracted by the bait's atomization effect and will be drawn in as long as they feed naturally.

The advantage is the large range but it also has a notable downside.

With the same bait, as the range increases, the concentration of natural bait diffusion around decreases.

Zhang Yang fished at the fixed layer, with the ground's bait mainly breaking down and atomizing at a position around 70 to 80 centimeters above the bottom. In the area above this water layer, the bait consumption is minimal.

This results in the bait in the spot being relatively concentrated, and the fish attracted are also notably concentrated into the fish layer.

In contrast, Liu Jun, who focused entirely on midwater casting, had atomization throughout the entire water layer early on, making it difficult to control the fish at a specific position.

In situations where aggressive fish might rush to feed, this could have a slight advantage, but for a second round competition right after a short fishing session, this method doesn't align well with the actual fish conditions.

Zhang Yang stayed focused and did not grab a single bite in the first fifteen minutes, continuously managing his fishing spot.

Not until the fifteen-minute mark did Zhang Yang adjust the bait, using two baited hooks, and started regular fishing to grab fish.

Why choose this fifteen-minute point? Experienced anglers actually have some insight into this timing.

How so? Simply put, in a standard hourly single match, starting fifteen minutes is the point where medium to slow-paced fish conditions begin to stabilize and continuously catch fish.

Before fifteen minutes, the fish in the spot are not gathered enough, and bites may be unstable.

After fifteen minutes, the condition of the fish spot becomes clearer, and adjustments in fishing techniques can be made with relatively complete information.

However, not all fishing methods and conditions follow this fifteen-minute rule; midwater casting is a typical exception.

For fishing above the bottom with a fixed layer, fifteen minutes is enough to attract a certain number of fish to the spot, but for midwater fishing, this amount of time is not sufficient.

In riskier midwater fishing, many anglers spend even half or two-thirds of the time attracting fish, using the other half or one-third for fishing. As long as the fish conditions match well, unexpected results can still be achieved.

This is Zhang Yang's clever strategy; making a fishing method adjustment at the fifteen-minute mark has virtually no negative impact on Zhang Yang.

But for Liu Jun next to him, it's a dilemma.

Continue? The fish conditions are not favorable. Persisting in midwater fishing is a dead end.

Give up? The bait thrown before has been diluted and spread by the upper water layers, and no significant bottom spot has been established. A drastic change might yield marginally better results than midwater casting, but aiming for results is basically out of the question.

To sum up Zhang Yang's clever manipulation, he used his understanding of human weaknesses combined with a deep comprehension of fish conditions to set a trap for Liu Jun, guiding him step by step into making wrong decisions and losing the chance to achieve results.

...

After changing to double hook bait, the first cast's bobber just turned over near Zhang Yang's preset fishing sight and provided a clear signal of interest, but Zhang Yang intentionally ignored a vague nibble. Soon, the bobber gave a clear and beautiful decisive bite, and he hooked the fish!

The first fish was bagged, and although Zhang Yang was calm inside, he deliberately mumbled.

"Damn! Finally got a bite!"

After saying this, Zhang Yang unhooked the fish and bagged it in front of Liu Jun, then baited again and cast his line into the fishing spot.