In this online society, there really are no secrets anymore. Within thirty seconds, the answer was found!

"Zhang Yang, this thing is called Huagu Fish! Look, I found a photo online. Apart from the color being slightly lighter, it's basically identical!"

Meng Fan enlarged the photo he found on his phone and showed it to everyone.

The lines, shape, and color are indeed very similar to the one in front of them; it can be pretty much confirmed.

"Huagu Fish, also known as Huajigou or Jigou Fish, is widely distributed in the Songhua River, Ussuri River, Jingpo Lake, and other waters. It's benthic and omnivorous..."

Meng Fan explained by reading the search result, quickly analyzing the rough details of this fish species.

"Hey, this is really odd! The Yellow River water is truly different, all sorts of strange fish species appear! This one weighs over a pound and looks quite fat, we'll cook it up later! Another dish to add!"

Zhang Yang mumbled a few words, then pulled out his phone to take a few pictures before putting the fish into the fish keeper.

This fish attracted the team's attention from when it was hooked until it was out of the water, occupying a few minutes. By the time everyone came back to their senses to resume fishing, the water surface had stabilized.

Zhang Yang quickly sorted out the fishing tackle and double-hook line, then replaced the red worm and cast it back into the water.

Five seconds later, the three people sitting in a row almost simultaneously lifted their rods and struck fish!

"Wow, this is going to be a streak, three people catching fish at the same time! That last bite was so nice!"

Han Qiang carefully bent the rod, his eyes sweeping past his companions on both sides who were also catching fish.

Three people, three big crucian carp, quickly came out of the water into the fish keeper.

These three fish almost simultaneously biting the hook formally announced the start of today's fiery fishing conditions.

Over the next period, six people seemed to be in a pond with a cannon-loaded 500-pound average, the bobbers entering the water, and the crucian carp were swarming for bait, movements intense and exaggerated.

Most were big crucian carp, even the smaller ones weighed mostly over half a pound, averaging nearly a pound in size. The dual hooks with red worms barely hit the bottom before getting bites, even in the early spring cold, the bites grew fast and even in succession.

"Boss, what's going on here? The water flow stopped, and suddenly there's continuous catches! Wow, here's another one!"

Wang Yan said while deftly lifting the rod, once again catching a large crucian carp.

"Yes, these fish bites are too excessive, could there be a fish group below?"

"First it was Yellow River carp, then Huagu Fish was hooked; maybe there really is a fish group!"

"Brothers, we're hitting the jackpot today, such big crucian carp, money can't even buy them! Now, over at Wen River, they're already considered rare species!"

Having such a streak of pound crucian carp right after thawing made even Zhang Yang's little heart flutter.

This morning, the expectation was to catch a dozen or so proper-sized crucian carp in a day, but now, in less than ten minutes after stopping the water pump, Zhang Yang already secured five big ones into the keeper.

"I guess the pumping affected it. Fish usually have the habit of swimming upstream against the current, and while just thawed water is cold, this habit hasn't changed much. Two hours of continuous pumping, and fish from elsewhere swam against the current to the sluice area!" Zhang Yang rationally speculated.

"We're making a fortune! Such dense bites, no need for small hooks and thin lines! Try changing to a 0.8 line, if they can eat it, just switch to a hard rod and Flying Copy!"

Wang Yan mumbled as he turned to get his leader line box, decisively pulling off the small hooks and fine leader on the swivel, then replacing them with the 0.8# leader used in summer and a seven-size gold sleeve hook.

0.8 main line, pulling 0.8 leader line, is essentially a mismatch—it's unscientific on principle.

But since the bottom is quite clean and without snagging, with cold water making fish less active, it could still work.

With these exploding fishing conditions, who has time to switch to bigger lines? Quick adjustment to scoop up more fish is more important. The competitive fishing mindset at this point played a decisive role.

Zhang Yang pursed his lips and glanced at Wang Yan, reminding him: "The sluice area is full of our brothers, there's no need to steal the line like that, aren't you afraid of catching a double duo that'll cut your big line?"

"Damn! Even if it cuts, I'll accept it! Lord, give me a double pound crucian carp lineup!" Wang Yan cheekily responded, flicking his wrist, casting the setup.

There's a saying about joy turning into sorrow, and Wang Yan is just the unlucky one now.

The flag just got raised, and less than ten seconds later, the bobber showed a clear downward move.

In these current temperature and water conditions, the bobber bite is relatively weak, plus Wang Yan switched to a 0.8 leader line and a larger sleeve hook, so the bite can be understood.

Wang Yan didn't think much, just lifted the rod and struck the fish. But the next second, it was a disaster!

Not knowing what the hook snagged underwater, just after lifting the rod, the fish darted to the opposite side at a speed twice as fast as the fish Zhang Yang hooked earlier.

Whizz! Snap!

Lifting the rod, hitting the fish, cutting the line, and losing the fish—all in one swift action!

Even worse for Wang Yan, the main line and leader were equally thick; his luck was terrible this time. The main line got cut at the knot at the rod tip, and the entire main line along with the hundred-plus-dollar bobber got pulled away by the fish.

"Damn it! The big line got cut, my 160 yuan bobber!" Wang Yan was filled with disbelief, whining in heartache.

"Hahaha, serves you right for mismatching the gear. You know what a goose sounds like?" Zhou Chu laughed heartily, couldn't resist pulling his leg.

Han Qiang beside him immediately made a perfect match, imitating a goose's honk: "Serves you right!"

"Hahaha!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

...

Wang Yan was the first to be martyred by the crab-like problem, but the thinking of promptly adjusting the line setup was correct. After some experimentation, Zhang Yang found that using 0.5 leader and six-size sleeve hook with live worms allowed him to see the bites more clearly. After adjusting, he concentrated fully on catching fish.

The pound-and-eight-ounce large crucian carp skimmed the surface, and paired with the net, efficiency was far from slow.

The fishing lasted from just past eleven, all the way to two-thirty in the afternoon when the bites gradually became sparse.

With promising fishing conditions, these guys hardly cared about lunch, putting aside the betting issue, not even mentioning the Yellow River carp Meng Fan caught.

Around three in the afternoon, the fishing conditions near the sluice point effectively halted. Liu Zi, who hadn't spoken much, suddenly had a rumbling belly like thunder.

Liu Zi clutched his stomach and looked up at the others, pitifully saying, "No more bites, Zhang Yang, shall we pack up and get something to eat? Meng Fan, back me up, I only had a bottle of Eight Treasures porridge this morning!"

"Damn! Liu Zi just reminded me, I'm hungry too! Shall we pack up? Today's been satisfying, let's find a place to eat!"

Meng Fan also rubbed his stomach; he wasn't in much better shape than Liu Zi, not having eaten a proper breakfast.

In comparison, the others were doing better thanks to the fiery buns Zhang Yang brought; hungry but far from unbearable.

Zhang Yang put down the rod and glanced at everyone: "Shall we pack up, then? The fish group at the sluice is probably scattered by now! How should we deal with the fish we caught?"

Previously rare over-pound large crucian carp today became insignificant supporting actors, every fish keeper holding at least a hundred and eighty pounds! How to handle them became a question.

"Giving them away or eating them ourselves won't use them all up, of course, we'll find a way to sell them! How about I get a friend to drive their pickup here, and we take them to the usual spot to sell? These proper-sized fish, Boss Zhang will definitely take them all!" Meng Fan suggested.

Wang Yan nodded in agreement: "Keep a few big ones, sell the rest! Not like we're not coming back tomorrow, as long as there's water pumping, we'll definitely catch fish tomorrow.

This spot's great, saves us from making a bait nest! In my opinion, tomorrow just do red worm paste bait, guaranteed streaks!"

"Then it's settled! Meng Fan, does your friend fish? Make sure they're tight-lipped, and bring a few storage boxes to prevent the fish from getting damaged!"

"Don't worry about me handling things, just wait!"

Meng Fan took out his phone to call his friend, while everyone packed up rods and gear, except the fish keeper, still in the water until more than half an hour later when an Isuzu pickup arrived.

The biggest storage boxes were brought, everyone lent a hand to lift the fish keepers one by one.

Good heavens, even Liu Zi who caught the least, managed over a hundred pounds; Zhang Yang, with the best spot and technique, evidently had at least 150 pounds of large crucian carp, almost like cannon-sized pond fishing.

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