The Top Fishing
Chapter 358 - 184: End of the First Half_4

Chapter 358: Chapter 184: End of the First Half_4

It’s now time for the competitors to take a break, where they have an hour to rest. During this period, they can replenish their fishing spots but are not allowed to fish, and simultaneously, officials will tally up their performance over the past three hours.

Thanks to the dominance of Yellowtail, Master Zeng, positioned at number 4, unquestionably claimed the championship lead for the first three hours.

In the first three hours, he caught a total of 133 fish, with the combined weight reaching nearly 400 pounds. Of these, 129 were Yellowtail, and only 4 Crucian Carp that had mixed in with the Yellowtail were also brought up by him. The advantage was unmistakable.

Ranked second was Master Li Damao at station 3, who remained quiet until the last hour of the competition when he started to exert his strength. His successful baiting of Catfish allowed him to catch several large ones, with the total catch weighing around 320 pounds.

Ranked third was Liu Changgan at station 2, and closely following in fourth was Master Deng who had caught up later. Their catches also weighed between 280 to 300 pounds.

Wang Feng, who initially had a good start with his catch, ended up ranked eighth in terms of the weight of his catch in the first half of the competition, which was already quite remarkable. In fact, his ranking could have been higher, if not for several particularly large Catfish that showed up in his spot. These big Catfish tended to disrupt the spot significantly when caught, leading to wasted time and requiring great technical skill; one misstep could result in a snapped line or a broken rod.

After the first half of the competition, this temporary ranking surprised many people.

All one could say was that this was a battle of titans, the very charm of fishing in the wild; you really never know what fish you might catch next, nor can you predict your luck.

Competitors could only choose their starting fishing spots based on their experience; the rest was up to their skills.

It’s worth mentioning that their choice of fishing spots at the start was not set in stone. There were 54 spots available, and besides the ones already occupied, competitors could switch to any of the vacant ones at any time; it just required taking the time to travel and to rebait the spot.

In this hour for eating, drinking, and resting, Lin Yang and the others also had about 40 minutes to eat and rest before returning to the hosting platform.

With just over ten minutes left before the start of the afternoon session, the three hosts on the platform naturally couldn’t stay quiet, and with the competition yet to begin, Xia Xiaoxue started discussing the current situation with the two guest hosts.

"What do you think the afternoon competition will be like? Will there be significant changes in fish activity for the competitors? Will the current ranking hold steady or..."

She may have been speaking casually, perhaps to fill time for the audience, but Lin Yang took her question somewhat seriously and said,

"I think there could be major changes for Master Zeng in the first place in the afternoon competition. Although he’s currently leading, the Yellowtail that were supposed to leave have left and those to be caught have been caught. After his spot was ravaged by Yellowtail, his yield will be dismal this afternoon. Without a new strategy, it will be challenging for him to continue his morning performance."

Hearing his words, everyone in the live stream reacted.

"Yes, anyone who has fished knows how Yellowtail can severely damage a fishing spot. It’s been three hours; the Yellowtail school probably has dispersed and been nearly fished out. Master Zeng Dapen will likely not fare well this afternoon."

"I believe the championship will definitely go to Master Deng."

"Come on, Master Liu Changgan..."

As the time reached two o’clock in the afternoon, the second half of the competition was about to start, and the live stream’s chat gradually picked up again.

And when the competition resumed, the previously ferocious bite Master Zeng Dapen experienced in the morning, just as Lin Yang had said, was almost over. He had replenished a considerable amount of bait during the rest period, but the outlook was still not optimistic.

The hazard Yellowtail posed to the fishing spots was too great; most fish tended to avoid areas they had ravaged. From two o’clock until three, Master Zeng Dapen managed to catch only two fish, a Carp weighing about 5 pounds and a Crucian Carp weighing around 3 ounces.

However, he was not worried because, based on his knowledge, the first day’s top catch in the championship usually weighed around 500 pounds, and he already had more than 400 pounds. Maintaining the lead was still within his hopes.

Other top-ranked competitors also did not start overtaking as furiously as many viewers had expected. Due to the afternoon heat, the bite was generally worse than in the morning, and they were merely narrowing the gap with the leader bit by bit.

On the other side, Wang Feng continued to fish steadily, casting and catching one by one. It was evident that he was quicker at playing fish than in the morning.

By three o’clock in the afternoon, Wang Feng had already caught four fish. While that number might not seem high, the four he caught were not just any fish, but Catfish—the largest weighing over 17 pounds and even the smallest at 8 pounds. In an hour, he had added nearly 50 pounds to his catch, which was the fastest growth in weight among the competitors.

As time progressed, the competition rhythmically moved forward.

Finally, after another three hours, it was five in the afternoon, with only one hour left in today’s competition. Master Zeng Dapen was still in first place, although the gap between him and the second place was now just about 10 to 20 pounds.