The Top Fishing
Chapter 419 - 203: Expert Sea Angler _3

Chapter 419: Chapter 203: Expert Sea Angler _3

Just now, Lin Yang adjusted the posture of the bait fish, which subtly aligned with this principle, allowing the fish to briefly speed up and then return to lay still at the bottom, as if a slightly sick fish realized the presence of a predator and tensed up.

About six or seven seconds later, he teased the fishing rod again, this time with less force, making the metal bait dart forward underwater.

The next second, Lin Yang teased the tip of the rod again, accelerating the darting motion once more.

This time, the Grouper underwater couldn’t hold back any longer, it swiftly swung its tail and surged upward, gulping the tail end of the lure into its mouth.

Lin Yang just felt the rod tip dip, he lifted the rod to set the hook, and he had a fish on.

Through the force from underwater, Lin Yang judged that this fish wasn’t big, probably around two to three pounds, he briefly controlled it for a few seconds, then slightly adjusted the force to easily pull the fish up.

"The first one."

Lin Yang held the rod with both hands and gave a slight upwards nod, pulling up a Grouper about three pounds that was greyish-brown onto the boat.

Bending over to unhook the fish, he specifically glanced at where the bait was hooked, noticing that the treble hooks on the lure’s tail were hanging near the gill flap on the outside of the fish’s mouth.

Seeing this, he slightly frowned.

Compared to the fish, the lure Lin Yang used was a tad too big, during the attack, it hadn’t been swallowed in the right position, allowing the hook a chance to snag the gill flap, which luckily didn’t allow the fish to escape.

After removing the hook, he took pliers from his waist without hesitation, and promptly cut off the once-used metal bait, quickly replacing it with another of the same luminous color but one size smaller.

Ah Bin didn’t notice the unhooking, but when he saw Lin Yang using the leader line to tie on the new lure, he slightly squinted his eyes.

The technique was too skilled; it felt like he could do it blindfolded. The knotting method was also the most classic one, Lin Yang had it retied in a blink, showing a high level of proficiency.

After replacing the metal bait, Lin Yang cast the lure back into the water, but this time he consciously shifted about two meters away from the previous spot where the fish was caught.

Even in rich resources, it’s rare to have Grouper appearing close together like that. Just this slight movement of position could greatly increase the likelihood of catching another, and many less experienced anglers might keep fishing at one spot, gaining some catch at first but then significantly decreasing their chances.

With the experience from the first fish, Lin Yang felt more confident when he cast for the second time.

The instant the lure touched the bottom, he lightly lifted the rod tip to avoid snagging, teased it a few times and noticed a slightly uncomfortable feeling transmitted from a slight touch after tapping the ground.

Underwater was a patch of coral, and the hooks got snagged a moment ago when lifting the rod, indicating that the terrain was relatively complicated below, likely leading to loss of the lure, hence Lin Yang decisively reeled in the line to move the bait away from that area.

After adjusting the fishing environment, it felt right, and he went back to his old trick of adjusting the lure’s posture, enticing the potential predators to strike.

A higher fish density underwater was a boon for an angler, offering more biting opportunities and a greater competitive pressure among the fish due to possible food shortage.

This significantly increased the likelihood that the target fish would strike the bait.

Indeed, less than a minute after changing spots, the second Grouper was hooked.

Thanks to the lure adjustments, this second fish was hooked in the mouth, roughly the same size as the first.

Less than three minutes from start, the temporary score was 2:0.

Seeing Lin Yang hook another fish unsettled Ah Bin.

The two of them were not more than ten meters apart, one on the east side of the boat and the other near the bow, and though Ah Bin’s position was slightly better by a whisker, he was quickly falling behind Lin Yang.

Here he stood with the rod still, finally having a long-awaited bite.

Ah Bin regained his composure and quickly pulled the fish up.

A very beautiful tiger spot Grouper almost swallowed all three hooks down its throat, indicating that his timing in lifting the rod had been a bit off.

While the two were intensely competing, Wang Feng and others weren’t interfering or fishing, but were watching with interest.

Lin Yang’s fishing, when he appeared lax, didn’t seem spectacular, but when he got serious, it transformed him and gave off a different vibe, from the targeted selection of equipment at the beginning to changing the lure after catching the first fish, all indirectly showcased his profound understanding of fishing details.

"Tsk tsk, brother Lin Yang, you really keep your skills under wraps. I never saw you this sharp in fishing before. What’s this, you also play the ’act dumb to catch the wise’ trick?" Wang Feng couldn’t help teasing.

Lin Yang, while continuing to tease the lure with his line, responded with a chuckle, "Brother Feng, what are you talking about? I’m nowhere near a real sea fishing master."

"Ah, you’re just too humble."

After watching Lin Yang for a while, Wang Feng seriously warned the challenging Ah Bin, "Brother Bin, you might lose."

Ah Bin was still reeling in his line, but his face no longer held the relaxed expression he had at the start of fishing, and said with a bit of dejection, "I’m afraid your judgment might actually become reality. I thought I knew the Grouper in this water well, but now it seems brother Lin Yang is the one who truly understands. Still, since it’s a competition, I naturally can’t give up halfway. Who knows, I might catch up. It’s just a difference of two fish, I still have a chance."