The Top Fishing
Chapter 88 - 088: Azure Dragon Reservoir

Chapter 88: Chapter 088: Azure Dragon Reservoir

The next morning, Yang Xincheng came by car again to pick up Lin Yang and head to Dongyang Fishing Ground for some Black Pond Fishing.

However, after that day, Lin Yang didn’t go there for a while.

For one thing, Black Pond Fishing was indeed a bit boring; even though you could constantly catch fish and earn points, Lin Yang preferred wild fishing, which allowed him to unlock more varieties of aquatic life.

That noon, in the fishing group chat for the guys, several people were chatting and shooting the breeze when Wang Bo suddenly announced some explosive news.

Wang Bo, "Attention all fishing gods! Hot off the press: Qinglong Lake Reservoir is gearing up to open up!"

Tai, "Qinglong Lake? No way?"

Yang Xincheng, "Is the news reliable?"

Li Xiaopeng, "Where’s Qinglong Lake? I’ve never been there before."

Lin Yang, "Where did you get this news from? Is it credible?"

Qinglong Lake is the upper stream of several major rivers such as Qingshui River and Chishui River in Jiangdong City. According to government plans, it should be classified as a five-star drinking water source. The drinking water for most of the people in Jiangdong City comes from there.

In Lin Yang’s memory, Qinglong Lake hadn’t opened its floodgates in over ten years.

Wang Bo, "It’s true! I heard through the grapevine that due to this year’s flood control measures for two dragons, there may be disasters such as floods, so they’re releasing water in advance to reduce reservoir capacity and increase load capacity."

"The release of water will definitely cause big fish to run out, so the water authorities discussed with the reservoir management and decided to open the reservoir, taking advantage of the pre-rainy season to make some money!"

"What I heard is that it opens on the 15th, charging 200 yuan for 24 hours. What do you say, brothers? Shall we go and have fun for a few days?"

Tai, "Yeah, why wouldn’t we? Such a great opportunity, a reservoir that hasn’t been fished in over a decade, and it’s only 200 yuan? If we’re lucky and catch some big ones, it’ll be amazing."

"But the water temperature is still quite low right now, not sure if we’ll have the chance to encounter big fish."

Yang Xincheng, "Let’s go! Who cares about big fish, just the Big Plate Crucian Carp the size of shoe soles is rare enough!"

"Last year, I knew a guy who somehow got in through connections and sneaked in to fish. He told me that half-pound Crucian Carps were considered small there, and it was quite common to see ones over a pound."

"Anyway, the reservoir has a high fish stocking density, and it’s not wild resources that need our protection. It’s quite a treat to catch some and share with relatives and friends!"

Seeing the excited exchange of messages from the past few days, Lin Yang was getting restless. Who could stand this?

"Yes, I must go! There’s one more day to prepare. What do I need to bring? I’ll get ready in advance."

A timely pillow for a sleepyhead — he had gotten tired of Black Pond Fishing the past few days and was worried about not finding a good wild fishing spot. He couldn’t miss this opportunity.

Wang Bo, "Bring bait, feed, red worms, line rigs, consumables. Let’s start moving early this time, bring tents and supplies. If the fish are biting well, we could stay a couple of extra days!"

Upon seeing the mention of tents, Lin Yang felt a bit troubled. He typed, "I have all the fishing bait and stuff, but I really don’t have a tent... and it’s too late to order one online now."

Wang Bo, "Hahaha, no worries if you don’t have a tent, we do! When we used to do outdoor stuff, we had a full set of gear ready. Master Lin, you only need to take care of the fishing gear, leave the rest to us!"

"Alright."

Lin Yang readily agreed without any hesitation.

After that, everyone in the group chat started to confirm who would be going.

After some discussion, only Wang Bo and Tai from Wang Bo’s side would go; another friend didn’t have the time.

Wang Feng also mentioned he couldn’t make it since he was out of town and couldn’t get back in time, so he would miss out on this wild reservoir fishing trip.

Yang Xincheng and Li Xiaopeng both planned to go. They couldn’t miss such a rare event that came once every decade or so.

With five people agreeing on plans, they all began to enter the preparation phase.

Lin Yang didn’t have much to prepare. Despite being young, Wang Bo had a wealth of wild fishing experience. Instead of fumbling around aimlessly, Wang Bo had prepared a checklist for this trip.

Sorting out what they needed for the fishing trip, it became much easier to prepare when everyone followed the list.

The stuff Lin Yang had to prepare wasn’t really complicated and fell within his area of expertise.

For example: enough feed for at least 5 days, wine-soaked rice for targeting big fish, various consumables for leader and mainlines, as well as potential backup fishing equipment.

By late afternoon, Lin Yang had finished preparing his part, all that remained was the red worm bait which didn’t last long. He planned to buy them on the way to minimize storage time and maximize their liveliness.

Resolving to go fishing at the reservoir, Lin Yang then began to arrange work for the next few days at home.

Initially, his elderly parents were a bit worried when they heard he would be spending several nights outside, but eventually, he managed to persuade them.

Then there was the matter of coordinating work arrangements with Yue’er. They would stay in touch on WeChat, and since she was handling most of the work by herself during this period, there shouldn’t be any issues.

After dinner that evening, Lin Yang planned to rest early to be ready for the trip to Qinglong Lake Reservoir the next day.

Just as he was about to lie down, he received a voice message from Wang Bo on WeChat.

"Hello, Brother Bo?"

"Master Lin, plans have changed! Pack your clothes, daily necessities, and all your fishing gear—we’re setting off tonight. We’ll meet up in Qingyang Town later!"

"Hmm, what happened?"

"Tai used his connections to find a local who can get us into the reservoir area ahead of time. Tomorrow’s the first day the reservoir opens, and there’s bound to be plenty of others who’ve received the same news. We need to get ahead of them!"

"Alright, I’ve already got most of my stuff ready. I’ll drive straight to Dongyang Town to meet up with you later."

Lin Yang hung up the phone.

He was about to call Yang Xincheng and Li Xiaopeng to ask if they were going tonight when he saw they had messaged in the group, saying they couldn’t make it tonight and would only arrive tomorrow morning.

It seemed they too had received the notice, but couldn’t leave early tonight.

However, wanting to secure a good spot for tomorrow, Lin Yang decided to set off with Wang Bo and the others tonight.

First, he let his parents know, then packed several sets of clothes, various fishing equipment, and even his drone, hastily loading everything into the car.

Upon reaching Qingyang Town, he went on a shopping spree, buying not just food and drinks but also towels, toothbrushes, tableware, and such, spending over a thousand yuan.

With the car’s back seat almost unable to accommodate all the items, he was fortunate that his vehicle had been modified to have a large trunk, enough to stow all his fishing tackle.

After finishing his shopping, Lin Yang arrived in Qingyang Town ahead of the others.

Once they agreed on a meeting spot, about ten minutes later, a white van parked beside Lin Yang’s car.

He had never seen this van before and thought it might be a passerby, but then Wang Bo hopped out from the driver’s side.

"What’s this? We’re taking this van?" Lin Yang was full of question marks.

"Qinglong Lake isn’t too far, and the roads are decent. The van is more convenient, and it can carry more stuff!"

"How much stuff could there be? Just some gear and a few tents, right?" Lin Yang hadn’t finished speaking when Wang Bo opened the back of the van.

Lin Yang glanced inside out of habit, his mouth agape, feeling overwhelmed.

He had expected to see just a few pieces of fishing gear and other supplies in the empty space, but the van was like a treasure trove.

At the very back, there were two homemade welding racks on each side, holding numerous smaller pieces of equipment. The items got bigger toward the front: large marching tents, a diesel generator, camping stoves, burners, gas canisters—in short, anything he could think of for outdoor living was there.

Lin Yang exclaimed, "Wow, Brother Bo, you’re really professional, bringing so much stuff!"

Wang Bo, with a cigarette in his mouth, smiled, "Of course, if you’re going to do it, do it right. I haven’t had much time for this in the last year or two, but we used to have a dedicated outdoor group, traveled far and wide on trips. I’m not bragging, but when it comes to outdoor survival, I’ve got skills."

Lin Yang gave a thumbs up: "Impressive."

"Let’s go, no need to wait any longer. Tai is already waiting for us at Qinglong Lake."

Lin Yang nodded, both men got into their vehicles and headed straight for Qinglong Lake.

Qinglong Lake is in the mountains, not far from the provincial road, and very accessible. Surrounded by winding green hills, it gets its name from resembling an Azure Dragon.

Maybe it was because their expectations were high, but the journey felt incredibly slow. After driving for about an hour and a half, they finally reached their destination, the outer edges of Qinglong Lake Reservoir.

"Where are we entering from? All the road entrances seem to be manned by reservoir staff." After parking, Lin Yang communicated with Wang Bo using their phones.

"Let me ask!"

Wang Bo immediately called Tai.

Shortly after, Tai arrived in his own Tank 300, steering past their cars and pulling up in front.

"Follow my car closely!"

Tai called out and drove right at the intersection in front, not entering the reservoir, but proceeding straight into a village along the east bank of the reservoir.

Lin Yang and Wang Bo followed closely behind in their cars. Just when they thought they might be lost after several turns, Tai stopped ahead.

There was a man in his 50s standing by the road, presumably a local.

The man boarded Tai’s vehicle, and with a local guide, the rest was simple.

They continued southward out of the village. After circumventing a large parcel of basic farmland, the vehicles turned into an access path that led into the reservoir area.

This passageway was technically provided for the convenience of locals living outside the reservoir area, allowing them to travel to the town without having to detour around the other side, saving them a lot of distance.

The elderly man in Tai’s car was related to the staff on duty at this entrance. After a brief greeting, without even sharing a cigarette, they were waved through.

Once inside the reservoir, the view opened up dramatically!

The three cars drove along River Road within the reservoir for a while before finding a spot that was very suitable for fishing.

It was close to a large nursery garden built within the reservoir area. The garden was surrounded by pointed iron railings, and inside were various kinds of planted trees.