Chapter 966: Old Ginger Is Spicier
"Hello, Teacher Wang! Indeed, I'm the first to make a move! Before coming up, the captain reminded me not to engage in idle chatter during the competition, fearing that it might affect my judgment and performance!
So, let's just focus on the competition and not pay attention to each other. From now on, prepare on your own, and whoever talks is a puppy!"
Wang Zhen was very polite, and his words were calm, but the last sentence about being a puppy left Wang Zhiqiang a bit stunned, rendering his prepared words useless.
"You rascal…"
Wang Zhiqiang pondered for a long time but couldn't think of anything to respond with, so he could only shake his head helplessly and start preparing for the match.
Offstage, seeing Wang Zhiqiang's frustrated expression after being thwarted by Wang Zhen, Yue Feng's group couldn't help but laugh out loud again.
"Haha, although Wang Zhen usually talks a lot, he knows what to say at critical moments, shutting the other side up with one sentence! Not bad!
Xue Kai, did you hear what was said just now? If a similar situation arises, you can use this little tactic. It's humble, doesn't lose face, and is quite effective!"
Xue Kai: "Got it, learned it!"
All the anglers were skilled and quickly completed the preparations. Wang Zhen was still a bit nervous and, after getting into position, felt his float wasn't calibrated right, casting the empty hook a few times to adjust the float and precisely find the bottom.
Just then, an unexpected turn occurred: although nothing was attached to the empty hook, a fish unexpectedly bit when the rod was pulled up.
This made Wang Zhiqiang immediately raise his hand to call the referee, and staff quickly gathered around.
According to the rules, bait is not allowed in the water before the competition. Violations could result in penalties, or severe cases could lead to disqualification.
Having a fish bite while finding the bottom with lead skin isn't common in competition ponds, and soon the referee was gathered around.
However, Wang Zhen was very lucky. The lead skin was tightly pinched and still on the hook. After examining the hook when the fish was caught, they verified that it indeed had lead skin for bottom finding, and judged it as a competition accident. The catch didn't count, and no punishment was meted out.
Seeing this, Yue Feng pointed to the stage for Xue Kai: "See that, Xue Kai? A top-level angler never misses an opportunity to put pressure on the opponent. Do you understand why Wang Zhiqiang called the referee?
A fish bit while finding the bottom. If it were you, what would you do now?"
Xue Kai responded: "Take a deep breath, adjust my physical state to calm my nerves, and continue fishing as usual!"
Yue Feng smiled and shook his head: "Look at what Wang Zhiqiang is doing."
Xue Kai looked up and noticed that Wang Zhiqiang was changing his fishing rod. The rod he was going to use as the main one was swapped out, and he took out a backup rod.
After a few glances, Xue Kai suddenly clapped his forehead: "Got it. Having fish bite the lead skin while adjusting the float might indicate a strong feeding desire and high density. Based on this, Wang Zhiqiang switched to a more suitable rod or backup fishing tackle!"
Yue Feng nodded: "Yes, we don't know when Wang Zhen will catch on!
Actually, especially in this kind of PK match, the competition starts as soon as you arrive at the fishing ground. Gathering information and disturbing the opponent's mindset are parts of the competition.
Although the referee deemed the fish biting the lead skin as an accident, it still provided valuable insights into the fish situation. Grasping this small detail can also be advantageous!"
Xue Kai nodded: "Wang Zhen is still too nervous, possibly realizing after a few more casts!"
Just as everyone thought Wang Zhen would only realize this after starting to fish, his actions surprised them all.
He didn't change to a backup rod but sneakily took out scissors, snipped off the unused number five sleeve line, and replaced it with a number seven hook! Then patiently recalibrated the float's target and fishing target.
"Alright, this guy is smart. The rods we use internally have much stronger torsion and hardness compared to market products. Not changing to a tougher rod doesn't delay a quicker fish scenario! From this point of view, Wang Zhen's response is more reliable than the neighboring one!"
Yue Feng nodded repeatedly with a smile, while continuing to share his thoughts with Xue Kai.
After this little twist, the competition soon began. With the referee's signal, the lead players of the eight clubs simultaneously cast their rods into the water.
On Wang Zhen's side, at the start of the first cast, he aggressively packed two big triangular loose powders and directly cast them into the eight-point rod position in front. As the bait entered the water and the float turned, not even reaching the bottom yet, Wang Zhen's rod tip trembled, and he quickly lifted the rod to re-bait and cast again.
A very straightforward and efficient initial method of adding bait to the spot, delivering the initial bait to the point as quickly as possible.
After five consecutive casts, Wang Zhen pinched a loose powder on the top hook and baited a small piece on the bottom hook, casting tentatively to the edge of the spot.
Wow, the fish situation was extremely restless; just as the float turned, the second line was swaying, and there were two consecutive downward movements.
Lifting the rod and striking the fish, the first catch were two large crucian carps about three ounces each!
Double catch!
The fish situation was very restless. While the two- or three-ounce crucian carps biting number seven hooks was a bit forced, the crisp and clean bites formed a double catch, indicating there's a fair density of fish underwater.
Seeing this, Wang Zhen firmed his lower arm, slightly exerted force from the lower back, and the two fish flew right to the mouth of the fish guard. With a flip from the left hand over to the needle stopper, the two fish were neatly put into the fish guard.
After unhooking and putting them in, Wang Zhen naturally made the judgment, horizontalized the rod, and pulled the position of the float down by 30 centimeters.
With such a fish situation, fishing at the bottom would be a waste. Fishing 30 centimeters off the bottom is a most common tactic.
After the adjustment, he continued with one loose powder and one piece of bait, casting directly into the target spot.
It's a textbook example of adaptability and adjustment, but after watching, Yue Feng, Zhao Zheng, and Zhao Ran all shook their heads in unison.
"What's up, Brother Feng? Isn't Wang Zhen's adaptation right? Why are you all shaking your heads?" Xue Kai was puzzled and felt that the situation had already touched on depths he didn't understand.
Yue Feng said: "If this were targeting a specific fish, this adaptation would be fine, but this is a big mixed-breed fish competition!"
His words awoke the sleeping, and Xue Kai immediately realized.
Yes, this is a big mixed-breed fish weight competition! Making an adjustment based on the first cast's double catch of crucian carps was somewhat biased!
While speaking, on the side, Wang Zhiqiang stably caught a signal fishing at the bottom and, after a few rounds of controlling the fish, brought up a carp over a pound.
On one side were two fresh crucian carps weighing over half a pound together, on the other was a carp over a pound. Ignoring the other conditions in the spot, just looking at the current catch, Wang Zhen's fishing strategy led to a significant setback the moment fishing started.
"Old ginger is spicier. Wang Zhen's reaction has reached a competent level, but it's still somewhat rigidly formulaic. It's just a matter of when he'll come to his senses! Xue Kai, let me test you again. How would you adjust if it were you now?"