7: Start fishing

After thinking for a while, Zhang Jun's casting motion came to mind.

He felt he had grasped the essence. Starting again, he turned sideways and cast the rod.

The series of movements flowed smoothly, very elegant.

Still some line tangles!

"Hmm, the distance is further than the first time, and there are fewer tangled lines. Progress! Again!" Yang Qi muttered to himself.

He quickly untangled the fishing line and reeled in the minnow.

He continued to cast and continued to untangle the line.

He repeated this several times.

The old man next to him couldn't watch anymore. He walked over to Yang Qi and said, "Young man, let me help you adjust your fishing rod!"

"You must be a beginner, young man. It's hard to get the power right when you first start casting."

"Adjust the brake a bit higher, it's easier to apply force. When casting, while using your arm, also pay attention to using your waist."

The old man handed the fishing rod back to Yang Qi and added, "Just practice more! Practice makes perfect!"

"Thank you, sir! I really am just starting to fish. I'll practice more over here!"

Yang Qi took the fishing rod, turned sideways, looked forward, and cast the rod according to the old man's instructions!

"Whoosh~"

The minnow landed in the water about thirty meters away.

He looked down and saw no tangled line!

"Not bad!" Yang Qi thought happily, marveling at his excellent comprehension skills.

While slowly reeling in the line, he subconsciously looked back at the old man.

Seeing the old man's 'fatherly' smile, Yang Qi also smiled and nodded in acknowledgment.

He slowly reeled in the minnow.

Cast again, retrieve again.

"Fish or no fish, it's not important. Everything else is secondary now; the main goal is to practice casting technique."

He continued to practice like this for about ten more casts, and his movements became smoother and smoother. There were almost no tangles; the one time it did tangle, it was very slight, practically negligible.

The distance also reached about 35 meters. Once, it even went beyond 40 meters.

"This cast was pretty good!" Feeling the smooth line release, Yang Qi saw the minnow land about 45 meters away in his vision. Five Sea Bass were chasing food nearby.

Yang Qi stared intently at the fish, shaking the rod while slowly reeling in the line.

The red-headed, white-bodied minnow had a very alluring swimming posture in the water.

One of the Sea Bass saw a small fish in front of it that didn't immediately flee but swam leisurely before its eyes.

Feeling its predator status challenged, it accelerated, caught up to the small fish, and swallowed it in one gulp.

Yang Qi clearly felt the fishing line suddenly jerk and knew a fish had bitten the hook.

He immediately lifted his hand and raised the rod to set the hook.

"Got one!"

Immediately, the rod tip formed a large bow.

"Hahaha, I caught a fish already!" Yang Qi was very excited and forgot all about fighting the fish or washing its gills.

He tightly gripped the fishing rod with one hand and frantically cranked the reel handle with the other.

Great strength works wonders! Just do it!

His hand speed, honed over twenty-plus years of being single, was no joke. In a short while, the fish was forcefully reeled in.

Sure enough, it was a Sea Bass, about three catties. He used pliers to remove the hook, placed it in the livewell, added some seawater, and turned on the aerator pump.

"Hehehe, a three-catty fish should be worth seventy or eighty yuan, right?" he thought to himself.

"Keep making money!"

He stood up and saw that the remaining two fish were still circling nearby.

He composed himself, cast the rod with force, and threw it near them again.

He slowly reeled in the line, and sure enough, the minnow's alluring swimming posture this time attracted the attention of several fish.

Several fish rushed towards the small fish, vying for it. His hand immediately felt a tug, and he quickly raised his hand to set the hook.

"Got another one!"

He saw several fish darting in all directions, with only the largest one struggling in place.

But it was futile. Under Yang Qi's single-for-twenty-years hand speed, frantically reeling in the line, all struggles and resistance were in vain!

It was still simply and roughly dragged ashore!

"About four catties!"

He controlled the fish, removed the hook, and tossed it into the livewell, all in one smooth motion.

Then he turned sideways, cast the rod, and reeled in.

He must have startled the school of fish earlier; the remaining fish were gone, probably out of the range of his ability.

No big deal!

No fish? Just practice casting!

Again, he turned sideways, cast the rod, and reeled in!

No bite!

Cast again, reel in, got one!

He pulled it up and saw it was a Black Sea Bream, about a pound and a half, not bad.

"Quick, into the box!"

"I've found a school of Black Sea Bream, time to make some money!"

After a busy period, he caught six or seven Black Sea Bream of various sizes, and three more Sea Bass.

"The fish in the ocean are truly fierce. As long as they see a small fish near their mouth, they will bite the hook furiously without hesitation!" Yang Qi couldn't help but exclaim.

"Whether they bite or not completely depends on whether their mouth is big enough. As long as their mouth is big enough to swallow the hook, it's a single gulp!"

In other words, as long as he could find the fish school and cast the hook near the fish's mouth, fishing would become effortless.

His ability allowed him to find fish schools, and by practicing his casting technique, he could accurately deliver the bait near the fish's mouths.

"I want to be an ocean delivery person; I want to accurately deliver bait to the mouths of every customer!"

Yang Qi felt he was embarking on a promising path, and the thought alone made him happy!

After catching seven or eight Black Sea Bream, the school of fish disappeared again.

Yang Qi then tirelessly resumed his mode of practicing casting technique while searching for fish!

After more than an hour of continuous effort, although each subsequent cast wasn't perfectly precise, it was generally spot-on.

Finally, he felt a bit tired. He put down his fishing rod and sat beside the livewell, looking at his catch inside the box.

His heart was filled with pride and a touch of emotion: "Indeed, lure fishing is the way to go!"

At this moment, Yang Qi felt his back was completely drenched in sweat, and his throat felt like it was smoking. He quickly pulled out a bottle of mineral water.

His trembling hands almost couldn't twist open the cap. He drank half the bottle in one gulp, and his throat only slightly improved.

He thought to himself: "My body is still a bit weak. I need to exercise more in the future. Otherwise, what if I encounter a big fish and can't reel it in? I'd have to slap my thigh!"

Little did he know that the old man next door, who had been observing the situation the whole time, was sighing to himself:

"Young people certainly have good stamina! He's been casting for two hours straight!"

"But this young man isn't playing fair! In over an hour, I've only caught one small fish. But he's been catching fish continuously, already about ten of them. And most are over a catty! Two are even over three catties! Are these fish blind?"

"This kid's beginner's luck is too overpowered! Speaking of which, my beginner's luck wasn't this ridiculous back then!"

The old man grumbled as he came over to look at the catch.

"Young man, you say you're a beginner, but I'm starting to doubt it! You've caught so many fish in such a short time. It's almost as much as I've caught all day!" the old man boasted.

Yang Qi replied gleefully, "Hehehe! Luck! It's all luck!"