Fishing Livestream

Five minutes later, the referee blew the whistle to start the competition; the first match of the second stage had officially begun!

Zhao Zheng started fishing by casually rolling two freshly wrapped soft sticky bait balls on the hook, flicked his wrist, and cast the first rod.

Compared to that, Ming Xiaodong was a bit aggressive, not knowing the afternoon's fish situation. His first rod was a large triangle of loose powder to create a bait nest.

At this level of competition, every detail is crucial. When Zhao Zheng cast his rod, he didn't even look at his float but kept an eye on Ming Xiaodong's actions.

Seeing that the opponent immediately threw a bait nest, Zhao Zheng smirked slightly and casually played with the tip of his rod. He quickly lifted the rod and changed the bait when the float showed no sign.

With his left hand grasping the main line's lead skin, he switched hands to hold the line with his right hand while pinching the ragworm with his left fingertips, splitting it instantly in half. After quickly hooking it, he cast the rod into the water again.

Someone might wonder why Zhao Zheng didn't make a nest right away. Was there some consideration, or had the fish situation changed?

You're right! If it were on the morning of the second day, Zhao Zheng would be all about creating nests for sure, but it's now past two o'clock in the afternoon, the temperature is high, and the fish had already been repeatedly caught and released in two matches earlier.

Uncertain about the fish situation, Zhao Zheng opted to test the fish's mouth with ragworm, a more stable plan. If there weren't many fish biting, creating too many bait nests could be counterproductive and defeat the purpose.

Beyond this consideration, Zhao Zheng was engaged in deeper strategic gameplay, betting that Ming Xiaodong, careful inside though bold outside, was also paying attention to Zhao Zheng's actions.

The soft bait's palatability is certainly better; it will catch fish quicker than loose powder—no doubt. Zhao Zheng initially planned to manipulate the first few fish, hoping to mislead Ming Xiaodong into errors, guaranteeing victory in today's fishing.

Although Zhao Zheng didn't know Ming Xiaodong well, his initial intuition was sharp and accurate. Ming Xiaodong indeed stealthily observed Zhao Zheng's every move.

The first five rods had no reaction, but Zhao Zheng's float started showing movement on the sixth when the ragworm hit the water.

The float slightly lifted and then gently pulled down, moving about half a point.

Anglers unfamiliar with the float might think small fish are disturbing the hook, but Zhao Zheng knew that, after several rods, fish had gathered in the small nest!

Patiently waiting for the float to reach the bottom, he teased the rod tip a bit without any further bites. Zhao Zheng lifted the rod again, wrapping two ragworms barely the size of soybeans on the hook.

"Hesitating to eat? Try this smaller one!"

After this adjustment, the result quickly showed, the float gently rose a line, then gave a clear half-point pause.

Rod lifting, fish hooked, got it!

The first catch was Zhao Zheng's target fish, a work carp weighing nearly a pound!

Seeing Zhao Zheng catch fish, Ming Xiaodong instinctively glanced over.

At this point, Zhao Zheng played a trick, glanced at the hook's position in the fish's mouth, then naturally turned to grab scissors, casually clipping the line, and pulled out another set from the box.

The entire process of changing the line looked smooth and natural, with Ming Xiaodong watching intently, quietly strategizing.

Thick line leads to poor mouth, switching to thin line? Ming Xiaodong subconsciously made this judgment.

What he didn't know was that Zhao Zheng was misleading him. The first fish was caught with a 0.8 line, and the one replaced was still 0.8, without any difference. Spending this time switching lines was merely to mislead him!

With the first fish caught, Zhao Zheng had a preliminary judgment about the fish situation; the fish bites were cautious, with bait balls being too large for them.

In this case, the meaning of bait nests was limited, and only a moderate amount was necessary, but certainly, a heavy investment in moist powder nests was inappropriate.

In the following few rods, Zhao Zheng deliberately made wide movements by casting moist powder, but he intentionally cast wide of the target, then switched to small baits to fish the point directly ahead.

Zhao Zheng maintained a good rhythm fishing in this slow fish situation. Soon, the float caught another action.

Puff, a half-point pause, another caught fish!

"Changing to thin line really worked! What luck!"

Zhao Zheng seemed to mutter unconsciously, realizing he'd said it out loud, he paused, reflexively glancing at Ming Xiaodong, coincidentally meeting Ming Xiaodong's gaze looking back.

Ming Xiaodong had already created more than ten rods of nests, seeing the neighbor catch consecutive fish, switching lines and muttering, was mentally affected.

Doubtfully, he rolled a normal-sized ragworm ball and cast into the nest, staring firmly at the float.

Yet the float showed no signs, seeming completely inactive.

At this point, if luck was good, any random fish showing up would have wasted all Zhao Zheng's preceding misleading efforts, but buildup in early rods would definitely impact the fishing. Ming Xiaodong wasn't so lucky; as the bait scattered and settled, he didn't see any feedback from fish signals.

This left Ming Xiaodong pondering, was the 0.6 line too thin? Should he switch to 0.4?

Just as he hesitated, Zhao Zheng next door caught another fish! With two different initial fishing strategies, the score was temporarily 3:0.

Now Ming Xiaodong couldn't hold back, quickly lifted the rod, snipped the line with scissors, and switched to a 0.4 thin line.

Off stage, Yue Feng watched the situation unfold from start to finish. Seeing Ming Xiaodong switch lines, Yue Feng smiled and turned to Wang Zhen beside him.

"Wang Zhen, did you notice anything?"

Wang Zhen scratched his head, "Normal match, normal fish catch? We're leading 3:0, but I feel there's something off with Brother Zheng's fishing!"

"Oh? What's wrong? Tell me."

"Look, Brother Zheng started with small bait fishing right from the first rod, without considering nesting. Won't this get more empty as it goes, won't he suffer for it later?

Also, when the first fish was caught, he changed the line right after, without cutting it, why switch? In his box, the line is all 0.8#, judging from the hook's position, he didn't switch to anything thinner right?"

Yue Feng's mouth slightly curled, saying, "Remember how I taught you and Xiaomin last time? In a duel between experts, the difference in fishing skills is already minimal. To defeat the opponent, you must use your brains! Based on this idea, think again, why did your Brother Zheng act this way?"

After Yue Feng's hint, Wang Zhen exchanged a glance with Xue Kai, hesitated slightly, and uncertainly said, "Is Brother Zheng digging a pit for the opponent?"

Hearing the word "digging a pit" from Wang Zhen's mouth, Yue Feng grinned, appreciating that this group of participants was finally getting the knack.