"We already ate in the city, so don't worry about that! We came up the mountain for the reservoir, show us around!

We'll talk about food and drinks tonight, if all goes well, we'll stay on the mountain for two days!"

As it turned out, once on the mountain, Cheng couldn't resist the temptation to fish, so he skipped the pleasantries with his old comrades.

"Alright! Did you bring your rods? There's fishing gear by the terrace too. I like to hang out there when I have free time," Yan casually asked.

"What are you saying? With this hobby of mine, not bringing fishing rods is like going to battle without a gun, I'm not making such a basic mistake!

Lead the way. Didn't you always say the reservoir fish are hard to catch? Let me give it a try and see if it's truly hard or just a bluff!"

As for Cheng's fishing skills, it's a story for another time, but with Zhang Yang by his side, Cheng was full of confidence. He hadn't even seen the reservoir yet but was already making bold claims.

"Unload your gear from the car and put it on the electric tricycle, the path is narrow, driving is inconvenient!!"

"Got it!"

Before long, Zhang Yang, Cheng, and Xiao Hui had all their gear unloaded from the car and stacked onto the electric tricycle. Yan drove, while the others walked behind, heading towards the reservoir on the west side of the mountain top.

It wasn't far, about three or four hundred meters. A regular hilltop had a terrain similar to a mountain gorge.

At first glance, the vegetation on the opposite mountain was lush and green, blending into one, so it was normal not to see the reservoir right away after getting off.

Following behind Yan, Zhang Yang looked around this mountain reservoir as they walked.

Visually estimated, the reservoir covered over thirty acres, with a narrow north-south orientation.

The spot where Zhang Yang and the others stood was roughly in the middle of the east bank, and looking south, there were no signs of human construction.

However, at the northernmost end of the reservoir, there was a wooden terrace, and underneath it, near the northwest corner, the reservoir dam was built from large stones.

"Wow! You kept saying it was a small reservoir, but it's not that small!" Cheng said in pleasant surprise after seeing the water.

Yan smiled and explained, "It's about thirty-five or thirty-six acres! There used to be a trench to the north, and the water storage wasn't this much. After I leased it, I built it up, increasing the capacity, so the water surface also grew a bit!

The rainfall from both sides of the mountain collects into this small reservoir, and as far as I know, the bottom hasn't dried up in at least twenty years!

In recent years, I've been stocking it with fish fry each spring, common species like carp, crucian, grass carp, bighead, etc., are all in the reservoir!"

"This place is great! When I retire, I'll build a little cabin up the mountain and fish here every day!" Cheng said with an air of seriousness.

"Come on, you're still so young. I'm already 49 and haven't even started thinking about retirement yet, no point in talking nonsense!

Are we heading to the terrace on the north side or somewhere else to cast the rods?

The entire east bank has tiny paths. If you want to go to the west bank, I can row you across, but you'll need to prepare your fishing spots over there!"

Mentioning where to cast the rods, Cheng looked at Zhang Yang for guidance: "Zhang, where do you think we should choose? This is your expertise!"

Zhang Yang glanced at the reservoir below and asked clearly, "Brother Yan, how deep is the water by the terrace? What's the situation of the underwater terrain?"

"Using a 6.3-meter rod, the water is about four and a half meters deep, and it's pretty steep below. I often go down for a swim when it's hot, so I'm quite familiar with the underwater terrain around," Yan replied honestly.

Hearing this, Zhang Yang frowned slightly.

If the bottom is steep, it's hard to create a spot to attract fish, and with the water depth being quite deep, the water temperature hasn't fully risen yet this season, so naturally, the fish aren't keen on staying.

Objectively speaking, although the northern terrace is the most comfortable place for fishing, it's not suitable for casting rods and fishing.

"How about other areas on the east bank? Are you familiar with them? Are there any shallower, relatively flat areas?

Near the terrace, the fish might not bite well this season, right?

After July or August, it might improve by the beginning of September!" Zhang Yang continued with a frown.

Hearing Zhang Yang's words, Yan was quite surprised, "You got it right!

There are plenty of fish in the reservoir. Last winter during ice fishing, I caught a two and a half kg crucian! But this spring, the fish barely bite in the open area by the terrace!

In autumn, the carp are easier to catch over there, just use fresh corn kernels to bait, and you can easily encounter big fish! The largest I caught weighed about twelve or thirteen kilos!

As for other areas, my understanding is limited. There are many small shrubs by the water and lots of wild jujube trees, I've never tried them!"

Zhang Yang nodded, "The water level by the terrace is too deep, not suitable for fishing crucians. Let's test the water depth around the east bank before deciding on a location!"

Cheng also nodded, agreeing, "Sure, we'll go with your suggestion! Let's find a suitable fishing spot first!"

With a strategy set, Zhang Yang quickly took action.

He pulled out an 8.1-meter fishing rod from the rod bag, attached the fishing line and bobber, and began exploring the eastern bank of the reservoir.

Finding a fishing spot might seem magical to the uninitiated, but it follows a simple principle.

Using a relatively long rod, with the appropriate fishing line and bobber, you can cast in different directions to roughly measure the water depth near a potential fishing spot.

In this mountain reservoir, the underwater terrain tends to be steep, which adds a certain difficulty to fishing, so choosing a spot is especially important.

For the next hour or so, Zhang Yang spent his time testing water depths with the fishing rod, moving from the middle of the reservoir area to the southern end, but found the terrain consistently steep, unsuitable for setting bait spots.

However, his efforts paid off. At a spot roughly seventy to eighty meters straight from the northeast corner of the reservoir near the terrace, Zhang Yang found a relatively flat shallow area.

With the 8.1-meter rod, casting at about an 80-degree angle, the water depth was approximately two and a half meters.

Testing around in different directions, the water depth varied little, even at the furthest point when casting at full extension, it was no more than three meters.

Compared to other areas with water depths of five or six meters, this small area was probably the only suitable fishing spot on the east bank to set bait and cast rods.

"The water level here is suitable, let's settle here!" Zhang Yang said, wiping his forehead with his sleeve.

"Alright! We'll listen to you! Damn, there's a lot of jujube trees here, let's clear a fishing spot first!"

Cheng took out a folding military shovel from the fishing box, put on some cotton gloves, and started working.

With one side sharpened, the military shovel easily chopped through finger-sized jujube trees, quickly clearing a fishing spot over ten meters long along the shore.

"Wow, your military shovel is really impressive!" Zhang Yang said while helping to clear the chopped shrubs.

"Of course, this is a military product from a friend at my former unit, nothing like those toys sold in the market! You like it? I'll get you one later!"

"That would be great!" Zhang Yang replied without hesitation.

Clearing the chopped shrubs and wild grasses to the side, the three of them started moving their gear down.

In this environment, setting up fishing platforms was the obvious choice. The three of them set up three fishing platforms, each 100×120 cm, in the ten-meter area and began preparing for the fishing session.

Setting rods, adjusting bobbers, determining water depths, they completed a series of preparation actions. When it came time to prepare the bait spots, Cheng and Xiao Hui paused.

"You handle the bait and the hooks, Xiao Hui and I are amateurs here!" Cheng said with self-awareness.

Zhang Yang nodded, "Okay, I'll take care of it!"

Saying this, Yue Feng opened the fishing box and took out seven or eight bags of special bait for fish, quickly getting to work.

Technically speaking, before May Day, you don't need to set large bait spots when primarily fishing for crucians since the water temperature is low, and fish aren't very active. It's enough to keep a consistent supply of food in the spot.

However, Zhang Yang's strategy for baiting today was a bit different from the norm.

Having come to this private fishing area, he wanted to make a big haul!