Zhang Yang grinned and said, "It's just a feeling, whether it's real or not needs to be verified!

Has anyone noticed a problem? From yesterday to today, we haven't caught a single small fish in the reservoir!"

"Hey, don't mention it! There's indeed no small fish. I thought it was because of the cold water in spring!

Could it be that most of the naturally bred small fry have been eaten by predatory fish?" Xiao Hui joined the conversation.

"That's possible!"

Zhang Yang casually picked up small scissors, cutting off the used leader and replacing it with a new one.

This time, the new leader went from a 0.5# back to a 0.8#, with a number six hook, which allows for more error tolerance if encountering slightly larger fish.

After changing the leader, Zhang Yang intentionally flipped the bait over, skillfully pulling the double hooks through the surface of the bait, leaving two bait balls on the hooks larger than normal.

After baiting, he once again flicked his wrist with force, successfully casting the bait out.

After the experience of losing a fish instantly cutting the line, Zhang Yang didn't even smoke, staring intently at the bobber, preparing to lift the rod at the first sign.

The plan was good, but reality was quite the opposite.

After that fish got away, nearly twenty minutes passed by, and Zhang Yang tried different methods like fly fishing with a heavy weight, but still didn't encounter the much-desired bite action.

By this time, Xiao Hui and Brother Cheng at their respective spots also noticed the fish biting less frequently.

According to the previously set fishing plan, after the morning's first batch of fish at the same spot, they were supposed to add more bait, but Zhang Yang didn't rush to do so, purposefully delaying for a while.

Why do it this way? Suppose the fish that got away was predatory, like a mandarin fish; they're very sensitive to the sound of heavy bait.

Once baited, even the theoretical chances are lost. Now by waiting a bit, there might still be a chance for a bite.

The fiercer the fish, the bigger the appetite, and this bit of bait surely won't fill them up easily. Plus, there might be more than one fish; others might return around the baited area, giving another bite.

With such expectations, Zhang Yang concentrated and cast over twenty more times. Just when he was about to give up, finally, there was movement on the bobber.

In typical separate hook bait casting, the bobber had just stood upright, yet hadn't started moving downward, when suddenly, a dramatic tug similar to the previous time appeared again.

Ten scale markers on the bobber, abruptly sank five and a half, with the remaining markers quickly being pulled under in a slanting direction.

This was a high-position mid-water intercept bobber reaction. Zhang Yang estimated the bite depth to be no deeper than a meter and a half. The bite was fierce and fast, eating the bait and then quickly escaping, very similar to the first escaped fish.

The next second, Zhang Yang gently flicked his wrist, feeling the resistance of the fish through the rod transmitted to his hand.

The resistance was considerable; this fish seemed not small!

"Got it! Mid-water intercept!"

Zhang Yang said in a deliberately lowered voice, steadily holding the rod with his right hand, while his left hand naturally gripped the middle section of the handle.

If yesterday Xiao Hui struggled with a small hook and thin line to catch a big carp for the first time, Zhang Yang's fish handling today showed tremendous confidence in his own fishing skills.

He could have opted for a larger leader and hook or even a different rig, but Zhang Yang insisted on using a 0.8# leader.

His methods for hooking, controlling, and handling fish were even more professional.

From the moment he hooked and controlled the fish, there was no whistle of the line cutting through the water, didn't use full casting length, and lifted the rod smoothly, raising it about seventy or eighty degrees in the first round, maintaining control.

The fish in the water, after being hooked, seemed not to realize it was caught, swimming a few meters toward the left front.

Zhang Yang made a subtle change in the rod's angle, successfully guiding the fish back.

His skilled rod control far surpassed Xiao Hui's previous stiff and uncoordinated handling.

"The fish size is decent! With small hooks, it doesn't hurt much, there's a good chance!" Zhang Yang glanced up and honestly spoke to Brother Cheng.

"Xiao Hui, watch how Zhang Yang handles and controls the fish; we've got a lot to learn!" Brother Cheng said with a smile.

Xiao Hui nodded, "I won't argue with you on that! Zhang Yang's fish handling skills outshine me by a mile!

But now I'm more curious, what kind of fish did we catch?

You just mentioned it's a mid-water bite, could it be a grass carp? We've encountered this in the reservoir before, grass carp feed in the spring too!"

Zhang Yang focused on controlling the rod, sensing the underwater forces and directions, shaking his head, "It doesn't seem like a grass carp! Even if it is a grass carp, it certainly isn't a big one!

The resistance is much less than I expected! I still stand by my earlier judgment; it's most likely a big mandarin fish!"

"Big mandarin fish? I haven't heard Old Yan mention any stocking of mandarin fry! And our northern mandarin species don't seem to grow very large!" Brother Cheng expressed doubt.

Zhang Yang nodded, "If it's a local wild mandarin species, indeed they don't grow too big, perhaps due to different subspecies!

At the Wen River, the largest mandarin I've seen was about half a pound, nothing bigger!"