Chapter 003: Going for the Big Fish
With this Golden Finger, Lin Yang felt that his future fishing sessions would absolutely explode with abundance, and he might even become a fishing master more formidable than Deng Lianyong, Li Dapen, and Liu Changgan!
Not only was he now full of confidence in his future life, but he also had clear goals to strive for.
And as long as he caught a fish, he could directly earn money—it was as if he wasn't fishing, but rather fishing for cash.
Of course, he still didn't know whether the cash reward was given for every fish he caught or only when unlocking new species of fish.
To test out this reward, without a second thought, Lin Yang closed the fishing encyclopedia and started baiting and casting his line again.
However, in the following attempts, Lin Yang clearly became a bit impatient. After a few unsuccessful pulls without catching any fish, he couldn't help but let out a sigh, realizing he needed to steady himself.
Indeed, after taking a deep breath to calm himself, Lin Yang started catching fish again. It really was true that being too anxious could ruin fishing; once his mind was calm, the fish bit more easily.
This time he hooked a small white fish, and after removing it from the hook and placing it in the keepnet, the only notifications that appeared were 'Experience +1, Points +1' with no cash reward, and there was no transfer alert on his phone that was live streaming.
"As expected...."
Though he had anticipated this outcome, Lin Yang still felt somewhat disheartened upon confirming it.
The absence of a cash reward for catching the same fish meant that his dream of getting rich solely by fishing was shattered.
But on second thought, he let it go. With such an awesome Golden Finger already in hand, what more could he ask for?
Having confirmed his suspicion, Lin Yang proceeded non-stop to test another bold idea.
He put down his fishing rod and ran over to another angler nearby, getting a Crucian Carp about three fingers wide. Seeing his actions, the few viewers in his live stream were all baffled.
What's he up to?
Just started fishing and he's already buying fish?
And then they saw Lin Yang hanging the purchased Crucian Carp on his hook before casting it into the water and playing it.
At this sight, some viewers couldn't help but recall a recent news story about a middle-aged man who hadn't caught a big fish for a long time. To experience the sensation of his new fishing rod catching a fish, he bought a five-pound fish from the market....
Lin Yang's current tactic was exactly the same as that of the man in the news video.
Lin Yang was unaware of the thoughts of the few viewers and others around him. He was simply eager to test if fish obtained from others could count as his own catch.
The result was clear, they did not.
Although the Golden Finger wasn't particularly intelligent, it also didn't leave any loopholes for him to exploit.
"It seems that this Golden Finger is mainly useful for wild aquatic products." While he hadn't completely confirmed it yet, given the nature of the Golden Finger, Lin Yang guessed that was probably the case.
In general, aquatic products from natural waters are considered wild, while those from fish ponds, private fishing holes, and some reservoirs are considered cultivated.
The wild and cultivated products differ significantly in price due to differences in meat quality and taste.
Besides, fishing for cultivated versus wild fish also presents different levels of difficulty.
Cultivated fish raised on feed have no wariness and bite at bait easily, making them relatively simple to hook.
Wild fish, on the other hand, are extremely cautious and will repeatedly test the bait before biting. They do not take the hook easily, making fishing for them a bit more challenging.
Additionally, cultivated fish are mostly concentrated in a single body of water, making it easier to lure them into a feeding spot, and their types and sizes are more distinct, allowing fishermen to decide in advance the rods, line groups, and other tackle to use when fishing.
On the contrary, in natural outdoor waters, the area is vast, and fish could be hiding anywhere. If you can't find the fish's hiding spots, it's very difficult to catch them.
At the same time, there's too much uncertainty in outdoor fishing. Generally, you can only be sure whether you're fishing for big or small fish. When fishing for small fish, you might encounter big fish biting, and when fishing for big fish, you might have small fish disturbing the nest. When fishing for carp, you might catch crucian carp, small white fish, bian fish, bream, and grass carp; you can only identify the general direction of the main target, but it's hard to be certain.
Lin Yang glanced at the remaining time for his big fish buff in the bottom right corner—this buff required 200 points to redeem and had a time limit. If he didn't use it within 12 hours, the buff would disappear, so he didn't want to waste it.
Small fish could be caught anytime, but landing a big fish depended on skill and luck.
Moreover, the rewards for unlocking big and small fish are definitely different.
He had fished in this spot several times, and besides crucian carp and carp, he had never caught other big fish. Even though he now had a +20% chance buff for catching big fish, he still had to prepare thoroughly to maximize his chances of catching big ones.
Lin Yang looked at the packet of earthworms he had set aside and shook his head.
He had originally come to fish for fun, planning to fry a few small white fish and then catch a few crucian carp to make soup at home, so he casually spent a buck at the tackle shop for a packet of earthworm bait.
Now, with the early spring weather, using earthworms as bait, there was no problem in catching some small crucian carp, but the chances of catching larger fish were best not mentioned.
As the saying goes, "To get the fish on shore, you have to use grain as bait." After some thought, and to not waste today's fishing buff, Lin Yang decided to go buy some more bait specifically for carp fishing.
He gathered his things and retrieved the phone stand he had set up for live-streaming, then glanced at the single-digit viewer count in the top right corner and smiled helplessly.
He was never someone who talked a lot in the first place. Moreover, as a novice just learning how to fish, having a few viewers was already pretty good.
But he wasn't disheartened. Now that he had the Golden Finger, there would be no problem in becoming a technical fishing streamer in the future.
"What's up, bro? Not fishing anymore?"
A line of text flew across the mobile screen as Lin Yang packed up.
He glanced at the words on the public screen and replied, "Got something to do, I'll come back to fish later."
After packing up his simple gear, Lin Yang mounted his beloved little electric scooter and went straight to the tackle shop in town he had visited earlier.
Ten minutes later.
"Boss, I want to buy bait."
As soon as he entered the tackle shop, Lin Yang called out.
"Yo, Xiao Yang, back so soon? Didn't you say you were just playing around? How come you're so willing to buy bait now?" Boss Li, the middle-aged uncle running the tackle shop, greeted Lin Yang with a smile.
"I have a feeling I'll catch a big fish today!"
"Haha, if everyone relied on feelings to catch big fish, my tackle shop would have gone bust a long time ago. Okay, what kind of bait do you want? I'll get it for you," said the boss as he headed over to the shelf where the fish bait was displayed.
"Mm, I'm fishing for carp. Give me two packets."
Upon hearing Lin Yang's request, the tackle shop owner took two packets of bait off the shelf.
"This carp bait is the best-selling in my shop. If you want good results, you could prepare a couple of days in advance by establishing a feeding spot."
Lin Yang took the two packets of bait and inspected them.
Although the ingredients listed on the bags were familiar to everyone—corn kernels, sweet potatoes, wheat grains, bran, and oil cake—all mixed together.
However, although the bait mix looked simple, the outcomes varied greatly depending on who prepared it.