"Hehe, with you saying that, I don't need a 3.6-meter rod anymore, I'll go straight for a 4.5-meter one! I've baited heavily and set up a fishing platform. If I used a shorter rod, I doubt I'd catch many fish!"
Liu Mingyuan's words were spot-on; it's often the case that a deeper understanding of fish behavior comes in handy!
Xiao Zhang curled his lips, showing his teeth and said, "Once you've baited up, just stake your claim, haha!"
Yue Feng still didn't know the identity of Liu Mingyuan and Xiao Zhang. Moreover, his fishing spot was still quiet, so he took it as if they were joking with him, and grinned in response, "Sure, stake anywhere you like!"
No sooner had they finished joking, Yue Feng noticed fish activity at his spot. He lifted the rod, rebaited, and cast again. As the float neared the spot, it suddenly dipped sharply.
Yue Feng had gotten used to the dramatic dips of the Peacock Feather Float, knew he had a bite, and lifted the rod smoothly, hitting the mark.
"Yo ho, got one indeed, and by the bend of the rod, it's not a small fish!" Liu Mingyuan glanced over, his Seafood Live setup almost complete.
The fish was a decent size, about four taels. Yue Feng casually unhooked the fish and tossed it into the Fish Guard, noticing the live streaming tripod and mobile phone placed beside his neighbor.
"Big brother, you're live streaming?"
"Ah, just messing around, a minor broadcaster, not many fans, barely under twenty thousand!" Although Liu Mingyuan downplayed it as 'minor broadcaster,' he couldn't hide a touch of pride when mentioning his fans numbered just under twenty thousand.
"Oh, right, hehe, that's nice!" Yue Feng replied noncommittally and said no more.
By then, people were gradually joining Liu Mingyuan's live streaming.
The title in Liu Mingyuan's room was quite apt—Plow Tip Spring Fishing, Challenging the Toughest Midday Fishing Window!
Old Liu had come up with the title on a whim, and it attracted a crowd of outdoor fishing enthusiasts.
And indeed, the title worked great for attracting viewers; Liu's room had just gone live, and there were already more than thirty people, with numbers still increasing.
"Did the host just cast? Caught anything?"
"Show us the catch, show us the catch…"
"Hard to fish at noon, not an easy time to challenge!"
"Lu Benwei is awesome"
"Wrong room upstairs!"
Seeing the surge in today's viewers, Liu Mingyuan was inwardly overjoyed.
"Everyone who hasn't followed, hit it up! Follow to not get lost; Old Liu will take you on the fast lane! Those with red hearts and free tickets, let them fly!"
It was the first time Yue Feng had seen an outdoor live broadcast, and sitting next to its host felt extremely awkward; however, Liu Mingyuan had no such feelings and was immersed in the joy of his growing audience—in just a short while, it had risen to over fifty.
Although he hadn't caught any more fish yet, the camera offered a broad view of the distant scenery, which was also nice. With the host's relentless maintenance, he even sent out a ten-yuan red packet, miraculously keeping the crowd hanging around for a while.
The live broadcast on this side was bustling; activity also started picking up at Yue Feng's spot.
It's common fishing knowledge that when fish arrive at a spot, they don't immediately start feeding frantically. Drawn by the bait, they linger around cautiously. At this time, you can see fish stars—tiny bubbles released by the fish.
Now, fish stars were dense in Yue Feng's spot, but he had only caught one greedy fish so far.
Knowing it was just a matter of time before the fish would bite actively, Yue Feng continued casting his lightweight rod effortlessly. The bait on the hook and the red worms would scatter upon hitting the water, further concentrating the fish.
While Yue Feng patiently waited, Liu Mingyuan had cast his rod.
A rather unimpressive fish under two taels was pulled up, stirring up more activity from the viewers in the live stream.
"Wow, the fishing has started! That first catch looks not too small, probably half a pound!"
"The comment above must be blind, that fish is barely more than two ounces!"
"Second floor +1"
Liu Mingyuan didn't care about these harmless little rhythms in the chat, saying, "Achievement unlocked for the first fish, come on guys, show some love with a double click! And don't forget to follow us if you're new here, right top corner!"
Seeing that nearly everyone watching was a Fisherman, and since the host had started fishing, asking for a double click wasn't too much, and so the double-click analytics began to rise.
The room's excitement started to stabilize, showing a slow increase.
The beginning was always good, but then Liu Mingyuan found himself in an embarrassing situation with no bites, patiently casting for more than ten minutes without even catching a single fish.
"The fish seem elusive today; is this going to be a 'start and finish with one fish' kind of day?"
"The truth has been spoken above!"
"Probably just got lucky with that first fish, thought we had stumbled upon a wild fishing guru, boring, I'm out!"
Seeing people messaging about leaving the stream, Liu Mingyuan suddenly became anxious.
"Don't rush off, dear viewers, just watch a little longer, no one is catching anything on the entire river! And if you do leave, at least hit follow!"
"I hate it when old folks act cute, super annoying, get lost!"
"Blaming the weather when it's his own lack of skills, and it's such good weather today!"
"Don't believe me? I'll take down the phone and show you, really, no one is catching any fish!" In his anxiety, Liu Mingyuan took down his phone from the mount and started filming around.
Just his bad luck, the camera had just pointed towards Yue Feng, who had a great bite and was reeling in a fish!
The rod bent into a beautiful arc, evenly stressed.
"Haha, talk about a face slap! There's someone next to him catching a fish, and by the bend of the rod, it seems pretty big!"
"Oh, he really did catch a fish, guess I'll keep watching!"
"Let's start guessing, I say the fish is at least half a pound, anyone want to bet?"
"At least six ounces! I bet a pack of spicy sticks!"
"I say two ounces! Didn't you see his rod is as thin as a cigarette?"
The folks in the live stream were easily entertained; as the camera passed over Yue Feng and showed the catch, they immediately engaged in discussions.
"Hey, don't keep moving the camera, let's see how big the fish is when it comes up!"
Liu Mingyuan, seeing the comment, steadied the camera.
After a few rounds of maneuvering the fish, the fish at Yue Feng's spot surfaced,
and he was in luck; the fish weighed about eight ounces, too wide-bodied, and he struggled to lift it with his hands pinching the fish.
"Bet lost! The dealer wins everything!"
"Dealer wins +1"
Seeing the size of Yue Feng's catch, a chorus of agreement echoed through the live stream room.