Weekend Recap: Family Time & the Build-Up to Fishing
Chores, Games, and a Whole Lot of Family Chaos
I headed back to my parents’ place on Saturday to check in on them, and ended up spending the whole afternoon helping with farm work. My back was killing me by the end of it! I keep telling them not to tend so much unused land, but they just won’t listen. At this point, I’ve given up arguing—farming’s their only hobby now that they’re older, so as long as they’re happy, that’s all that matters. On my way home, I loaded up car with fresh-harvested lettuce, greens, freshly pulled garlic, and peanut oil they’d pressed at the market. Let’s just say my trunk was bursting at the seams!
Sunday was all about the kids. We played rock-paper-scissors, with the loser getting flicked on the arm with two fingers. My son and I both went easy on my daughter, so her arm was totally fine while ours were bright red. Then the little rascal had the nerve to say my skin was “too tough,” so he’d secretly switched to using four fingers to flick me—yet my arm was still redder than his! I chased him around the house pretending to grab my teaching stick, and soon enough, all three of us were rolling around laughing like maniacs.
Game Day: Chasing That Wild Crucian Carp Bonanza
Weather, Traffic, and a Gloomy First Impression
With nothing on my plate Monday, I woke up to perfect weather. I checked my fishing app, and it said conditions were ideal. Saturday had been rainy and windy, with rain even hitting in the early hours, but now the sky was clear and calm. The forecast called for a 4-5 mph northwest wind, but I wasn’t about to let that stop me. I hit up my buddy Wen, and we hit the road.
The drive was a nightmare, though. We ran into two car accidents, which, combined with morning rush hour, had traffic crawling. We wasted so much time sitting in gridlock that I started to wonder if we should just turn around.
We finally reached the river at 8:30 a.m., and the sun was blazing. The wind was howling too—way stronger than the forecast said. There was a guy fishing with two rods nearby, so I wandered over to chat. He’d been there almost an hour without a single bite, and said the angler on the opposite bank had packed up and left without catching anything either. Uh-oh, was the old saying “fish won’t bite after rain clears up” actually true? And did it matter if there was a raging wind to go with the clear skies? No fishing book had ever answered that for me!
Doubts, Gear Choices, and a Leap of Faith
I paced up and down the riverbank, debating whether to just call it a day. Wen, who’s been obsessing over his new stream tank lately, decided to skip fishing entirely. He set up a cage to catch small fish for his tank and spent the rest of the time hunting for weird-looking river rocks to decorate it. Typical Wen.
The river water was murky, only about 40-50 cm visible. To me, that looked like perfect bonanza territory. I grabbed my polarized sunglasses and took another look—lots of hidden weeds under the surface, and the few clear spots were all well-used fishing spots surrounded by water plants. This had to be a good spot. I wasn’t driving all this way to leave empty-handed, so I decided to set up shop.
I mixed up my bait with Wuliangyou fruit flavor as the base, added a bit of musk flavor, and some rice wine-soaked rice. I used 0.8 parts water to make it a bit dry, so it would mist quickly once it hit the water—perfect for luring fish in. I went with a pulling bait setup.
For my rod, I went with the 4.8m Qianliu. It’s super light but stiff, perfect for fighting strong winds. The wind was at my back, so I should’ve cast far, but I could see weed leaves just under the surface in the distance—4.8m was exactly the right length to avoid getting snagged. I paired it with a 1.0 main line, 0.6 leader, and size 4 white sleeve hooks, plus a LV-015 Yiwei #1 float. I adjusted it to show 3 eyes above water, planning to fish with 2 eyes visible.
Right as I was getting set up, the two-rod guy next to me caught a fish! “They’re biting now!” he yelled. I joked back, “See? I’ve got perfect timing—show up right when the fish decide to eat!” He played along, laughing and saying I always had the knack for picking the best moments. It was exactly the morale boost I needed.
Wind, Bites, and Why the Qianliu Rod is a Game-Changer
The wind kept picking up, too—by now it was easily 5 mph. Adjusting the float was a nightmare; casting was easy enough with the wind at my back, but reeling in felt like I was flying a kite. I had to almost lay the rod flat to grab the sinker. There was no way I could use an umbrella with this wind, so I wrapped myself up tight to avoid getting sunburned. By the time I got the float adjusted, the guy next to me had already caught two fish.
Once I was ready, I started casting repeatedly to build up a bait nest. I didn’t bother pre-building a nest since this was a well-used spot, and within a few minutes, I got my first bite!
The great thing about using dough bait is that once crucian carp find the nest, it’s non-stop action. I started catching one after another, so I quickly set up my fish basket and attached a hook remover. Those bright golden wild crucian carp were gorgeous—no one can argue that these are farmed, right?
I have to gush about the Qianliu rod here. Before the 518 sale, I asked around in the Fishing Home group and chatted with guys who’d already bought it. Everyone said it was amazing value for money, especially one guy who said it felt just as good as the Wushuangli rod. That sold me instantly, and it’s lived up to every bit of hype.
Today’s windy conditions put it to the ultimate test, and it crushed it. Even with 4-5 mph crosswinds at my back, I could cast exactly where I wanted every single time. When reeling in against the wind, it didn’t feel like a fight at all—I could even sit and “fly” the fish out of the water with ease. It’s a 2/8 action, so it’s gentle on the line, which is perfect for someone like me. This rod’s definitely earned a permanent spot in my gear collection!
The Wuliangyou bait worked great too. Since I used less water, it was a bit firm, so it misted super fast as soon as it hit the water—amazing for luring fish. I had to be careful when casting with the wind at my back, though; I’d ease up on the force to make sure the hook and float landed in the same spot. If I didn’t, the misted bait would land in front of the float, creating a second nest. After a while, all the fish would move there, and I’d stop catching anything.
Fast-misting bait is a double-edged sword, though. If there are no small fish around, it’s non-stop bites and even double catches. But if there are small fish, it’ll draw them in instantly. The good news is you can tweak it easily: add more water to slow down the misting, or knead it longer to make it stickier and stop misting entirely. It’s all about technique—same bait, different hands, totally different results.
Luckily, there weren’t many small fish here today. I caught one or two by accident, which was a nice little surprise, but mostly it was just crucian carp. And they kept getting bigger—even a few decent-sized ones!
When I reeled in one of those bigger ones, it struggled like crazy. I took a quick photo, and when I tried to put it in the fish basket, the hook caught my hand. The fish thrashed so hard it snapped the leader line, and I let out a very loud, very unprofessional curse. My hand stung like crazy!
Slow Bites, Quick Fixes, and Off-Road Distractions
The bites slowed down around noon. After catching that bigger crucian carp, I started getting tiny, faint float movements—little dips or a 1-2 eye rise—but every time I lifted the rod, there was nothing. I kept missing bites left and right.
I knew I had to adjust fast. I moved the float up two eyes, then another two, making the setup more and more “sluggish.” The wind had died down a bit, and the sun was baking, so I figured the temperature rise had made the fish’s bites weaker. They didn’t want to exert much energy to eat, so I needed the two hooks to lie flat on the riverbed to make it easier for them to suck the bait in—just like fishing in winter, using a low-adjustment, high-fishing setup.
It doesn’t matter exactly how many eyes you adjust to; you just keep tweaking until you start hooking fish when you see a movement. And let me tell you, it worked like a charm. I started catching fish steadily again, just at a slower pace.
The guy next to me was funny—he’d catch one fish, unhook it, and put it straight in his bucket. Clearly, he was here to catch dinner. He stopped getting bites around noon and left to go home for lunch.
Later, two off-road trucks showed up and started tearing up the riverbank. Every time they hit a steep slope they couldn’t climb, they’d rev the engines so loud it made my blood pump. I found myself cheering them on, and when they finally climbed over, I’d let out a little sigh of relief. It’s definitely a young person’s thrill-seeking game— I’ve seen crazier stuff on my phone, including trucks rolling over trying to climb steep hills.
Though they did have a mishap once last year: one truck got stuck in the mud. They called a friend to tow it, which didn’t work, then ended up calling an excavator to pull it out. It took them five or six hours to get it free. Different strokes for different folks, I guess—just as long as they’re safe, I don’t mind. I can’t afford an off-road truck, but I love watching them do their thing; I was practically screaming along with them in my head when they pulled off a tough climb.
After a few rounds of wading and climbing, they drove off, the sound of their engines fading into the distance.
The Lull, a Friend’s Visit, and a Sudden Exit
The bites stopped almost completely for two hours in the afternoon. I adjusted my setup a few times, but nothing worked—there were no fish in the nest, not even small ones nipping at the bait.
Wen had to leave around 2 p.m. for something urgent, so he packed up his weird little fish and all the strange rocks he’d collected and hit the road. He’d had a successful day in his own way, I guess.
My buddy Yan showed up around 1 p.m., right after lunch. I’d told him I was catching fish left and right when he called, so he’d rushed over, excited to join in. He set up in the spot the two-rod guy had used earlier. But of course, right when he got there, the bites died down. I only caught six or seven fish after he arrived, and he only caught one wide-fin minnow and one tiny crucian carp. He kept complaining that I’d lied to him, and I teased him that he was bad luck, scaring all the fish away. We joked back and forth, and suddenly the afternoon was gone.
We started catching fish slowly again around 5 p.m., and we were just getting ready for the evening feeding frenzy when my father-in-law called. I had to go pick up my niece from my brother-in-law’s place to take her to an exam in the city that started at 7 p.m.
It was already 5:30 p.m., and the drive there and back would take an hour. I couldn’t be late for that. I packed up my gear in a panic, and Yan said he didn’t want to fish alone, so he packed up too.
The Wrap-Up: A Great Day, Even If I Didn’t Bring Fish Home
My catch was pretty good today. It’s not quite up to my friend Xiao Zhang’s “bonanza” standards, but for me, this was a massive win!
I’d planned to bring a few fish home for dinner, but with the exam and the drive back afterward, I knew I wouldn’t have time to clean them. Yan wanted to take his few big ones home too, but his boss said no when he called to “ask permission.”
So we let all the fish go. Good luck out there, little guys!
Before I left, I grabbed all the trash and stuck it in a bin— I couldn’t find a bag, so I just hauled it with me to deal with later.
The drive to pick up my niece was smooth, and I got there with time to spare, so I didn’t miss her exam. She finished around 9 p.m., and I’d drive her back home afterward. On my way back to the city, I found a bag in my car, so I packed the trash properly and threw it in a public bin.
Turns out, you can definitely fish well on a clear, windy day after rain—especially when the water looks this murky. When the wind died down in the afternoon and the temperature spiked, the bites stopped for almost two hours, not even small fish bothered the bait. I wonder if there would’ve been any bites at all if there was no wind in the morning?
Hey fellow anglers, have you ever fished the day after rain clears up? Did you have good luck, or was it a bust? Drop your real-life experiences in the comments below!
