Weekend Fishing Adventure: Twists and Turns, Tiny and Big White Perch Bring Joy
Time flies so fast—another weekend is here, which means I can finally let loose and go wild fishing! I’d planned everything with my friend days in advance: set the time, picked the spot, and got all gear ready. I was practically counting down the minutes, so excited that I couldn’t fall asleep until 2:30 AM. Tossing and turning in bed, I dragged myself up at 6 AM to make breakfast, then hit the road immediately. I picked up my friend on the way, and since we hadn’t met in weeks, we chatted nonstop—catching up on life, swapping fishing stories. We drove to Dongxuan and reached the first fishing spot by the river, but guess what? An old man was there hitting spawning carp with a stick! He missed every time and was muttering angrily. Then we found out it was the closed fishing season—even though the spot was contracted, we were scared of getting reported. Better safe than sorry, right? We didn’t want cops showing up mid-fishing, so we had to find a new spot.
The Hunt for a New Fishing Spot
We ended up heading to a small creek, but we had no clue how to get to the riverbank. We walked and asked locals all the way, finally reaching a shallow area. Man, finding a good fishing spot is no joke—you’ve got to climb hills, ask for directions, and have patience! We decided to stop here: no more walking. I set up two rods: a 4.5m Shenji All-Purpose Rod and a 3.9m Renzhan Reinforced Version Rod. I prepared one for earthworms and one for bait mix—since I had no idea what the fish would like that day.
Early Morning Setup: Bait, Floats, and a Bad Decision
Before the sun fully came out, I mixed Tongsha Xing bait (single flavor, plus a bit of Dayu Wang rice wine). I kneaded it into balls, then started adjusting the float. Wait a minute— the water was less than a meter deep! My Yiwei float was 45cm long, and with the leader line, the sinker was touching the float body. My friend said, “Fish are in shallow water this time of year—deep spots won’t work.” But did I listen? Nope! I insisted on moving to a deeper spot. Moving gear in this weather is tiring, but lucky it wasn’t scorching hot yet. I quickly set up the new spot, hit the water with bait, and started casting with lure.
First Catches: White Bait and Tiny White Perch
White bait bit first—good sign, the creek had fish! I wanted to keep the first catch, but it slipped out of my hand and back into the water when I tried to take a photo. Ugh, that was a bummer.
Second cast: the float settled, then a sharp dip! I thought it was a big white bait, but it turned out to be a tiny white perch (we call them “milk perch” here). I didn’t even know this creek had white perch—nice surprise!
Third cast: same thing—float settled, then a dip. Milk perch on the line again! I was on a roll—three in a row! I was patting myself on the back for choosing the deep spot… but I’d regret it later. Let me tell you why.
The Milk Perch Frenzy (and a Yellow Bullhead)
I quickly set up my Dousha fish basket—caught a few already, so I needed to keep them alive longer.
After the basket was up, I cast again. The float moved, and guess what? A yellow bullhead! It was tiny, so I tossed it back. I kept casting with lure, and then—boom—another streak of milk perch! It felt like I’d hit a white perch nest—all thumb-sized, not a single big one.
This milk perch streak went on, but then the float stopped settling—fish were hitting mid-water! I knew white perch love floating bait, but these were too small—no meat, full of bones. I’d have to release them anyway, so I stuck to bottom fishing. Before I knew it, it was 12 PM. The bite slowed down—10-15 minutes between each nibble. Probably the sun was out, and fish moved to shallow water. Meanwhile, my friend was catching crucian carp left and right—all three-finger-sized! I was so jealous. Funny enough, an old man across the creek caught no crucian carp but two yellow bullheads. Clearly, crucian carp were in shallow water! I could see bubbles in my deep spot, but the fish just wouldn’t bite. Fine, you win—time for lunch!
Afternoon Lull and a Big Surprise
After lunch, I napped a bit then got back to fishing. The bite was almost gone—just waiting around. Twenty minutes later, a sharp dip! I lifted the rod and felt a pull. I thought it was a big crucian carp, but it turned out to be a small common carp. I didn’t even bother grabbing it; it slipped away when it reached the shore. Good, saved me the trouble of releasing it. Next cast: another dip, stronger pull this time. This white perch was bigger! The old man across the creek said, “Nice size—worth keeping!” I thought this was the start of something good, but no more bites came. Then my friend’s rod bent into a big curve—he was fighting a fish! When he reeled it in, wow—a one-pound white perch! I ran over to check it out.
His 45cm fish basket could barely hold it—definitely over a pound! He’d also caught several big crucian carp, while I hadn’t seen a single crucian carp shadow. He told me to move up to the shallow spot: “Crucian carp are all here!” I was already thinking about moving, so I did—call it the third move for fish, just like Mencius’ mother moving three times for her son.
Shallow Water Success (Finally!)
I set up a new nest and waited. It wasn’t until 4:30 PM that I got a bite— the rod was pulled so hard it made a whooshing sound! I thought it was a big white perch, but it was a mullet. Disappointing, but at least I felt the thrill of fighting a fish. Then I waited and waited… another dip! I lifted the rod—yes! A crucian carp! I was so happy—I’d finally caught my target fish! No empty-handed for me today.
A few minutes later, my friend’s rod bent again—he reeled in a one-pound common carp with beautiful golden scales! I was still jealous, but then my float dipped again. This pull was strong—turns out to be a big crucian carp! Perfect for soup later.
We fished until dark, but no more bites came—probably because the water was shallow, and fish moved back to deep spots. But the last hour before dark was crazy—nonstop bites! When I started packing up, I noticed my favorite wild vegetable behind me: Houttuynia cordata (fish mint)! It’s super popular in Sichuan. I quickly dug some with my tool—double harvest: fish and wild veggies! What a great weekend.
My Takeaways for Spring Fishing
Overall, the catch was pretty good—variety of fish: white perch, crucian carp, common carp, yellow bullhead, white bait. But here’s what I learned: spring means fish are in shallow water! The temperature was around 12°C at night and 20°C during the day—no more cold weather. Plus, there’s a saying: “On March 3rd, carp swim to the beach.” Even though it was a leap February, it was already March, so fish were mostly in shallow areas. Spot selection is everything—don’t be like me, only catching two crucian carp all day! Also, morning and evening bites were way better; midday with the big sun, no bites at all. So this season, fish early or late in shallow spots—you’ll get more surprises and better catches!
We kept a few crucian carp and released all the milk perch. We also packed up all our trash—love the environment, be a responsible angler!
