Typhoon Looming, but the Sweltering Heat Hits First
I heard a typhoon was coming, but it’s been lingering far out at sea, taking its sweet time to show up. However, the barometric pressure changes have been going on for ages—hot and stuffy as hell. Even if you sit perfectly still, you’re drenched in sweat within minutes. This is exactly what people call a “sauna day,” right? And let me tell you, the fish haven’t been biting at all lately—whether it’s paid fishing ponds or wild spots. Normally, when the water’s full, the fish go crazy for bait, but now? You’re more likely to come home empty-handed. Fast-flowing water kills the bite completely; only when the water’s full and there’s a gentle current to cut through the oppressive humidity do the fish have even a tiny bit of appetite to feed.
But for us anglers, our schedules don’t always line up with the “perfect” fishing conditions. So we just have to roll with the punches, right?
Heading to the River—Even in the Worst Heat
It was the peak of the afternoon heat, and I just happened to have some free time. Did I hesitate? Not a chance! Grab the gear and head to the riverbank.
When I parked and glanced over, wow—you guys are insane! On a day this hot, some anglers didn’t even bring umbrellas; they just stood there holding their rods, baking in the sun. Compared to them, I felt like a total wimp.
No way I’m competing with those warriors for spots. I’ll stick to fishing in the shade, thank you very much.
Setting Up in the Shade: Gear & Plan
Carried my gear over to the shaded spot. The waves were rolling in, but the water wasn’t really flowing. Plus, the depth here was just right, so I decided to set my float extra sensitive today—might as well target small fish for a bit.
First step: Mix the bait with water. Let the bait sit to absorb moisture while I get the rod ready.
My setup for the day:
- Rod: 5.4m Wushuangli
- Main line: 2#
- Leader line: 0.8# with barbless size 4 Jinxiu double hooks
- Float: Longwanghen model
Found the bottom, adjusted the float to 6 eyes and fished at 4 eyes, hooked the bait, and started casting!
Since I was targeting small fish, I made the bait softer and used pulling bait, casting frequently to gather the fish around.
This was my second time here, and I was confident—from what I saw, it’s a popular spot, and with full water and waves, it should be a fish paradise. Sure enough, after just a few casts, the float started twitching, and before long, I landed my first catch!
It was a tiny baby bream. No wonder the float moved early but was hard to hook—there were probably even smaller fish around that couldn’t fit the bait in their mouths, just messing with it.
It was still scorching hot, but the tree shade at least kept the direct sun off. After casting for a while, all I caught were these baby breams.
Hook & Line Troubles—And More Baby Bream
Looks like the size 4 hooks were too big for these tiny guys. Time to switch to smaller ones: 0.6# leader line with size 2 Akita Fox double hooks—perfect for silver fish, and should work for these baby breams too.
But no luck—right after I switched, I got a line cut before catching any fish.
Obviously, a puffer fish was to blame! Adjust again: tie my own braided leader line with size 1 Iseami double hooks, and keep casting.
Not long after, two more baby breams came in.
What’s going on today? Am I stuck with these baby breams forever? Every single catch so far has been one of them.
The anglers next to me weren’t doing great either, but they were catching mostly tilapia—even the puffer that cut my line got hooked by someone else and pulled up.
Weird, so weird…
The Cruel Reality Hits Hard
I was still complaining about all the baby breams when an even crueler truth set in: the bite died completely. I looked up, and from far to near along the sweltering riverbank, not a single angler was catching anything. But we all kept casting, maintaining our rhythm.
And even then, more anglers kept showing up to set up their rods!
Finally, after casting for ages and using half my bait, I got a solid black float—landed a tilapia!
As soon as I lifted it onto the bank, a little kid nearby cheered, “He caught a fish!” But his grandpa just said, “It’s just a small fry—there are tons of those in the river.”
Ouch. That hit me like a ton of bricks. The “small fry” the grandpa dismissed was probably the biggest fish I’d caught all day in this heat—heavier than the four baby breams combined!
Sigh, that’s reality for you. What you treasure like a gem, others see as nothing but trash.
Keep casting, keep going—one more fish!
That was my last catch for the day—sudden, but you gotta know when to stop to come back another time, right? Time to go pick up my kid from school.
Pack up the gear, clean up the spot, and head out.
Even though the trip was impulsive and short, I learned something: some things just don’t change no matter how hard you try—like fishing on a day this hot.
