Traditional Fishing Diary: 14 Crucian Carp with a “Horn Nest & Plum Blossom” Technique

Man, what a week! Fog, gale-force winds, a cold snap… my weather app has been blowing up with extreme warnings one after another. And here I am, a guy who’s way too into checking the forecast, getting all twitchy about it. You know the old story about the man from Qi who worried the sky would fall? Well, I’m the angler version of that guy. My worry? Bad fishing weather. It’s basically the same thing, right? A full-blown anxiety disorder.

So after a completely fruitless and exhausting day by the sea yesterday with my buddy Old Wen—came back with nothing but sore legs—I figured I’d take a rain check today. Literally. The forecast said rain, the sky looked gloomy, and my body was begging for a break. Even farmhands get days off when it rains! What am I even doing this for? Braving the elements, scheming and planning, just to catch fish. Day in, day out, never getting enough. Would the world end if I took one day off?

Turns out, the idea of resting was better than the reality. I was bored out of my mind! Everything felt dull. I was irritable, restless, pacing around like a zombie without a purpose. I guess some bones are just made a certain way. I’m built to be out there, weathering the sun and wind, chasing that fishy smell. Trying to enjoy a quiet day at home? Not in my DNA.

I suffered through the morning, drank tea I couldn’t taste, stared at a TV show I didn’t see. Time had stopped. After painfully dragging myself through lunch, I snapped. Grabbed my gear and headed straight for the river. Freedom!

The Afternoon Escape: Setup and Conditions

Finally, some peace. Just being by the water calmed my nerves instantly.

Fishing Trip Snapshot

Time: Afternoon, November 11, 2024
Location: Dongrui Park section, the city’s circular water system.
Angler: Yours truly.
Method: Traditional fishing. Long pole, short line, fermented rice for baiting, earthworms on the hook.
Gear: 10-meter pole, a “sky-facing hook” with a seven-star float rig, #2 main line.
Water Depth: 0.6 to 1 meter (shallow!).
Weather: Overcast turning partly cloudy. Surprisingly warm. A gentle southeast breeze, maybe Force 2.

Okay, I’ll admit I was late. Got there just past noon… and of course, finding a spot was a mission. “Is this spot taken?” “Yeah, someone was here this morning.” I finally found a little niche near the Dongrui Park fishing platform. A fellow angler said someone had fished there in the morning but probably wasn’t coming back. Good enough for me! Time to set up my nests.

I saw a young couple fishing further down. Man, it was kinda sweet. The husband was on a stationary seat with his modern rod, while the wife was roaming with a traditional pole and a bucket, hunting for holes in the weeds. She’d catch a few, walk them over to him, and he’d put them in the net. She kept making trips as her catch rate picked up. Not sure if it was the fish or something she said, but eventually, the husband abandoned his comfy seat and started walking the bank too! Talk about role reversal. A nice bit of riverside drama.

My Go-To Strategy: The “Ox Horn” Nests & Plum Blossom Probing

You know the saying, “Even the gods find it hard to catch fish at noon.” It’s true. The fish were slow. To beat the lull, I rely on a specific multi-spot strategy.

I set up three fishing spots, or “nests”. My favorite setup is what I call the “Ox Horn” or “Bull’s Horn” nests. Here’s how it works:

• I pick a central standing position.
• I toss bait (fermented rice) in one spot to my left-front.
• I toss bait in another spot to my right-front.
• These two form the “horns” of the ox. I don’t have to move my feet. I just pivot my body and swing my long pole from one nest to the other. It’s incredibly efficient.

This is where the seven-star float shines. If I were using a standard vertical float, I’d have to adjust the depth every time I switched spots because the bottom is never perfectly even. With the seven-star float, I just spread the beads out a bit more along the line. My three nests had depth variations of over 30 cm, and the same float setting worked for all of them. No fiddling!

My third nest was about 7-8 meters away from the main two. Why?

• Don’t put all your eggs in one basket: This is core to traditional “multi-nost walk-and-fish” philosophy. Spread your chances.
• Get some steps in: Walking between the distant nest and my horn nests keeps me active. It’s good for the body and the mind. A bit of an advantage we have over our friends glued to their fishing chairs!

The waiting game is the hardest part. It wasn’t until after 2 PM that things started happening. And just as planned, the action was mainly in my two horn nests.

At each nest, I use the “Plum Blossom” probing technique. Imagine the nest as the center of a flower. I don’t just drop my hook right in the baited center. I cast gently to several points around it—like the petals of a plum blossom. This quick probing tells me if fish are in the area and exactly where they’re holding. Once I figure that out, it’s just a matter of patience and presenting the bait right where they want it.

The Payoff: Solid Action and a Nice Surprise

The technique worked! The bites came steadily. The highlight was this beautiful, chunky Crucian carp. I measured it roughly at around 22 cm (about 8.7 inches). In this urban waterway, that’s a very respectable size, definitely on the larger end for the wild crucian population here.

Of course, there’s always a little drama. While taking the hook out of that big one, it snagged my glove and ripped a huge hole in it! A small price to pay. Better the glove than my hand, that’s for sure.

After a few more good ones, I realized my keep net was getting seriously crowded. I mean, it was almost all fish, very little water. Time to call it a day before they run out of oxygen. You gotta respect the catch.

I finished with one last beautiful fish—perfect colors, perfect size, a real quality specimen to end on. The “closing fish” is always special.

Wrapping Up a Good Day

Looking at the full net, the water had practically been displaced by fish. I was happy. Then I thought of Old Wen, empty-handed after our marathon sea session yesterday. A little fish soup might cheer him up and soothe his wounded angler’s pride. So I gave him a call and dropped off the catch.

He later counted them for me: fourteen Crucian carp in total, a mix of sizes. Not a record-breaking haul, but for a reluctant afternoon trip after a “restful” morning of misery, it was absolutely perfect. It’s days like this that remind you why you put up with the wind, the cold, and your own restless nature.

So, if you’re stuck in a midday slump or just want to cover more water without running a marathon, give the “Ox Horn Nests” a try with your long pole. And remember to probe like a plum blossom! It’s these little traditional tricks that keep the fun alive, even when the fish are being lazy. Now, I wonder what the weather’s doing tomorrow…