If you look closely, you'll notice that there's a footswitch on the deck below the bar stool, and if you've ever played with the effects, it's pretty much the same thing as that thing, except with a big knob in the middle. The purpose of this footrest is simple, it is connected to a small motor that is fixed in the bow of the boat with a battery. By stepping on this pedal and adjusting the knob in the middle, the angler can sit on the bar stool and fine-tune the direction of the speedboat while fishing.

The main function of this device is to simplify the operation of the speedboat, so that those who go out fishing alone can control the speedboat while fishing, so that the speedboat will not be washed away from the fishing position by the current. As for why you use an electric motor, the reason is simpler, the electric motor is almost silent, and if you use a gasoline engine, it is estimated that the fish in the water will be scared away long ago.

In addition to this particular device, there are two large hatches on the rear deck of the speedboat, which open to reveal two empty cabins with a small green wrench at the bottom. When you pull the wrench, there is immediately a surge of water, which is the live fish tank, which is specially used for fishing, and this cabin and the bottom of the boat figure it out, so that the water can flow into the cabin without stopping. Generally speaking, one compartment can be used as a place to hold live fish, and the other compartment can be used as a place to store live bait, and it would be great if Hong Tao had such a boat when they went to the Amazon River.

In addition to these two obvious differences, there are some details on the BASS that are not quite the same as a regular speedboat. First of all, there is a narrow space on both sides of the boat, and there is a waterproof cover, which looks like a place to put a gun, in fact, it is quite suitable for a gun, but they are designed to allow anglers to put their fishing rods.

At the center and rear of the BASS is the helm station, which is usually a simple instrument panel with a steering wheel and two foldable leather seats. There will also be one or two large square LCD displays next to the dashboard. It was the display of the GPS navigation device and the fish finder, which the competitors relied on to determine their position and the underwater terrain. As for detecting fish, it is generally not very accurate, because the water depth is too shallow and the echoes are too chaotic, and this kind of thing is really useful when it is put in the sea.

"Put on your life jacket and buckle it up!" Hong Tao pulled Erin away from the bridge and checked her life jacket.

What Hong Tao is worried about now is not whether he can catch a fish, but whether he can drive the speedboat out of the dock without colliding with other speedboats. When he got into the boat, he took a special look at the engine in the stern, and he was startled. It was a Mercury 4 water-cooled thruster with a full 60 horsepower.

According to Hong Tao's experience in his previous life, this kind of small boat several meters long can run fast with a 30-horsepower engine, and now it is equipped with such a large engine, which is not a good thing for unfamiliar drivers. If you don't get the throttle right, the speedboat is likely to jump on the water and catch another wave or gust of wind. Just flipped it.

The official start time of the race is 8 o'clock, and you can get on the boat at 7 o'clock to prepare, but the rods are not allowed to be taken out, only in boxes. This preparation is mainly to check whether there is any problem with the mechanical part of the speedboat. Another important thing is to check whether your GPS device is accurate.

Although the venue of the competition is Lake Okeechobee, it does not cover all of the lake area, but a piece of competition water is limited by coordinate points. There are no obvious signs on these waters, and it is entirely up to the GPS device to see for yourself, once you go beyond this playing area. The angler's results are null and void.

However, in addition to these tasks, Hong Tao also has one more task than other anglers, that is, to help Erin apply sunscreen, while other anglers are nervously checking various equipment, Hong Tao is holding a bottle of oil and wiping Erin's back lying on the foredeck.

"Our Chinese angler has a lot of personality, you can see, he loves his wife very much, but I'm very worried, this love can move the bass in the water, let's wait and see, okay, now I'm going to step on the broadcast boat, in order to let everyone see the competition of the contestants more clearly, we have specially arranged 8 broadcast boats, they will track the boats of these contestants, broadcast their tournament throughout the whole process, now we will insert an advertisement...... "There are not only busy anglers on the dock, The TV broadcasters were even busier, at this time the host also changed into a fishing suit, wearing a life jacket, standing on the trestle for the final commentary before the start of the game, when he saw Hong Tao, he deliberately let the camera give Hong Tao a close-up, Hong Tao's method of applying sunscreen is very professional in the TV broadcast.

At 8 o'clock, with a loud whistle, the first day of the 2008 FLW Lake Okeechobee began with the start of the preliminaries. More than 30 speedboats were the first to set off, and the American anglers deliberately increased the throttle when they set off, and then with the roar of the engine, they drove the speedboats off the dock and towards the depths of the lake.

Due to the large number of participants, so the speedboat must be allocated in batches, Hong Tao ranked in the third wave, when the whistle sounded again, the speedboat around him howled and ran out, the waves were directly slapped on his boat, only Hong Tao this boat, is still driving slowly, the speed is less than half of others.

"Hurry up! Husband, let's catch up with them, rush! Erin had taken off her coat at this time, wearing only a bikini swimsuit and a life jacket on the outside, she seemed to be back on the roller coaster in Disneyland, looking at the splash of water raised high at the tail of the speedboat in front of her, and urging Hong Tao to fill the gas pedal.

"Shut up! Neither of us can drive a speedboat, and we race against others, you don't want to die! "Although Hong Tao has played speedboats and sailed yachts in the sea, it is just casual play, and it is still far from being familiar with the operation of speedboats.

"Our Chinese friend seems to be in trouble, and it seems to me that he is not very familiar with this speedboat, and it seems that he is still in the learning stage, should I congratulate Paul here? He should have won the race, but alas, winning against a rookie who can't even drive a speedboat is not an honor to praise for Paul as he always says. The host seemed to be particularly interested in Hong Tao and Erin, and his camera boat did not leave at high speed, but traveled side by side with Hong Tao's boat, filming the situation on Hong Tao's boat and commenting at the same time.

"Your uncle! Dare to look at my daughter-in-law! I'm fighting with you! Hong Tao looked at Irene's swimming trunks, which were not much wider than a thong, and finally made up his mind, he would rather capsize than let his wife's ass be looked at by all Americans, so he pushed the accelerator forward two more times, and the engine that was still humming quietly just now immediately let out an angry roar, and the bow of the boat suddenly rose.

"Yay!! Catch up! Finally able to fly the boat, Erin scrambled to her feet, waving and calling at the camera boat behind her.

Lake Okeechobee was so big that hundreds of speedboats could not be seen when they ran into it, and when Hong Tao gradually became familiar with the performance of the speedboats and increased the speed of the boats, the other speedboats on the water did not know where to run except for the camera boat.

Hong Tao looked at the GPS display, found the location of a lake fork in the competition area, and drove the speedboat over. The shore of this Hu is full of this kind of lake fork, large and small, and the lake fork that Hong Tao is looking for is only half an hour's voyage from the wharf, which is a relatively close one.

When fishing in relatively large waters, you must not run to the middle of the lake to fish, where it is difficult to catch good fish, and even there are few fish. This is due to the habit of fish, no matter what kind of fish it is, it has to eat. The place where the most food is eaten is near the shore of the water and at the entrance of the current, and the leaves, fruits, and insects on the shore will become food for the fish. So if you want to have a good catch, you have to find a location with suitable terrain and fruit trees and crops on the shore.

This principle is summed up by most domestic anglers, and Hong Tao believes that it also applies to American fish. Although a fish like the sea bass is a predatory fish that hunts and kills small fish and shrimp for a living, the large open water surface is still not suitable for its survival. First of all, there are no small fish there, and the small fish are hidden in the water and grass, rocks, and underwater obstacles, and since the sea bass eats in these places, there should be nothing wrong with fishing for it in these places.

The fork of the lake is not large, the width is about 200 meters, and the length is less than 500 meters. On the shore on the left was a row of big trees, and on the shore on the right was a row of dwarf trees, which Hong Tao couldn't tell, but Hong Tao saw something he wanted to see, that is, there was a large pile of trees submerged in the water, and only the treetops that were more than a foot long were exposed.

"Wife, let's change places, I'm going to go fishing on the bow of the boat." Hong Tao turned off the engine as soon as the speedboat entered the lake fork, then blasted Erin into the driver's seat, took out his fishing rod, sat on the bar stool at the bow of the boat, adjusted the height of the stool, and then put the front thruster into the water, and began to adjust the direction of the boat with the foot pedals.

"Oh, it seems that our Chinese boy has found his first punctuation, and he is fine-tuning the position of the ship, but it is still the problem I said earlier, he is too weak to maneuver the ship, I am afraid that he is not as skilled as my daughter. Well, let's not criticize his ability to sail for the time being, after all, this is a fishing competition, not a rowing race, and we asked Daniels, a famous professional angler in Florida, to talk about his professional aspect, he is familiar with all the waters of Florida. Daniels, what do you think of this punctuation that the Chinese boy found? The host's broadcast boat had been following Hong Tao's buttocks, and after seeing Hong Tao slow down, the broadcast boat also stopped far away, and the host on the boat spoke a few words to the camera, and then handed over the right to speak to a professional angler who accompanied the boat. (To be continued......)

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