King of the Wilderness

Only a few thick, skyward-pointing giant branches nearly reached the bottom of the ice layer.

”This is it.” Lin Yu’an’s voice carried a trace of uncontrollable excitement.

He pressed his cheek against the icy and piercing surface, using his hand to block the light on the side, trying to see more clearly.

”The deep water outside the river bend offers fish a stable environment, while this enormous submerged log provides a perfect three-dimensional structural shelter.”

”Those large and small branches act like a complex underwater apartment, allowing the fish to escape predators while conserving energy to fight the current.”

”More importantly, obstacles like these create tiny updrafts and whirlpools, stirring up organic matter and microorganisms from the riverbed.”

”They provide food for small fish and shrimp, thereby attracting larger predatory fish.”

Deep water, bends, structural shelter, food gathering spot... all favorable conditions converge perfectly at this one point.

Lin Yu’an stood up and stomped an imprint into the ice with his heel, then retrieved a small piece of bright nylon rope from his backpack.

This was something he had taken apart from a previous rope find and tied to a branch of a dead tree on the shore as a striking marker.

He cheerfully said to the camera, ”This is our number one fishing spot.”

”If there are fish in this river, most of them are probably snoozing in some corner right under my feet.”

Determining the most important main fishing spot made the subsequent work more efficient.

He no longer conducted a carpet search but quickly sought regions along the riverbank with similar characteristics to the number one fishing spot.

Soon, about three hundred meters downstream, he found the number two fishing spot.

It was where a small tributary flowed into the main river, the extra nutrients and different water temperatures would form a mini ecosystem attracting schools of fish.

The number three fishing spot was at a point where the river channel suddenly narrowed.

Narrow channels mean faster flow, but after the narrow point, the river widens again, and the flow slows dramatically, forming a natural deep pool.

This is the migratory path and resting stop for fish.

Finally, the number four fishing spot was located on the backflow side of a massive rock foundation extending into the river.

The enormous rock shields fish from the main flow, creating a tranquil haven.

He created striking markers for each fishing spot, and by the time he finished, the sky was rapidly darkening.

On the way back to the shelter, Lin Yu’an was not walking but thinking.

Finding fishing spots was merely the first step of a long journey.

Sitting quietly on the ice waiting for fish is suicide in the wild at minus twenty or thirty degrees; the gusts will strip all the warmth from his body in minutes as if a knife.

He needed a mobile shelter, one that could shield him from the elements but still be lightweight for easy transfer between the four fishing spots.

A clear design blueprint began to rapidly construct in his mind.

When he returned to the shelter, he sat by the warm fireplace, picked up a charred piece of wood, and drew on a smooth stone slab.

He murmured to himself, ”What I need is an A-frame structure; this is the most stable and classic shelter shape.”

”It’s simple, sturdy, and easy to build. My initial plan is to make two identical rectangular frames.”

”Then connect them at the top, opening them like a book to form a stable A-frame tent skeleton.”

He continued refining the details, ”The frame material cannot be heavy driftwood; I need light and resilient materials.”

Staring at the sketch, he persisted with the next step, planning to fill these frames with flexible birch poles to form wind-blocking walls.

But then he paused, slightly furrowing his brow, noticing a problem.

”This plan is too complicated.” He crossed out the sketch’s two separate rectangular frames.

”I need to create two separate frames and then perform secondary filling and weaving on these two frames. The entire process is time-consuming and exhausting, and there is also the issue of strength at the connection points of two separate components.”

He shook his head, internally dismissing this initial plan.

”The core of the ice fishing shelter is simplicity and rapid assembly; any excess procedures and connections are a design flaw.”

Eyes fixed on the flickering flames, his mind raced. How to construct the most stable structure with the fewest steps?

A thought flashed across his mind like lightning. The patches of fine willow trees by the riverside were the perfect choice!

”I fell into a mental trap...Why do I need separate ’frames’ and ’fillings’?”

”I don’t need to segregate them! The wall itself can be the frame!”

”I will first select a few of the thickest and most resilient willow branches and curve them directly into an ’A’ shape, serving as the entire shelter’s keel and spine.”

He demonstrated by placing a few small twigs on the ground, ”Then, I will parallelly arrange these A-shaped keels at certain intervals.”

”Next, I will use thinner willow branches to weave back and forth between these keels, tightly connecting them into a unified structure.”

”Thus, the entire shelter is constructed by the weaving itself; it serves as both the wall and support structure. No excess wood, ensuring the weight is minimized while the structure gains tenacity through weaving.”

He continued to elaborate, ”This integrated design naturally resolves portability issues.”

”When I need to move, just collapse it from an A-shape into a flat panel and easily carry it on my back, its top serves as a natural flexible ’hinge.’”

”But.” He pointed to the bottom of the sketch.

”The two legs of this A-shape need to be fixed during assembly to prevent sliding outward.”

”Here, we only need a detachable horizontal tension rod; inside the A-shape about half a meter above the ground, I’ll use a weaving technique to leave rope loops or willow branch loops for the rod to pass through.”

”Every time it’s assembled, inserting an appropriate wooden rod through both loops locks the entire A-shape structure firmly.”

”For disassembly, just pull out the rod. All parts are designed for rapid assembly and disassembly.”

The blueprint for a lightweight, sturdy, foldable, integrated woven mobile ice fishing shelter now perfectly forms.

The last question remained, ”How to fix this lightweight shelter on the flat ice surface to prevent it from being blown away by the strong wind.”

”I intend to carve some thirty-centimeter-long ground nails from rigid birch; the tail of the nails will have a groove for tying ropes.”

”On the ice, I’ll use a hunting knife or axe to drill several ice holes, then place the wooden nails into the holes.”

”Then, the crucial step, pour water into the gaps between the nails and ice holes.”

”In the sub-zero temperatures, this water will rapidly freeze in minutes, sealing the nail and the entire ice surface seamlessly together.”

”A steadfast ’ice nail’ completes, and its solidity far surpasses nails driven into soil.”

”When needed to relocate spots, operations are equally simple; one can either use an axe to scrape the ice and recover the nails or opt for the more effortless route, untie the nylon rope and abandon these few nails, then create new ones at the new fishing spot.”

Every technical challenge was meticulously resolved within his comprehensive thinking.

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