During the festival, they flock to the Cai River to show off their fishing skills. The festival has become a regular event, held once or twice a year, offering leisure time for villagers catching fish for their daily meals and showing their respect to gods. Besides, it also serves as a chance for them to pray for favourable weather conditions, bumper harvests and rich fish in rivers and streams.

In the afternoon, after rituals performed by the shaman, hundreds of rafts carrying fishermen rush to the river, to the cheer of thousands of locals and visitors under the scorching sun which sends the mercury to as high as 40 degrees Celsius.

After the first day of the festival, many are lucky to catch tens of kilograms of fish while others go home empty-handed. Yet, they are all happy and say: "See you tomorrow.”

casting net experts 

Suoi Long Lake in Doi hamlet covers a vast area, 5m-6m deep. Last year, many caught fish up to tens of kilograms each during the second day of the festival. Therefore, this year, the lake continued to attract hundreds of rafts. Seeing the fish hunters from the early morning, Bui Thi Lieng, a resident in Doi hamlet, said: "I am very happy. Locals brave the heat to keep coming here to cheer the competitors. Unlike last year’s festival, so far no one has been lucky enough to catch big fish this year. It may be due to the deep water that makes fish swim to the river bottom. The festival has helped us relax while offering an opportunity for us to sell our catches to visitors.”

Apart from residents in Lo Son, the festival has also attracted skillful fishermen from adjacent communes. Last year, Bui Van Chuc from Muong 2 hamlet, Do Nhan district, and five other s in the hamlet teamed up to participate in the festival. However, this year, he came as a visitor as he had not enough time to form a team.

"Last year, I joined several others participating in the festival. We netted more than 30 kilograms of fish after just a day. I regret not joining this year’s. The festival is meaningful as it helps preserve our traditional culture, raise public awareness of ecological protection and prevent illegal fishing activities” Chuc said./.

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