NOVPUB
Chapter 48: Chapter 48: This Pack of Bait Is Perfect
Having been rebuffed twice in a row, Old Lang felt a bit uneasy, but they hadn’t done anything to affect him; they just didn’t want to chat with him, which gave him no ground to complain.
Originally coming here to fish, Old Lang was curious to see Zhang Yang’s confidence. Now, seeing that the other party was so young and had no intention of engaging with him, he subconsciously felt a bit more restless.
Based on these mixed emotions, Old Lang opened his tackle box, taking out several packs of commercial bait for setting traps, pouring them into a collapsible bucket as if they cost nothing, mixing them thoroughly, and then adding water, creating a bucket full of bait materials.
Not long after, Qian Wenbo came over with an empty basin, shamelessly asked for a basin of bait, and the quantity left in the bucket became somewhat normal.
"Little Zhang, where’s your bait? Why haven’t I seen you prepare it?" Lang Junfeng turned his head, glanced a few times, and deliberately started a conversation out of nothing.
"Haven’t opened it yet; recently, I’ve been waiting to see the fish released before preparing the bait!" Zhang Yang replied vaguely.
"Observing the fish to decide on the strategy!"
"Haha, exactly!"
...
More than half an hour later, the fish transportation truck arrived at the fishing spot, and the pit owner, Diao Changhe, called out, inviting everyone to gather around as they habitually did to watch the release of the fish and the weighing process.
After several previous mess-ups, Diao Changhe became much more disciplined in releasing the fish, and the skin quality and condition of the fish improved significantly.
Zhang Yang just glanced briefly and went back to his spot to prepare his bait, while Lang Junfeng took the opportunity to observe closely.
The first thing Zhang Yang poured out of the package was the bait. As an experienced veteran in the circle for many years, Lang Junfeng’s first impression was that it was Tongwei granulated powder, costing just a few bucks per pound; not something rare.
Is this the magical bait that people talk about?
While he was secretly pondering, he felt puzzled watching Zhang Yang prepare his bait.
Zhang Yang only used a very small ratio of water to mix the bait, and after mixing it evenly, he kept rubbing it with his hands to break up the lumps. The prepared bait was slightly moist and not sticky.
This kind of bait would be fine for hand-casting, but from what Qian Wenbo says, Zhang Yang never hand-casts bait.
After thinking about it for a while, Lang Junfeng still couldn’t figure out what kind of fishing method this was and assumed it was just some trickery.
My bucket of bait is real quality stuff; could it really be less effective than granulated powder?
"Xiao Mao, shape all of our bait into bombs, and when we start fishing, throw them all in!" Old Lang called out to his sidekick Fisherman.
"Got it, Master!" Xiao Mao responded, squatting at the back, busily shaping them, waiting for the time to cast the bait.
Zhang Yang was already accustomed to anglers starting with bomb-casting. A few of them prepared the scattered cannon bait and were soon ready for the fishing contest to begin.
Just after six o’clock, fishing began. Without hesitation, Lang Junfeng cast all his bomb bait into the pond, while Zhang Yang stuck to his routine, using a lead-coated four-ball method, followed by Triangle Cannon casting at intervals.
As it turned out, even the carefully prepared bait by veterans like Lang Junfeng was far less effective than Zhang Yang’s Triangle Cannon when dealing with these fresh-stock farmed fish.
The change of a "master" next door didn’t hinder Zhang Yang’s performance. Within about forty minutes of luring the fish, Zhang Yang’s side began getting bites first and continued with fast-paced catches, leading to a string of catches.
Between six-thirty and just before nine, Zhang Yang had caught more than thirty carp in his fish basket, while next door, with heavy investment in bait, Lang Junfeng only had eight fish, and they had long stopped biting.
Old Lang, who had experienced many large and small fishing occasions since encountering pole fishing, had never felt so powerless, even in some commercial fishing competitions.
The spot was the best in the pit, and both bait and trap materials were carefully prepared. But in practical combat, the fish catch was easily surpassed by the neighbor.
No wonder so many customers had been snatched away by Zhang Yang. The evident difference in fishing results had even shaken Lang Junfeng’s confidence after just one fishing session.
Could it be that there’s some magical fish-attracting substance in their bait?
Full of questions, just past nine-thirty, Old Lang packed up, sold the fish, and left.
Driving back home, the first thing he did was call his friend. The phone call lasted for more than two hours, extending until late at night before hanging up.
The next morning, a stranger angler came to Zhang Yang’s shop, and after a brief conversation, bought two bags of broad-spectrum formula bait for farmed fish.
Soon, these two bags of bait were in Lang Junfeng’s hands.
At this moment, sitting by the tea table in the inner room of Old Lang’s shop was a slim but sharp-eyed middle-aged man around Old Lang’s age.
"Senior brother, look at this bait. I feel it’s just some granulated powder, but why is it so incredibly effective!"
Old Lang’s senior brother, surnamed Li, full name Li Chunsheng, was a loyal customer at Old Lang’s store, also a fellow who learned fishing from the beginning with him.
Li Chunsheng’s father was a political figure in the district. Though he learned fishing, he didn’t rely on a tackle store for a living. Traveling far and wide for fishing competitions, he delved deeply into bait research and was highly recognizable in the local fishing circle.
Li Chunsheng opened the bait package, poured its contents onto a sheet of white paper, and began to examine it closely.
After a while, he turned around and quickly retrieved two small sieves from the car trunk.
The two sieves had different pore sizes, one coarse and one fine.
Old Li soon poured the bait through the sieves.
The cannon bait, normally considered powdery when viewed, was quickly separated through sieves with different pore sizes, giving a preliminary separation of materials by particle size.
This way, the different components could be seen more clearly.
The grey powder was granulated powder, the green and yellow granules were Marukyu’s Wild Food Unmatched Four Kings, and the white part was Snowflake Powder, while the flake-like parts were super-inducing wheat germ.
The composition of a portion of bait, after passing through the sieve like this, gave a preliminary conclusion of its contents.
"Wow! The person who prepared this bait is a master!" Having drawn a preliminary conclusion, Li Chunsheng couldn’t help but exclaim, raising his head.
"What’s the deal? Tell me!" Hearing his senior brother’s words, Lang Junfeng couldn’t help but become curious.
"Look at this bait. The majority is granulated powder, followed by the imported Marukyu’s Wild Food Unmatched bait. The flake-like ones are super-inducing, and the white ones are Snowflake Powder!
Granulated powder costs the least and is used to fill the bait quantity, acting as the base bait!
The imported Marukyu’s Four Kings are expensive, combining animal protein and algae fermentation, effective for attracting and stimulating fish, serving as the main attacking bait!
The wheat germ supplements the grain-like flavor in the bait, along with Snowflake Powder and some fine light bran to adjust the state!
In this bait, the primary, secondary, supplementary components indicate both specificity and broad-spectrum characteristics!
The master often compared bait preparation to composing a traditional Chinese medicine formula, emphasizing the principle of the sovereign, minister, assistant, and envoy. This bait perfectly embodies that principle! 𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙥𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
This bait formula is genius!!"
