Yesterday afternoon, Old Yu was drinking tea in his shop and chatting with Zhang Qiang about the last time he was next to Lin Yang.
Yu Yitong bluffed about Lin Yang’s skills to avoid his own embarrassment. It was not too exaggerated. He just guessed wildly about many details he didn’t understand and added subjective guesses, but after all, the catch was real.
In another field, Zhang Qiang might have been impressed, but when it came to fishing, there was really no one in Jiangdong City he acknowledged as his superior.
Even losing to Lin Yang twice in a row last time did not convince him because he thought Lin Yang had an unfair advantage due to different bait, believing that if they used the same bait, he might not necessarily lose.
According to his calculation, a young angler in his twenties, even if he began fishing at about ten years old, how many years of fishing experience could he have?
Most of it, at least eighty percent, was luck.
In Zhang Qiang’s view, Lin Yang was just a blind cat that stumbled upon a dead rat; it was mere luck that his fishing method matched the fish’s activity or other special circumstances, with very little human control involved.
He hadn’t expected that Old Yu would give up his spot to him today and end up next to Lin Yang’s fishing spot again. Today, he was determined to teach the youngster a lesson.
Moreover, his confidence today stemmed from having learned a few tricks from a master after his last defeat to Lin Yang, and he believed his skills had improved.
Today was the perfect opportunity to regain his lost pride.
Lin Yang was unaware of Zhang Qiang’s schemes.
With some time left before the start of fishing, he sat down at his spot, opened his bait box, and scooped in the bait he had prepared in advance.
The bait was the same as last time, also prepared the night before at home, not too much, three people four kilograms.
In addition to the added ingredients, Lin Yang also packed about one kilogram of the basic mixture for emergencies that could require a quick change.
This density itself wouldn’t use up much bait, so it should be enough.
Zhang Qiang also began his pre-fishing preparations nearby, originally full of confidence.
But his expression turned serious when he saw the bait Lin Yang was using. He didn’t understand loose bait before, but he had recently learned from another master and had gained some understanding of its application.
He knew that under the right circumstances, loose bait could be far more effective than scrupulously prepared bait.
A novel trick could outclass others; many people exploded their protections in Black Pond Fishing solely because of loose bait.
He hadn’t expected that Lin Yang would also use loose bait for fishing.
Zhang Qiang opened his tackle box, poured all two kilograms of prepared bait into the mixing bowl, and then took a small, label-torn bottle from his box.
The small drug smelled sweet, with a hint of rotten potato. It’s a sweet bait mix known to many seasoned anglers, effective for catching carp.
Zhang Qiang observed the details of Lin Yang’s fishing and Lin Yang also quietly watched Zhang Qiang.
After a quick glance, Lin Yang got a clearer understanding of Zhang Qiang. The guy was using both loose bait and a little drug, much more methodical than Yu Yitong.
Half an hour passed without realizing, and soon the fish transport truck came again.
It was still the same truck and the same fish delivery man from last time, Wang Jian Country once again dumped eight baskets of fish under everyone’s watchful eyes.
Today, the occupancy rate was much higher. So far, over thirty people had shown up, with normally vacant spots now all filled up; Boss Wang was quite happy with every move he made.
With more people, the process of collecting angling fees started earlier. Wang Jian Country quickly made his way over to Lin Yang.
"Quite a crowd this morning, Brother Wang," Lin Yang greeted with a smile.
Wang Jian Country responded with a smile filled face: "I have to thank you for that. After you posted your catch in the WeChat group last time, the anglers went wild. I received over thirty calls in one afternoon. Many anglers from the city heard that our pond has good fish and came over! It really boosted our numbers."
"Haha, just luck, here, the fee for fishing," Lin Yang pulled out a hundred-yuan note and handed it to Wang Jian Country.
Wang Jian Country took the money: "Alright, fish well, try to get 200 kilograms this time!"
"I’ll do my best."
"Hahaha!"
They had only interacted once before, so both had a basic understanding of each other’s temperament and nature, making jokes and casual chatting very natural.
While these conversations were normal for both parties, to Zhang Qiang who was listening from the side, it was somewhat grating to the ears.
With a total of just 600 pounds of fish and more than 30 anglers at the pond, dreaming about each person catching 200 pounds was just that—a dream.
After collecting the fishing fees, it was almost seven o’clock before he knew it.
Lin Yang looked at his preparations, all set to go, and since he was idle, he decided to start his live stream.
He still used his mobile phone for streaming because flying drones around so many people was a bit dangerous, plus he couldn’t manage it while fishing at Black Pond.
Not long after he started the live stream, quite a few online friends joined in.
"Finally, the host has decided to start streaming."
"Quite early today, huh?"
"Where are you fishing today? Looks a bit different from last time, did you switch ponds?"
Lin Yang greeted, "Hello everyone, today I’m back at Dongyang Fishing Ground. If you notice something different in the view, it’s because we arrived late and didn’t get a good spot, so I’m sitting towards the southern part of the east bank."
"Today’s fishing conditions, 600 pounds of Carps and Golden Crucian Carp have been stocked, with a fee of 100. But there are quite a few anglers today, over thirty, the situation is a bit tough, but we’ll give it our all."
Let me explain here, fishing on the day of fish stocking is referred to as ’regular fishing’.
On the other hand, when the Black Pond owner isn’t stocking fish, fishing with less money is called ’stealing a donkey’ or stealing fish, a special lingo among anglers.
"Oh my, over thirty people, with each person getting less than 20 pounds of fish, the pit boss is making a killing."
"Definitely because the host made a big splash last time which caused a sensation around here; quite a few customers from outside have also rushed over to try their luck."
"With so many people, it’s difficult to catch fish, I’ve experienced this before and it was a miserable situation."
"Come on host, just knock out the competitors and you win."
Lin Yang smiled, "Having a lower average fish weight and difficulty in fishing is inevitable, but landing some today is still not a problem."
"You can tell, the host is very confident."
"How long till we start fishing? I can’t wait to see the host’s performance."
"Master Lin’s skills are absolutely solid, last time shutting up that sour old guy was proof enough."
After chatting with the online friends for a while, Wang Jian Guo had finished collecting the fishing fees and glanced at the time, there was one minute left until the start of fishing.
"Everyone quiet down, listen to me for a moment!"
"Today we stocked 621 pounds of fish, a total of 8 baskets, with 33 anglers. That’s already beyond the historical highest number we’ve had at our fishing ground. Thanks everyone for coming!"
"The average fish weight per person is a bit low, to make it up to you, I’m personally adding 200 bucks as a bonus! Whoever catches the most fish by 10 a.m. gets this 200 bucks as prize money! Have fun, everyone!"
Adding 200 bucks as extra prize money was unheard of in local Black Pond fishing.
The pit boss ensuring quality and quantity of fish was already generous, and now with prize money, Wang Jian Guo’s approach instantly won unanimous approval from the anglers.
"Haha, Brother Jian Guo is generous."
"Don’t everyone fight over it, this prize money is mine, Yu Yitong’s!"
"Pah, shameless, Yu Yishui do you even know your own level? It’s lucky if you’re not an air force, dreaming of prize money?"
"Hahaha...."
The scene was very joyful for a while.