A little after one o'clock in the afternoon, Zhang Yang's team returned to the parking lot.
There was still some time before the final afternoon competition draw for entry, so Zhang Yang took out a large bait preparation bowl from the car and opened the bag of Silver Carp bait he bought and poured it in.
Can you imagine what it's like to have a bowl large enough for a child to bathe filled to the brim with Silver Carp bait?
Once water is added to prepare the Silver Carp bait, it emits a peculiar smell of strawberry mixed with a strong fishy scent and a touch of sourness, yet the bait itself turns a delicate, girlish shade of light pink.
The scene is too beautiful, almost hard to look at.
Zhang Yang casually grabbed a handful of prepared bait, pressed his fingers tightly around the hook, and then placed this perfectly hook-bound bait into the small bucket of water beside him, observing the speed at which the bait disperses and dissolves into the water, while silently counting time in his head.
After one trial, Zhang Yang didn't say a word, changed his baiting technique and repeated the process two more times until he got a good sense of the timing.
The team members thought he had already mastered the water-to-bait ratio and were waiting to be handed their share of bait,
but Zhang Yang raised his eyebrows and scratched his head, then took out a package of Tengen's Red Devil Competitive Edition Crucian Carp bait from the fishing box and sprinkled it on top,
after vigorously mixing everything together, he finally nodded in satisfaction.
"What's going on? The bait looked good, why add Crucian Carp bait? This Red Devil will attract small fish, won't it?" Wang Yan curiously asked after seeing this.
Zhang Yang smiled and explained, "The bait looks fine, but it requires slightly higher casting skills.
This bait isn't just for me; I better adjust it slightly! This way, the margin for error is higher.
As for adding Red Devil, it's a trick for Silver Carp, people usually think it likes sour and smelly stuff, right?
Actually, high-quality animal protein is also a bighead carp's favorite. This was my secret weapon for catching Silver Carp in the past, and it works wonders!"
Knowing Zhang Yang well, once he speaks so confidently, it's bound to be true. Everyone nodded repeatedly after hearing him, with eager expectations for the fish conditions of the afternoon.
Four anglers, each got a full bowl of Silver Carp bait, and with nowhere else to store the rest, they divided it into four portions and packed them into convenient bags to stash them in the fishing box,
in short, Zhang Yang and his team had adequately prepared 'ammunition' for the final afternoon competition.
While Zhang Yang and his team were preparing bait for the afternoon match, a Dodge Ram with a license plate from Shandong province and a BMW X5 drove into the parking lot back to back.
The Dodge belonged to Liu Wenjun, who had previously taken his apprentice to Luo Dapeng's shop. Old Liu is experienced in competitions, did quite well in the first three games, and through friends, found out that his temporary ranking was fifth.
Meanwhile, the person who got out of the passenger side of the BMW X5 looked a bit younger than Liu Wenjun, appearing to be in his early thirties.
He stood at 176cm, had a neat cropped hairstyle, a well-defined facial structure, with distinct features of fine eyebrows, phoenix eyes, and notably a fair complexion rare among fishing enthusiasts.
This young angler was Xu Xiao, ranked second, from Su City, a seasoned angler, with a professional athlete rating higher than Liu Wenjun, a national second-level competitive fishing master.
"Old Liu, you can't hold your liquor, huh? It's not even half a jin of wine and your face is red; are you alright for the afternoon competition?" Xu Xiao teased Liu Wenjun after getting out of the car.
Liu Wenjun pursed his lips, took out a pack of soft Zhonghua cigarettes from his pocket and offered one to Xu Xiao, lighting up one for himself, and then spoke, "The afternoon competition is coming up! How could I let loose like you? You drank nearly a jin at lunch, and seemed fine!"
Xu Xiao blew out a smoke ring, squinted and said, "The wine your apprentice brought was nice, but lunchtime was too rushed, couldn't fully enjoy! I'll arrange the post-competition celebration dinner tonight, a full package!"
"The fourth game hasn't even been contested in the afternoon, and the celebration dinner is already booked?" Old Liu jokingly taunted.
"I've got this in the bag! I checked scores in the morning, among the top ranks, my weight is the highest!
As for this afternoon's match, let's not even talk about it. In terms of Silver Carp fishing, I bow to no one! Three fingers pinching snails - a sure win!"
Perhaps it was the alcohol talking, Lin Xiao's voice wasn't loud, but carried an air of invincibility.
Call him arrogant or confident, overall, his mannerisms were sharp and full of assurance, making it easy for those around him to believe his words, with no inclination to refute.
"I heard the top ranker is someone named Zhang Yang! This guy has been performing exceptionally in all three rounds, he must be a pro!" Liu Wenjun subtly added.
Xu Xiao smirked and said, "Bull! I've heard of many 'pros,' few are any good!
I know all the current competitive fishing masters, I had a friend check his registration records, just a kid in his early twenties, how much fishing experience could he have, hasn't even registered a CAA qualification!
Old Li, who weighed the fish, said that in the morning round he caught Grass Carp and even hooked a big Crucian Carp, barely scoring a point in the group!
The weather is so hot, the fish conditions will definitely worsen in the afternoon, as long as he doesn't score, I'm the guaranteed champion!"
No wonder Xu Xiao was boasting, he wasn't genuinely arrogant, but rather meticulous and evidently checked Zhang Yang's background using his contacts.
"Just be careful! I'm three points behind you, getting the championship or runner-up is unlikely, but you stay steady!" Liu Wenjun nodded, giving a final reminder.