Pre-Baiting, Mid-Fishing Topping, and Accidentally Winning a Small Tournament

Let me tell you, September 13th was a wild one. I fished through the night until 2 or 3 AM, then the next day was a total chaos of errands and stuff. Barely napped for 30 minutes at noon, and then my buddy Quan showed up from out of town to chat—next thing I knew, it was 3 or 4 PM! Meanwhile, my friend Zhu had gotten skunked the night before: big fish broke his line, blew up his spot, and only caught tiny crucians. Dude was fuming and immediately begged to hit our usual spot again that night. So I bailed on Quan, grabbed my gear, and bolted.

Finding a New Spot (Because Our Old One Got Jacked)

We rolled up to our go-to spot, only to find some random guy had taken it. Ugh, classic. The three of us (me, Zhu, and my partner—let’s call her Leader for fun) hiked west a bit, and luckily, there was still room to carve out new spots. Had to climb around a steep bank, but 20-30 meters west of our old spot? Perfect. Time to break out the folding shovel and get to work.

Setting Up Leader’s Rig First (She’s Impatient)

Zhu set up shop 7-8 meters to our left in an old spot, and I noticed our area had one too—just big enough for one person. I told Leader to chill for a sec because her float was way too dull lately. Here’s how I fixed it: tied a heavy sinker to the top hook, dropped it to the bottom, and set it to her favorite 1.5 eyes. I marked the spot, took off the sinker, wrapped it around the weight, added wheat, and trimmed until we hit that exact eye. Then I mixed up a crucian carp loose bomb bait (1:0.5 water ratio) and let it wake up. Told her to ball it up and pre-bait her spot while I fixed ours.

Before I even finished setting up my spot, Leader’s rod went off! Caught a tiny, clear river shrimp—been craving shrimp lately, so that was a win, even if it was tiny. No skunk for her, at least. Tossed it in the bucket and kept going.

My Rig & Bait: Cold Night = Extra Protein

The bank was rock hard, but I’ve got some muscle (thank goodness), so I carved out a spot right next to Leader. First order of business: mix my night bait. It was freezing that night, so I swapped up the usual mix:

• Base: Fishing King crucian carp loose bomb
• Added red worms and earthworms (extra protein = fish magnet)
• Ditched 918, swapped in Big Fish King’s fishy version instead of Field Blue Crucian
• Threw in some drawing powder
• Water ratio: 1:1.1, stirred well, let it sit to wake up

Then I tuned my rods: 5.7m rod (no hook, flat water to 2 eyes) and 3.9m rod (same as Leader’s—double hook on bottom, 2 eyes). Zhu and I were still setting up, but Leader was already killing it! After the shrimp, she switched to the loose bomb and started reeling in crucians one after another. I finished mixing my bait, squeezed it into balls (looked perfect), passed some to Zhu, pre-baited, and started casting nonstop to lure fish in.

The Fish Started Biting—Then Chaos Hit

By 7 PM, it was pitch black, and the pre-baiting started working! First bite: tiny silver carp. 10 minutes later, the float twitched—first two casts were empty, so I waited for it to drop half an eye, then yank. Boom: tiny yellow fish. Way better than the night before!

That night’s bites were way better—faster, more consistent. Maybe the bait? Maybe we got there early enough to catch the feeding window? Either way, fish were flying into the bucket. Then 8 PM hit: Leader hooked a big one! It jumped out of the water, then snapped free. Looked like a pounder. We figured she didn’t set the hook hard enough—she’s got weak arms, so she usually pulls the handle first instead of lifting the tip. We talked it out, and she got back to it.

Mid-Fishing Topping Saved the Day

After that big fish got away, the bite died. Total dead zone. Figured we blew up the spot, so I grabbed the loose bomb and re-topped the bait. While we waited, I scarfed a instant noodle—starving after the night before. An hour later, bites started coming back slow but steady.

Leader learned her lesson and finally landed a big crucian! My 5.7m rod was still too dull, so I switched it to double hook on bottom (2 eyes). Turns out 3.9m and 4.5m rods were way better for bites. I even landed a tiny carp (under a pound) and straight-lined it in—no net needed, felt like a pro.

We Called It a Night (And I Won—Oops)

Next thing I knew, it was 1 AM. Bites slowed down, and I was exhausted—stayed up late the night before, busy all day. We packed up, and when we counted the buckets? I had more than Zhu and Leader. Accidental small tournament win! Who knew pre-baiting and topping would make that big a difference?

Looking back, two things probably helped: pre-baiting and topping (kept fish around) and the extra red worms/earthworms (fish love protein). But hey, it’s just one night—need to test it more. Gonna be busy the next few days, but can’t wait to hit the water again. Stay tight, folks—may your bait be perfect, your hooks sharp, and your buckets full!