Reborn in the Millennium: Building a Fortune from Fishing

Chapter 550 The Level of Shrimp Bricks

The next day, because it was the day before the dead tide and there hadn't been any fish biting for the past few days, I didn't go fishing.

Following Uncle Qing's instructions, we took a boat to a frozen goods company in Zhuhai.

The main purpose of this trip was to seek business cooperation, and secondly, to take my family on a trip to Shenzhen. Of course, I haven't forgotten about the shrimp bricks.

When I arrived at the cold storage and listened to other people's explanations, I realized how deep the water was in the shrimp brick industry.

Shrimp bricks are not only used as bait, but also as a major feed, and the demand from coastal aquaculture farmers is very high.

Furthermore, there are three tiers, with significant price differences between the different tiers.

The highest grade is Antarctic krill bricks. Antarctic krill is rich in animal protein and various amino acids, and has a fresh, sweet, and fishy taste, which has a strong fish-attracting effect.

Whether used as bait or feed, it is top-quality. After being caught by deep-sea shrimp fishing boats, it is immediately pressed and frozen on the spot, and its freshness is even better than that of dead shrimp in the vegetable market.

These shrimp bricks are of even higher quality than shrimp from near-shore fishing boats. They are now mainly sold as seafood wholesalers and rarely enter the inland areas.

The largest consumer market for seafood is always coastal cities.

The second grade is mixed shrimp bricks from the coast, which contain all kinds of shrimp. The shrimp brought back by fishing boats are not fresh and can not be sold, so they are made into shrimp bricks.

Shrimp farmers love to buy these shrimp bricks because they are nutritious and inexpensive.

Grade 3 bricks are the lowest quality shrimp powder bricks. In some places where transportation is inconvenient, the shrimp are dried and crushed to obtain whole dried shrimp meat, which is convenient for transportation and storage.

The remaining shrimp shell fragments are the raw material for shrimp powder bricks. After being ground into fine powder, they can be mixed with other ingredients and then pressed into bricks.

Although it has a shrimp flavor, it contains many impurities and is difficult to digest, so no one wants it as animal feed.

In mainland China, most bait used is grade 3 bricks, with a small portion being grade 2 bricks, but they are uniformly advertised as grade 1 Antarctic krill powder.

The shrimp bait he uses every day is a second-grade shrimp brick.

After listening to the introduction, Qin Dahe immediately understood that the bait companies in later generations that sold bait for less than ten yuan were probably selling second or third-grade shrimp bricks.

Grade 1 bricks are really expensive. If you buy more than 1,000 bricks at once, each brick costs 20 yuan, which means the average price per kilogram is about 16.6 yuan.

However, their 600-gram brick is a solid 600 grams. The deep-sea shrimp fishing boats have standard molds, and the error after the shrimp brick is melted can be guaranteed not to exceed 30 grams.

This is the price of frozen shrimp. It's relatively cheap compared to freshwater shrimp from inland areas, only slightly more expensive than grass shrimp, but of better quality.

If we plan to use Grade A bricks as raw materials, and considering cold chain transportation, the price will be as high as 20 yuan per kilogram. Therefore, the cost of one kilogram of dried shrimp powder is likely to exceed 100 yuan.

A standard serving of commercial bait is 300 grams, and the shrimp powder content should be around 10%, which is 30 grams. The cost of the shrimp powder alone is six yuan.

After doing the math, he felt a chill run down his spine. With the other ingredients added, the production cost of a 300-gram bag of commercial bait was nearly ten yuan.

He's the original manufacturer, so the bait has to go through at least two hands before it reaches anglers. Does he intend to release a commercial bait with a retail price of at least 20 yuan per pack?
The commercial bait currently used is shrimp shell powder and earthworm powder. The wholesale price of a bag is 4.8 yuan, and the retail price is controlled within 10 yuan, which is the current limit.

If you're not using Antarctic krill powder, can you continue using shrimp shell powder bricks?

Shrimp shell powder bricks are cheap and can be bought directly from Alibaba. They don't even need to go through cold chain transportation; they are delivered directly by express courier.

But making low-end products isn't his style. It's such a difficult choice, damn it.

Later fishing tackle companies all used shrimp shell powder, as long as it had a shrimp smell, and they sold it for eight to ten yuan.

It seems there's a store that sells bait for 32 yuan, and it was criticized so much that people questioned their existence as soon as it was put on the shelves. The market still doesn't allow such unconventional existences.

However, the fishing tackle market is just starting out, so I still have the opportunity to go the high-end market.

He stroked his chin, and then he had an idea.

That evening, two poll posts appeared simultaneously on forums and online communities, both posted by him as the founder of Dahe Fishing Gear.

He gave a detailed account of the shrimp bricks, revealing everything except the specific figures for the cost of his own bait.

Should we use expensive Grade 1 shrimp bricks, which sell for 20 yuan a bag as commercial bait, or continue using shrimp powder bricks? Let everyone vote.

The commercial baits from Dahe Fishing Tackle have already satisfied most anglers. This year, nearly 40,000 packs were sold, earning him a lot of money, but this was overshadowed by the venture capital investment in silver carp and bighead carp baits.

Apart from a few secret recipes that are perfectly suited to the local conditions, the rest of the baits were completely outclassed.

The main problem is the extensive use of additives, such as ethyl maltol, eugenol, and pig feed concentrate.

Fishing tackle companies these days don't have chemical laboratories, and their bait composition is developed through trial and error based on fishing performance. They're nowhere near as potent as this "King of Drugs in Black Pit Fishing."

In later generations, people would add whatever bait was forbidden, and the fishing results would naturally be better.

Just like ethyl maltol, it uses chemical raw materials, while those fishing tackle companies are still using malt powder, which is not only more expensive but also less effective.

Bait is for fish to eat, so there's no need to be too strict about it. Good bait is bait that can catch fish.

Anglers naturally started discussing the topic enthusiastically.

"It's a first-grade shrimp brick, so it's okay to sell it for more money, as long as it can catch fish."

"Good quality goods, money is no object." This is the mindset of the wealthy.

Everyone understands that you get what you pay for, and the best shrimp powder makes for better bait. But the choices of ordinary anglers are even more outrageous; they want top-grade shrimp powder for river fishing tackle, but they can't raise the price.

It's normal to have the "want it all" mentality. What if they can't afford a better one and those rich people end up buying it and getting stuck with their pores?

Some people even feel that there is absolutely no need to launch bait made from first-grade shrimp bricks.

Isn't it great that everyone uses level 2 or 3 shrimp bricks? It doesn't interfere with fishing.

The discussion in the fishing forum was very lively, with bighead carp and silver carp anglers participating. After all, fishing for bighead carp and silver carp is more dependent on the temperature, while fishing for crucian carp can be done all year round.

Many people were called online and forced to participate in the voting.

The trend is clearly visible: ordinary anglers are gaining the upper hand, especially on Baidu Tieba, where most of the users are driven from QQ and are mostly internet cafe users.

Dahe Fishing Tackle also advertised on Tieba, and they didn't charge him anything. Since he was the one who suggested setting up Tieba, he was returning the favor by giving him the advertising space in the fishing forum. It's basically Dahe Fishing Tackle's headquarters.

This is something other fishing tackle companies envy: a new traffic source that can continuously acquire new users.

The voting results won't be finalized until tomorrow, but the trend is basically clear and within his expectations.

This vote is just to give these netizens a sense of participation, and incidentally to generate buzz and prove that he's putting in the effort for the bait.

The actual plan will be slightly adjusted based on the voting results.

Today is a true dead tide, which is the day with the smallest rise in sea level each month.

The fishing box arrived yesterday, but I was delayed because I went to Zhuhai. Now that no one is going to the beach for rock fishing, I have to deliver the fishing box to another location.

Nine people bought it in total. Qin Dahe asked for the cost price, 130 yuan, a "friends price".

The transaction took place in the OCT area of ​​Shenzhen Bay, at the seaside park. Several people had also arranged to go tilapia fishing together today.

Across the street is Yuen Long, a "rural area" of Hong Kong Island. It turns out that many people smuggled themselves across the border from here, and if they were lucky, they could swim across.

But that's definitely not possible now. Customs ships are watching you from the inner bay, and there are people patrolling the shore.

The car was parked on the side of the road, and the twelve people had just met up when the joint defense team came over.

When opening the car door, check your ID card. Non-local residents need a border control or tourism certificate and a temporary residence permit.

If you can't produce the money, deportation is not guaranteed, but a fine is almost certain.

Brother Shui showed his identification, and only then was the person allowed to leave.

"Damn it, all this fuss about taking a vacation." He cursed as he put away his wallet.

"Brother Shui is awesome." Qin Dahe chuckled and started offering cigarettes, then lit one for himself and took a deep drag.

The rock anglers on that beach are considered a very capable group. Even the worst setup includes a motorcycle and a lure set costing around a thousand yuan. It's quite normal for one or two of them to have connections.

"Heh, he's just a port manager, nothing special." He waved his hand.

It's such a pain to talk about work and build relationships when you finally have a few days off.

The others didn't say much either. Everyone was quite relaxed while fishing; it was enough to have a good relationship with someone, there was no need to force it.

Qin Dahe took the fishing box out of the car; the brand new fishing box, complete with all the accessories, was now available.

"I have something to tell you all. The day before yesterday, Yuanshan Fishing Tackle Shop asked me to buy blueprints, but I didn't sell them to you. You can use them yourselves, but if anyone borrows them these days, don't give them to them."

Yuanshan Fishing Tackle Shop is the same shop where he bought his long-casting rod. It must have influence in the local area. If he really has designs on it, he can delay as long as he can.

"Okay, we definitely won't let anyone see it." Everyone nodded in agreement.

A 29-liter fishing box costs 20 yuan just for shipping, plus so many accessories. The price of 130 yuan is practically a donation.

Upon receiving the fishing boxes, everyone was overjoyed and filled them with the accessories from their fishing bags.

Some people come here today just for the fishing box, and once they get it, they leave. On days like this with no tide, people rarely fish.

Qin Dahe went there to fish for tilapia, since he was already there.

This area is part of the Pearl River Estuary and the mouth of the Shenzhen River, a place where fresh and salt water meet, and there are quite a few anglers here.

However, their equipment was generally worse than that of the group on the beach.

There's a fence around the park, making it much safer than rock fishing. The group started by throwing shrimp bricks.

They used relatively cheap level 2 bricks, and launched them with great force, just like throwing a shot put.

Then came the baited fishing with a single rod. Qin Dahe brought two fishing rods this time, one for lure fishing and one for tilapia fishing.

That's considered low; some people brought four fishing rods and lined them up in formation.

Fishing is not currently banned, and the distinction between recreational and commercial fishing is not very clear.

(End of this chapter)