Species of UK Coarse Fish
CARP
Freshwater Coarse Fish Guide For Anglers
Variations
Common, Mirror, Leather, Linear, Grass, Crucian and Koi carp
Common, Mirror, Leather, Linear, Grass, Crucian and Koi carp
CARP (Mirror) (Cyprinus carpio)
68lbs 1oz - 2016
Dean Fletcher, Cranwells Lake, Berkshire
68lbs 1oz - 2016
Dean Fletcher, Cranwells Lake, Berkshire
Common name: Carp
Latin name: Cyprinus carpio
Family: Cyprinidae
Latin name: Cyprinus carpio
Family: Cyprinidae
A bit of Carp History
It was in the early 1300's that carp were introduced into England and Wales from mainland Europe. Carp were imported by monks as a food source and reared in stew ponds. Today, carp are found in almost every river, lake and pond in the country.
In the early years carp were difficult to catch as Izaac Walton wrote in his book, The Compleat Angler, "And my first direction is, that if you will fish for a Carp, you must put on a very large measure of patience, especially to fish for a river Carp: I have known a very good fisher angle diligently four or six hours in a day, for three or four days together, for a river Carp, and not have a bite. And you are to note, that, in some ponds, it is as hard to catch a Carp as in a river." ( from The Compleat Angler ).
Over the years carp angling became more popular and anglers set out specifically to catch carp. In 1952 the legendary anglers Richard Walker was the first to catch Britain's first 40lb carp. Now in 2008, carp are one of, if not the most, sought after fish by anglers, with many carp societies popping up dedicated solely to carp. From the days of greenheart and split cane coarse fishing rods we now have specialist carp rods made of high grade carbon with Zirconium ceramic guides and electronic bite alarms.
Carp are not as popular in Australia
Carp in Australia are described as pests and it is illegal to return a carp to the water once caught.
Extract from - New South Wales Department of Primary Industries
In high densities carp can contribute to increased water turbity, nutrient loads and algal concentrations. They also play a part in erosion of stream banks as well as reductions in the numbers and diversity of aquatic plants, native fish and macro-invertebrates.
Along with habitat degradation, poor water quality, reduced environmental flows and barriers to migration, carp have been identified as a major threat to Australia's freshwater fisheries. They should not be returned to the water alive and strict penalties apply for translocation of carp. Live carp may not be used as bait.
Description of Carp
There are different variants of carp.
Common carp - fully scaled carp
Mirror carp - scaled with large, uneven mirror like scales. Where there are no scales the body is smooth.
Linear carp - scale less except for a row of large scales that run along the lateral line on both sides.
Leather carp - smooth bodied, virtually unscaled except near dorsal fin.
Grass carp - similar to the common carp but normally has a longer, thinner body.
Ghost carp - same as the common carp but it is all white with two black eyes.
Koi carp - this is more of an ornamental fish. Similar to the common carp but its colours include orange, black, red, yellow, and a combination of these colours.
F1 Carp, since writing a new carp, the F1 (filial) hybrid carp has been bred. This is a cross between Common Carp and Crucian Carp. Looking like small common carp F1's have a golden hue similar to a crucian. A way to tell the difference between carp and F1's is to look at their barbels. F1 carp only have two small barbels.
The reasoning behind the variants is said to be, Carp were bred by the monks in 'stew' ponds and bred for eating. Descaling them was quite a task that no-one liked, so they were bred with less scales (= less messing about descaling). Makes sense but I'm not sure if this is correct!
Similar to the barbel, Common, Mirror and Leather carp have four barbules, 2 projecting from each side of its mouth. Generally carp are brown to greenish brown or golden brown in colour with a lighter brown, cream underside. The leather carp and mirror carp are usually a darker colour than the common carp.
Carp are amongst the longest living fish species in Britain and live up to around 20 years but carp of 60 years have been recorded. (Raspberry, a female living in Redmire Pool, Herefordshire, who is believed to be at least 60 years old)
The 2008 British carp record is 67lb (this has since been beaten) caught by John Bird at Connington Lake in Ashford. The carp is known as Two Tone. Don't expect to catch a carp this big, this is a specimen carp and carp of this size are few in Britain. A Carp of 10lb to 20lb is more likely.
Carp can be found in all waters but are predominantly fished for in stillwaters. The carp feed extensively on bottom living invertebrates, fresh water shrimp, snails, insect larvae, caddis larvae, nymphs, crustaceans and molluscs, grubbing around among the bottom debris for the many micro-organisms which live there. They will also consume water plants and fish fry.
Fishing methods for catching Carp
Carp are caught using various methods including float, ledger or feeder. The feeder or ledger is generally the first method anglers try when fishing for carp and is a popular method used by specimen anglers fishing for carp. There are also many baits for catching carp and some carp anglers swear by the use of boilies. Although boilies are a good bait don't overlook the other baits such as sweetcorn and those listed above. A guide to the basic tackle needed for carp fishing is; a rod with a 2 lb test curve (or a heavy feeder rod) fitted with a fixed spool reel filled with 10 lb main line and 18 - 24 inch 4 lb hook length and size 4 hook. Throw some 'free' offerings into the water where you are about to fish then get tackled up. If feeder fishing, bait your hook and use an open-end feeder filled with a groundbait mix with some of your hook bait mixed in. Cast in over the free offerings and when the feeder has reached the bottom, wind up the slack in the line then wind in a bit more till there is a sleight bend on your rod tip.
Baits for catching Carp
The most popular bait for catching carp is the boilie. Other baits include Luncheon meat, trout pellets, Chum mixer or any other dog or cat biscuits, tiger nuts, peanuts, maize, worms, dendrobaena worms, red worm, brandlings, bread (either crust, punch, flake or paste), casters, maggots and sweetcorn. Carp are also caught using a floating bait like bread crust.
Carp respond well to groundbaiting so if you can, pre-bait the area you are going to fish. Lay a bed of groundbait using brown crumb or continental groundbait with hemp or sweetcorn, casters, chopped up worms or a mix of these and some of your hook bait mixed in. Tiger nuts and peanuts are also used for groundbaiting but these should be thoroughly soaked beforehand.
Note. When specifically fishing for carp, always carry and use a carp mat for unhooking your fish.
Article Copyright 1990 J.Boswell www.fish-uk.com
All rights reserved
It was in the early 1300's that carp were introduced into England and Wales from mainland Europe. Carp were imported by monks as a food source and reared in stew ponds. Today, carp are found in almost every river, lake and pond in the country.
In the early years carp were difficult to catch as Izaac Walton wrote in his book, The Compleat Angler, "And my first direction is, that if you will fish for a Carp, you must put on a very large measure of patience, especially to fish for a river Carp: I have known a very good fisher angle diligently four or six hours in a day, for three or four days together, for a river Carp, and not have a bite. And you are to note, that, in some ponds, it is as hard to catch a Carp as in a river." ( from The Compleat Angler ).
Over the years carp angling became more popular and anglers set out specifically to catch carp. In 1952 the legendary anglers Richard Walker was the first to catch Britain's first 40lb carp. Now in 2008, carp are one of, if not the most, sought after fish by anglers, with many carp societies popping up dedicated solely to carp. From the days of greenheart and split cane coarse fishing rods we now have specialist carp rods made of high grade carbon with Zirconium ceramic guides and electronic bite alarms.
Carp are not as popular in Australia
Carp in Australia are described as pests and it is illegal to return a carp to the water once caught.
Extract from - New South Wales Department of Primary Industries
In high densities carp can contribute to increased water turbity, nutrient loads and algal concentrations. They also play a part in erosion of stream banks as well as reductions in the numbers and diversity of aquatic plants, native fish and macro-invertebrates.
Along with habitat degradation, poor water quality, reduced environmental flows and barriers to migration, carp have been identified as a major threat to Australia's freshwater fisheries. They should not be returned to the water alive and strict penalties apply for translocation of carp. Live carp may not be used as bait.
Description of Carp
There are different variants of carp.
Common carp - fully scaled carp
Mirror carp - scaled with large, uneven mirror like scales. Where there are no scales the body is smooth.
Linear carp - scale less except for a row of large scales that run along the lateral line on both sides.
Leather carp - smooth bodied, virtually unscaled except near dorsal fin.
Grass carp - similar to the common carp but normally has a longer, thinner body.
Ghost carp - same as the common carp but it is all white with two black eyes.
Koi carp - this is more of an ornamental fish. Similar to the common carp but its colours include orange, black, red, yellow, and a combination of these colours.
F1 Carp, since writing a new carp, the F1 (filial) hybrid carp has been bred. This is a cross between Common Carp and Crucian Carp. Looking like small common carp F1's have a golden hue similar to a crucian. A way to tell the difference between carp and F1's is to look at their barbels. F1 carp only have two small barbels.
The reasoning behind the variants is said to be, Carp were bred by the monks in 'stew' ponds and bred for eating. Descaling them was quite a task that no-one liked, so they were bred with less scales (= less messing about descaling). Makes sense but I'm not sure if this is correct!
Similar to the barbel, Common, Mirror and Leather carp have four barbules, 2 projecting from each side of its mouth. Generally carp are brown to greenish brown or golden brown in colour with a lighter brown, cream underside. The leather carp and mirror carp are usually a darker colour than the common carp.
Carp are amongst the longest living fish species in Britain and live up to around 20 years but carp of 60 years have been recorded. (Raspberry, a female living in Redmire Pool, Herefordshire, who is believed to be at least 60 years old)
The 2008 British carp record is 67lb (this has since been beaten) caught by John Bird at Connington Lake in Ashford. The carp is known as Two Tone. Don't expect to catch a carp this big, this is a specimen carp and carp of this size are few in Britain. A Carp of 10lb to 20lb is more likely.
Carp can be found in all waters but are predominantly fished for in stillwaters. The carp feed extensively on bottom living invertebrates, fresh water shrimp, snails, insect larvae, caddis larvae, nymphs, crustaceans and molluscs, grubbing around among the bottom debris for the many micro-organisms which live there. They will also consume water plants and fish fry.
Fishing methods for catching Carp
Carp are caught using various methods including float, ledger or feeder. The feeder or ledger is generally the first method anglers try when fishing for carp and is a popular method used by specimen anglers fishing for carp. There are also many baits for catching carp and some carp anglers swear by the use of boilies. Although boilies are a good bait don't overlook the other baits such as sweetcorn and those listed above. A guide to the basic tackle needed for carp fishing is; a rod with a 2 lb test curve (or a heavy feeder rod) fitted with a fixed spool reel filled with 10 lb main line and 18 - 24 inch 4 lb hook length and size 4 hook. Throw some 'free' offerings into the water where you are about to fish then get tackled up. If feeder fishing, bait your hook and use an open-end feeder filled with a groundbait mix with some of your hook bait mixed in. Cast in over the free offerings and when the feeder has reached the bottom, wind up the slack in the line then wind in a bit more till there is a sleight bend on your rod tip.
Baits for catching Carp
The most popular bait for catching carp is the boilie. Other baits include Luncheon meat, trout pellets, Chum mixer or any other dog or cat biscuits, tiger nuts, peanuts, maize, worms, dendrobaena worms, red worm, brandlings, bread (either crust, punch, flake or paste), casters, maggots and sweetcorn. Carp are also caught using a floating bait like bread crust.
Carp respond well to groundbaiting so if you can, pre-bait the area you are going to fish. Lay a bed of groundbait using brown crumb or continental groundbait with hemp or sweetcorn, casters, chopped up worms or a mix of these and some of your hook bait mixed in. Tiger nuts and peanuts are also used for groundbaiting but these should be thoroughly soaked beforehand.
Note. When specifically fishing for carp, always carry and use a carp mat for unhooking your fish.
Article Copyright 1990 J.Boswell www.fish-uk.com
All rights reserved
www.Fish-uk.com
