Carp Cyprinidae Cyprinus carpio.
Distribution : Common locally in parts of England, parts of Wales and southern Scotland.
Notes : 4 barbels, 17-22 branched dorsal rays, 35-40 scales along the lateral line. Partially scales and elongate varieties exist. (Mirror and Leather)

A dweller of lakes and ponds, these fish are equally happy feeding from the surface as they are feeding on the bottom. The Common is a cultivated fish with two close relatives, the Mirror carp and the Leather carp, all three grow very large and have barbels at the corners of their protractable mouths.

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Tackle, Bait, Techniques

Rod
11ft - 13ft

Reel
Fixed spool

Line b.s.
4lb, to 15lb

Hooks
No.6 to No.2

Lifespan
can live for over 40 years

British record
56lb 6oz, Wraybury pit, Berkshire 1998

Specimen weight
25lb

Bait
Worms, sausage, cheese, many tinned meats, particle baits, bread and boilies.

Groundbait
All hookbaits, usually with swimfeeder

Techniques
Ledgering, freelining and float-fishing

Carp Rigs & Leads

See Hair Rigs

Landing and playing a fish

Like the Monty Python crew, you can blame the Romans. For not only were they responsible for education, aqueducts and roads, but you can also thank them for bringing carp to Western Europe some time back in the fourth century AD.

Those wild carp quickly spawned and spread throughout the rivers and lakes of Europe, but it was not until the 1400s that they were first introduced into British waters.

As every angler knows, carp are among the most popular coarse fish of all. Hard-fighting, big-growing, bait-munching and line-snapping: they have captured the imagination of newcomers and seasoned specialists alike, probably because they grow larger than any other coarse fish in Britain apart from the relatively rare catfish.
Once introduced into a new venue, carp tend quickly to establish themselves as the dominant species and can easily put on 3lb (1.4kg) in weight each year.

In Europe they have been caught at weights in excess of 70lb (31.8kg), but in America, where carp are generally regarded as a nuisance to anglers in search of bass or trout, a species called buffalo carp grows to over 90lb (40.8kg).

The original, lean, majestically scaled wild carp have cross-bred many times and it is now all but impossible to find a venue that contains the true wild carp. Now it is possible to encounter commons, mirrors, leathers, linear mirrors and ghosties, to name but a few of the varieties. In addition there is the smaller crucian carp, which usually grows to no more than 7lb (3.2kg) and which hybridizes readily with the aforementioned varieties. The elongated grass carp is a more recently introduced species, which can achieve weights in excess of 301b (13.6kg), and double that figure in warmer waters around the world.

Tactics
You could easily write a whole book about tactics for catching carp. They ate wily fish which appear to learn to avoid baits on which they have been previously caught, and therefore present a wonderful challenge to the
thinking angler. Indeed several magazines concentrate on nothing other than carp fishing and there is even an English weekly angling newspaper dedicated to the species.

TACKLING UP

Carp are great fighters and require robust tackle. Assuming you are targeting fish which run to more than 10lb (4.5kg), you should use a specimen rod between 1.5lb and 3lb (0.7 and 1.4kg) test curve. Mainline should be at least 10lb (4.5kg) linking to size 4-14 strong, forged hooks.

The fact is that carp will eat virtually anything when they are hungry, and the right bait on the day can be anything from a single maggot to a piece of luncheon meat the size of a Rubik’s cube. Fishing is at its best during the warmer summer months when the fish are at their most active.

There is, however, one bait which has been developed specifically for the capture of carp and which is responsible for the majority of captures of really big fish - that is fish over 301b (13.6kg) - during most of the last decade. That bait is the boilie - a highly nutritional bait which comprises a combination of milk proteins, eggs, soy flour, wheatgerm, colourings and flavourings which are moulded into a paste, and then rolled into balls and boiled to create a hard outer shell.

Boilies are naturally attractive to carp, and can be made in different sizes, with the larger ones less likely to be the target of small ‘nuisance’ fish. As they are basically small round balls, they are easy to disperse with a catapult which makes them ideal for pre-baiting purposes.

Bolt Rigs
Set-ups called bolt rigs were designed specifically for carp fishing, and bolt rigs and blues go hand in hand. The bolt rig relies on the carp’s tendency to panic when it feels a hook, and bolt off

The rig’s lead is locked in place rather than running, and a 2oz (57g) lead is usually enough to set the hook in the carp’s mouth without the need to strike, enabling you to keep fishing without having constantly to watch the rods. Ready-made bolt rigs are generally available in tackle shops with instructions for their correct use.

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