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Common Carp| Fish Species Guide | Angling Direct
Common Carp
aka Cyprinus carpio communis
Common carp, otherwise referred to as the European carp has a uniformly-scaled body. Unlike mirror and leather carp’s scale patterens, common carp are covered in a mesh-like pattern all over their body.
Native to European freshwaters, common carp are now the third most frequently introduced species worldwide except for the poles and northern Asia.
The common carp is normally dark brown or bronze in colour and has barbules along with an underslung mouth which are specifically for its bottom-feeding habits.
Common carp contain an enzyme called thiaminase that may eventually poison fish that eat young carp. Thiaminase is only in raw common carp flesh, making this fish an instant deterrent to predators in their environment.
Stats
Status
Habitat
Shallow depths, margins of brackish waters or depths of the lake.
Bait
Boilies, particles, and bread
Fishing Tackle
Native or Invasive
Native
Where
Native to Asia, introduced throughout the world's freshwater waterways with the exception of Mongolia and the Sahara.
Catch Experience
The carp discipline is the most popular of all coarse disciplines, and there is good reason for that - carp grow to specimen size and put up a valiant fight, even those less than 10lb in size. Whether you're sat behind alarms, or you're freelining bread off the surface, once you get a hook hold in a carps mouth, you are in for a real fight. It is not uncommon for battles with large carp to last 30-45 mins, maybe even requiring you to leave the comfort of the bank and jump in a boat to play the fish out in open water. Carp care is essential as like any fish they are a delicate species when removed from the water, its also of paramount importance to return these huge specimen fish to the water safely so that another angler can enjoy a fierce battle with them. Bare in mind that a long fight will take it out of the carp and so its a good idea to allow the carp to rest in a sling, or your landing net for a short while whilst you get your scales etc ready, this gives the fish a chance to recover.
Video
Blog Highlight
Phil Spinks- Carp, Carp & MORE Carp!
This summer has seen me dedicate more of my fishing time to targeting carp. I’ve always had a slight addiction to carp fishing but as an all-round angler, carp fishing normally takes a back seat to free up time for other species.Although I have...
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