Carp

Carp is a fresh water fish found mainly in the fish faunas of Eurasia and North America. They belong to the family of Cyprinidae. Carps have for long been an important food fish to humans. They are also popular as ornamental fishes. Carps are normally found in slow flowing or standing waters with soft bottom. They prefer lakes, gravel pits and reservoirs. Carps are found throughout Britain. There are three types of carps, which are known as leather, mirror and 'common' in addition to yet another type, the wild type. While the common carp has small, evenly distributed scales, the mirror carp has large shiny scales. The leather carp on the other hand has smooth scales.

Techniques of catching a carp include float fishing, ledgering and freelining. Bottom fishing with dough, potatoes, molluscs, worms, green beans, peas, cheese, slugs and freshwater mussels, maggots or red earthworm is also an option. Books on carp fishing techniques, its habitats and baits one can use are available across the internet. Some of the popular books are: “The Carp Strikes Back”, “The Carp Years”, “Confessions of a Carp Fisher”, “Strategic Carp Fishing, The Quest for Carp and “In Pursuit of the Largest”, among others. These books provide an insight on the carp fish and its habitats. They also help readers perfect their carp fishing techniques.