Carp Fishing

The Romans were responsible for bringing carp to Western Europe way back in the 4th Century AD. The wild carp spawned and quickly spread throughout Europe but it was not until the 1400s that they were introduced to the British rivers and lakes.

Carp are a favourite of many anglers being one of the hardest fighting fish to capture. They are well knowned for their size and bait-breaking capabilities, being our biggest coarse fish apart from the relatively rarely caught catfish.

The wild carp is now almost impossible to find but the common, mirror, leather, linear mirror and ghosties to name a few are a variety of their relatives. In Europe they have been caught at weights in excess of 70lbs.

There are 2 smaller species of carp, the crucian carp and the grass carp neither of which weigh in as heavy as their relatives.

The carp is a clever fish which presents the angler with a constant challenge. They appear to learn to avoid baits on which they have previously been caught, keeping us constantly thinking.

Carp have a varied diet and therefore a varied bait and will eat almost anything including, maggots, luncheon meat,worms, bread, meat, potato and cereal baits.One of the most successful baits in recent years has to be the boilie which has landed some of the biggest carp. A boilie is a mixture of milk, eggs, soy flour, wheatgerm and flavourings.