What is the difference between carp and carp? Carp and carp are the same fish, or different.

There are many rumors regarding the origin of this or that type of fish, and it is impossible to say unequivocally in which reservoir and in what century certain representatives of the ichthyofauna appeared for the first time. There are only assumptions, so today we will talk not only about what is more useful carp or carp, but also how they differ, and we will consider two different theories regarding their origin. We will also try to understand the differences between these coveted trophies of fishermen.

scientific classification

Before you understand what is tastier than carp or carp, you should decide what kind of fish it is and how it is classified by experts. The main similarity of these waterfowl can be considered that they live in fresh water, moreover, they belong to the same order of cyprinids and both have a small mustache that distinguishes them from other representatives of the order. It is kinship that unites them, first of all, and as for differences, they exist, albeit insignificant. First of all, I would like to pay attention to the habitat: a gluttonous carp can be caught in stagnant water, including newfangled paid ponds, and as for the second test subject, he lives in reservoirs with running water, as a rule.

Now, as for the second version regarding origin and kinship, it is more interesting. If you want to know which is better, think about whether we are talking about the same fish at all. At least, many researchers have such an opinion, claiming that carp is nothing more than an ordinary carp, but it is a domesticated carp. And how can we talk about the differences of the same fish? We tend to believe, and take it as an axiom, that these are different species, besides, they have external differences.

Useful properties and differences

Going fishing, and we are talking, of course, about clean water bodies with favorable conditions, we do not even suspect that fish can even have healing properties. Therefore, the question of what is more useful for carp or carp arises quite often. It is difficult to answer it unambiguously, because it all depends on the habitat, size and age, but in any case, both mustachioed giants contain a large vitamin complex, where vitamin A and ascorbic acid deserve special attention. It would be worth dwelling in more detail on cobalamin, thiamine and other B vitamins, ascorbic acid and other vitamins are contained in sufficient quantities. The mineral composition is also rich, and although there is not so much iodine in cyprinids, other micro and macro elements completely cover this shortage.

The question, which is better, although it sounds often, looks a bit strange. It depends on what meaning we put in this concept. Outwardly, the carp has a more rounded shape, and the carp, if I can say about these giants, grows longer in length. They are equally voracious, although they have different taste preferences. As for the features of fishing, they are, but fishing enthusiasts know about it. Lovers of good food are interested in what is tastier, to which there is also no definite answer - the fish has a dense texture and white meat with a pronounced fishy smell, and much in this case depends on the skill of the cook. You can cook fish in any way and eat it with almost any side dish, and if you are still looking for a difference, then know that in many countries fishermen combine these species into one concept - many of them have not even heard what a carp is.

One of the most coveted trophies for most floaters and bottom fish is carp fish. Far from everyone succeeds in coping with it, which makes the fishing fraternity even more interested. In order to purposefully engage in hunting for trophy prey, one cannot do without a deep knowledge of this species. Only by studying the habits, understanding the place in nature, one can hope for good fishing. And first of all, you should find the answer to the age-old question about the difference between cultural carp and carp.

Ichthyologists attribute carp to the carp family, scientists often mention another name for the fish - common carp. It is thanks to the wild relative that several cultural forms of carp have appeared, which are successfully grown in fish farms. There are two subspecies of this large fish. The European carp is found in the fresh waters of Europe, the Amur subspecies lives in the waters of the Far East.

• Anglers appreciate carp for its strength and power. Under favorable conditions, this fish can reach a weight of 20 kg, and the length often exceeds 1 m. One of the differences between cultural carp and carp is the body length with the same weight. The difference is that wild fish have a more elongated shape. The fish has a golden-bronze color, it is somewhat darker on top, and a light shade near the abdomen.
• What is the difference between carp and carp yet? This is a habitat. Rivers and large reservoirs remain the natural habitat of common carp. A distinction is made between a residential form that lives in the waters of one river or reservoir, and a semi-anadromous form that migrates to rivers for spawning. For the sea carp, the salty waters of the seas are habitual for life. Neither scaly nor mirror carp can live in such conditions.
• Among the characteristic features of the carp, one can note a large head and short antennae. The fish's main weapon against fishing lines is the jagged ray on its dorsal fin.
• Of particular interest to fishermen is the spawning period. Spawning takes place in fairly warm water (18-20ºС) at a depth of up to 0.5 m. Usually, after sunset, a whole group of sexually mature individuals arrange violent "orgies". Noise and powerful bursts are observed in the coastal zone until 10 am. The ancestor of carp can reproduce already at the age of 3, reaching a body length of 30-45 cm.
• Sazan adheres to a pack lifestyle. Each family is led by a leader who is responsible for security. When an enemy is detected, it makes a series of crackling sounds.

Photo 1. Carp is a strong and beautiful fish.

Nutrition

Anglers pay increased attention to the nutrition of fish. If you know what carp eats in natural conditions, then it is easier to pick up a catchy bait. In this regard, the choice of fishing enthusiasts is quite extensive.

• The list of dishes of this large fish includes both vegetable and animal components. Sazan tries to stay on such sections of the river or reservoir, where there is a rich forage base. This is explained by the fact that the most intensive weight gain occurs in the first 7-8 years of life, after which the fish adds very little.
• Juvenile common carp begin to feed on insect larvae, gradually moving to larger bottom organisms. They live mainly in silt deposits, which is why the fish learn to forage by digging in the bottom soil.
• To replenish nutrients in spring and summer, carp eats eggs of spawned species of fish and reptiles. As green shoots appear in aquatic plants, the fish moves to reeds, pondweed, cattail and egg-pod. By the middle of summer, animal food appears in the form of insects, snails, leeches and molting crayfish. Closer to autumn, barley shells, pond snails, zebra mussels, coils appear on the carp menu. The autumn diet is dominated by aquatic insects and various invertebrates.
• Since the common carp belongs to the stomachless fish, as evidenced by the insides of the caught trophy, it has to feed constantly. Therefore, the concept of bitelessness in relation to carp is inappropriate to apply.

The behavior of fish in different seasons of the year

You can catch carp only in the open water season. This is due to the peculiarities of fish behavior at different times of the year.

1. In winter, the carp is likened to a bear, the fish occupies deep holes, slows down the respiratory rhythm, becomes overgrown with a mucous membrane and falls into suspended animation. Hibernation ends during the spring flood, wild carp emerge from the pits and begin to regain lost calories. You can imagine what carp looks like after wintering.
2. Useful properties for anglers carp begins to show in the spring. The closer the spawning time, the more active the bite of the fish. The most promising places for fishing are shallow waters, which are adjacent to the wintering pits. Before spawning, the corops are not particularly picky in their diet, strenuously absorbing any food. In addition, the fish are preparing for spawning, being in large flocks, this moment is the best time to catch trophy carp.
3. flocks break up, the fish is distributed throughout the water area of ​​the reservoir. To wait for a bite in the summer, the angler has to bait the fish for a long time, carefully select the bait and bait. In warm water, ordinary carp have enough food, so the fish does not accept all the offers of the angler.
4. Autumn zhor carp is most often observed at the end of September or in October. The ichthyofauna feels the approach of winter, and the fish begin to create reserves of nutrients in the body. You should look for carp on the path that leads to the wintering grounds. In late autumn, fish are occasionally caught in deep parts of the reservoir.

Basic fishing methods

Depending on where the carp lives, the appropriate method of catching it is chosen. Successful fishing is possible with both traditional and modern gear. The main emphasis is on bottom methods, which allow us to hope for a targeted, rather than accidental capture of a trophy.

Feeder

The most common way of fishing among amateur anglers is the feeder. It allows you to accurately cast the bait, keep the fish at the point of catching bait for a long time. To defeat the carp when fighting, it is important to make a reliable fishing rod. Each element of gear must be given close attention.

A rod with a length of 3.6-4.1 m is selected from the heavy or extra heavy class.

Important! A spinning reel with a 4000-6000 spool must have a baitrunner.

The bite of a carp is sharp and powerful, even a small fish manages to pull off the bait of a negligent angler. A monofilament thread with a diameter of 0.30-0.35 mm or 0.12-0.15 mm is suitable for the role of the main fishing line. For a leash, it is better to choose a monofilament or a thickness of 0.22-0.25 mm. you should not grind it, you should choose it for the bait used from No. 6-8.

Photo 2. It is almost impossible to pull out a carp without a landing net.

Traditional donks

Provincial fishermen continue to catch the townspeople with expensive fishing rods, using. In the description of gear that are suitable appear:

• springs;

The principle of operation of these fishing rods, different in name, is approximately the same. As a rod, a spinning rod 2.4-3.0 m long is used, equipped with a Nevskaya or a modern meat grinder. A monofilament fishing line with a diameter of 0.4-0.5 mm acts as a base; for a leash, anglers use monofilament 0.25-0.30 mm. The size of the hook can reach No. 4-6. Differences in traditional donok should be sought in the equipment.

• The casters use a heavy flat sinker, thanks to which the bait is thrown to the desired distance and held at the selected point.
• Springs are called gear on which it is installed. Its appearance resembles a spring.
• The nipple or smoktuha is equipped with a special concave plate or cork from a plastic bottle. It is filled with viscous dough-like food, in which there are hooks.
• The tooling of the top resembles a nipple, only the lead plate is used evenly. A cube of pressed sunflower cake is attached to it. Fish hooks are hidden in it.

Boat fishing

In the vast water areas of reservoirs and large rivers, it is possible to get such fish as carp only from a boat. The description of the tackle is understandable even for novice anglers.

For comfortable fishing from a boat, a short but stiff rod is required. Its length does not exceed 2.1 m, and the test load should be approximately 10-20 g. You can complete tackle with an inexpensive inertial reel with a large drum and brake. The main monofilament is 0.35-0.40 mm, a sliding sinker weighing 10-15 g is mounted on it. The leash consists of a fishing line 0.25-0.30 mm and a hook No. 6-8.

After determining a promising place, it is required to bait the fish within 3-4 days.

With the diversity of aquatic fauna in our country, not every fisherman can accurately explain how carp differs from carp. After all, outwardly, these two, at first glance, are so much alike. And some anglers continue to believe that there is no difference. Let's look at the main characteristics of these fish, including their habitats, similarities and differences.

This is a cultural form of carp. It was bred by breeders in order to get a larger look.

• ordinary;
• mirror;
• naked.

The entire surface of his body is densely covered with large scales of pale yellowish or brown color (depending on where he is found). But this applies only to the ordinary. In other varieties, either it is practically absent, or it is present in separate areas.

Until about a quarter of its life, the fish continues to grow, then growth stops. The largest individuals come across a meter long and weighing about 25 kilograms.

Due to anatomical features (there is no stomach), he constantly needs food. And he eats almost everything he can find.

Until they reach adulthood and in cold weather, the fish stay in a flock, and then separate from it and live apart. In addition, in winter they lose their activity.

The fish lives in any body of water, but prefers places with stagnant water and dense vegetation, where it easily hides from predators.

One of the oldest species of the carp family is covered with golden scales with a light blue tint and dark edging. The color of the scales is not uniform. Lighter on the ventral area than on the back. With age, the color becomes only brighter.

Its head is large and slightly pointed, with antennae around a fleshy mouth extending into a tube. The fins are bluish in color, only the tail is red-brown.

In large reservoirs there are 30-kilogram specimens a meter long. His life expectancy is approximately 35 years.

This fish loves warmth and therefore the further south, the greater its number. In comfortable conditions, it easily increases in weight and size.

• freshwater;
• nautical;
• semi-anadromous (moving during spawning from the sea to the lower reaches of the river).

Like other species of the carp family, it is an omnivorous stomachless fish and can eat without ceasing, without stopping.

In winter, it does not actually move. Coming out of hibernation, it feeds mainly on food of plant origin (reed stems, cattail and algae) or fish and frog caviar.

In hot weather, snails, worms and crayfish become the preferred food. In the fall, it switches exclusively to food of animal origin.

Despite the similarity of fish, they still differ in the following parameters:

• external signs;
• habitat.

Carp is often confused only with common carp, since they are both evenly covered with scales, but you can immediately distinguish it from naked and mirror carp. At the same time, in carp, this same scale is much lighter, and the head is not so large.

Unlike carp, carp is more prolific, which is very beneficial for its breeding. In addition, it is distributed in the sides, and the carp increases in length. The difference between them also lies in the fact that carp continues to grow throughout life, and its domesticated form no longer grows over time. This is due to the fact that the first one lives in rivers with a strong current, actively moves to find food for itself.

Carp is found at depth and prefers muddy bottoms with little oxygen. In such water, his "ancestor" does not take root well.

Thus, having found out for yourself what is the difference between carp and carp, habits and where they are found, now you will not confuse them.

Appearance and morphology. The body is covered with large densely set dark yellow-golden scales. At the base of each scale there is a dark spot, the edge of the scales is bordered by a black dotted stripe. The mouth is lower, strongly retractable, with the formation of a proboscis. The snout is long, somewhat blunt. There are two pairs of short antennae at the corners of the mouth. The forehead is large, the eyes are small. The dorsal fin is very long, with a serrated bone ray, the anal fin is short and also with a serrated ray.

The age limit is 30 years, but its growth stops at 7-8 years, that is, the main weight gain occurs in the first quarter of life. It can reach a length of 100 cm or more, and a mass of up to 16-32 kg. The average length in catches is 35-55 cm, weight - 1-3 kg.

Fin formula: D III-IV(V) 15-22, A III-IV 5-6. There are 32-41 scales in the lateral line. Gill rakers 21-29. Pharyngeal teeth are large, chewing type, three-row: 1.1.3-3.1.1, rarely 1.2.3-3.2.1. Vertebrae 36-38. The length of the intestine is 2.5-3 times the length of the body.

Systematics. There are 4 subspecies, of which two live in the waters of Russia: Cyprinus carpio carpio Linnaeus, 1758 - European carp and Cyprinus carpio haematopterus Temminck et Schlegel, 1846 - Amur carp. The Amur carp differs from the European carp in a smaller number of gill rakers and rays in the dorsal fin. Karyotype: 2n=100, NF=152.

Lifestyle. Freshwater fish, but found in the brackish waters of the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea, where it forms semi-anadromous forms. The semi-anadromous form of carp feeds in the sea (Caspian), goes beyond the delta zone into waters with high salinity. Returns to rivers for spawning. Residential (freshwater) carp lives all year round in certain places of the reservoir, without making large migrations. In the Volga delta, it is known as the pit or ilmen carp (it feeds in ilmens, winters in pits in eriks). It hibernates in deep pits in river mouths or in pre-estuary spaces. Residential carp grows more slowly than semi-anadromous.

Nutrition. Juveniles consume zooplankton first, then switch to benthos. The diet of adult fish varies with the seasons. In spring and early summer, carp mainly feeds on young shoots of reeds, cattail, egg-pods, pondweed and other aquatic plants, willingly eats eggs of early spawning fish and frogs. In summer, the diet of carp changes somewhat - the leaves of aquatic plants, although included in the menu, recede into the background. Now the basis of nutrition is aquatic insects, worms, small snails, egg capsules, molting crayfish, small leeches, etc. It also willingly eats invertebrate molluscs, zebra mussels, small barley, coils, and pond snails. In autumn, it completely abandons plants, and switches to small aquatic insects and invertebrates.

Reproduction. It reaches puberty at the age of 3-5 years with a length of more than 30 cm. Spawning is portioned, from late April to August (depending on latitude) at a water temperature of 16-20 ° C and above. In the lower reaches of the southern rivers of Europe, it spawns in fields or floods. Spawns eggs on soft vegetation, at a shallow depth (up to 0.5 m). Fertility 96 thousand - 1.8 million eggs. Caviar yellowish, sticky, 1.4-1.5 mm in diameter. The incubation period lasts from 2.5 days at a water temperature of 22-24 ° C to 7.5 days at 17-18 ° C. Hatched larvae 6.5-7.0 mm long hang for the first time, attached to plants, then begin to actively move and feed on zooplankton

Spreading. The modern range of carp and carp in Eurasia is between 35 and 50 ° N latitude. and 30 and 135°E The natural range of the species consists of two parts: 1) reservoirs of the Ponto-Caspian-Aral region and 2) the basin of the Far Eastern rivers and rivers of Southeast Asia, from the Amur in the north to Yunnan (China) and Burma in the south.

European carp and carp currently inhabit the fresh and brackish waters of the basins of the North, Baltic, Mediterranean, Black, Azov, Caspian and Aral Seas, Lake. Issyk-Kul. It is believed that the Danube basin was the original region of distribution of European carp and its various breeds. Thanks to artificial breeding, the range of carp has moved north to 60 ° N. The departure of carp from ponds is the main reason for its appearance in the Moscow River, Seliger Lake, the Ivankovsky Reservoir and other reservoirs.

The natural range of the Amur carp included the territory from the Amur basin to South China. At present, it is widely settled in Asia outside its natural range. There are in Kamchatka, Sakhalin and in Lake Baikal. In the Amur basin, it is known from Lake. Buyr-Nur and the Argun river to the estuary. Common in lakes and lower reaches of rivers.

Economic value. Valuable large commercial fish and object of breeding in ponds. The cultural form of carp - carp was obtained by the selection method. Catches in the Volga delta in the 1970s reached 10,000 tons. Its numbers are maintained by rearing juveniles in spawning and rearing farms.

Description of carp from the book by L.P. Sabaneev "Fish of Russia. Life and fishing of our freshwater fish" (1875)

In terms of its size and importance for fishermen and fishermen-hunters, carp undoubtedly ranks first among all the fish of its family, which received its name from it. But in terms of fishing, despite the fact that in southern Russia and especially in the lower reaches of the large rivers of the Black, Caspian and Aral Seas, carp is caught in huge numbers, it does not have the same importance as, for example, bream, syrt, ram and roach. , and for the future is still almost nowhere to be prepared.

The name carp is actually non-Russian, and, like all its European names, comes from the Greek word for fruit, which, obviously, was given because of the extraordinary fertility of this fish. However, the name carp, sometimes carp, is used only in central Russia and refers exclusively to carps living in large ponds and lakes; in southwestern Russia, it is replaced by another - corop, and in southeastern, on the Volga and the Urals, carp is known under the Kyrgyz name of carp.

Real river carp, or carp, is very beautiful. It is covered with unusually large dark yellow-golden scales, which are darker on the back, with a bluish tinge, and lighter on the belly; it seems as if all over the golden field it is strewn with carnations with copper caps. At first glance, the carp, especially the young one, bears a rather great resemblance to crucian carp, but it is not so high in the back (the height of the body is only twice as thick), thicker and longer and immediately differs from the latter in its 4 thick and short antennae on yellow, unusually fleshy lips almost as mobile as those of a bream; these antennae sit in pairs on each side and end in roundish, flat heads.

The dorsal fin is very wide, wider than in other cyprinids, and occupies almost the entire rear half of the back, dark gray in color. In addition to width, it is distinguished by a very strong sawtooth, serrated front beam. The dorsal fin of the barbel myron has such a ray, but in carp the anterior ray of the anal fin has the same structure. All lower fins are grayish-violet, caudal - red-brown, golden eyes. The pharyngeal teeth lying in the pharynx, which are present in all cyprinids and serve to grind solid food, are distinguished by their massiveness; there are five of them on each side, arranged in two rows. Young carps of 2-3 years of age are much flatter, wider, more humpbacked and lighter than adults, which is why they are called in places noodles and croakers. Large carps have an almost cylindrical body.

But both in color and body structure, carp, this far-spread and even, one might say, domesticated fish, is subject to numerous and strong modifications. On the one hand, there are varieties with a very elongated, almost cylindrical body, on the other hand, there are carps that are similar in shape to the silver carp. The latter seem to be found most often in ponds, and in general in small enclosed pools, while the oblong carps are most often found in estuaries, in the sea, or in large lakes.

In central Russia, especially in the Baltic basin, real river carp is quite rare. The pond carp prevails here, bred at the end of the last and the beginning of this century in many ponds of large Polish and Great Russian estates, and from there, b. h. accidentally passed into secondary rivers and multiplied there. This pond carp b. h. of German origin and differs from the river in a darker and greenish color of the scales, width, less blunt muzzle, with an even sharper fracture to the back than in the oblong carp, and most importantly - extraordinary endurance, in which it significantly exceeds the real river carp, or carp , which rarely breeds in stagnant ponds. In the rivers of the Baltic basin, also in the Moscow River, Upa and many others, even in the upper reaches of the Don, Voronezh, apparently, almost exclusively German carp is found, in some places already mixed with the native species and its ancestor - carp.

As for the real carp - pond and river, then both one and the other sometimes reach enormous sizes, like none of the other carp fish, and deep old age. The largest carp of our time had 55 kg. This giant, according to S.N. Alferaki, was caught on hooks 80 kilometers from Taganrog, on the Krivoy Spit. About 7 years ago, that is, in the early eighties, in the Voronezh River, Lebedyansky district, he was caught in a net, according to eyewitnesses who reported this fact to the famous Moscow hunter and fisherman A.A. Beer, a huge and at the same time unusually ugly carp. He pulled out 68 kg, but looked like a meter-long stump of almost 70 cm wide. Lake, especially pond carps of Western Europe can hardly reach such large sizes as real river and sea carps of South-Eastern Europe. The largest carps known from foreign literature do not exceed 44 kg and come from Lake Zurich in Switzerland. The famous carp (from the Oder), which, according to Bloch, is mentioned in all foreign writings about fish, weighed only 28 kg and was caught as early as 1711. 16-kilogram and 24-kilogram carp are found in many large and small rivers of southern Russia and are not a curiosity. The Volga carp are generally smaller than those of the Lower Dnieper and now rarely reach 16 kg in weight, which is caused by increased fishing. About a hundred years ago, according to Pallas, carp up to 1.5 m long were found in the Caspian Sea.

It goes without saying that such huge fish must have lived for many years. Indeed, there is reliable information about pond carps that have reached not only a century, but even two hundred years of age. According to Buffon, the carps of the ponds of Pontchartrain were 150 years old, and those of Charlottenburg (near Berlin) were more than 200; the latter seem to be intact to the present. Whether carps reach such a deep age is subject to strong doubt, but, probably, in some ponds of specific estates near St. Petersburg, as well as in the stavs of Polish magnates, there are centennial carps.

At present, carp is found in almost all large and medium-sized rivers of Russia, with the exception of rivers flowing into the White and Arctic Seas. It is least common in the Baltic basin, in the provinces of St. Petersburg, Livonia and Estonia, as far as is known, it is not found in flowing waters, and the carp, called in St. Petersburg, in contrast to the ide, German, is found exclusively in a few ponds at the royal palaces, for example . in Gatchina, Ropsha, Peterhof, Krasnoye Selo, and also in some estates of the Courland province. In Poland, it is occasionally found in the Vistula, but also more of a pond dweller. In central Russia, carp is still very rare in the upper reaches of the Volga, and in the upper reaches of the latter and in Lake Seliger it occurs only occasionally, for years, b. h. very small; starting from Tver, it comes across almost every year, and then it is found in greater and greater numbers and reaches a significant value. Carp rarely enter Kama; much more often in the Oka and its tributaries, for example. in the river Prona, Tsne and Moksha; in the upper Oka, according to Tarachkov, they live all year round under the Orel.

In the very lower reaches of the Volga and the Urals, carp appear in huge numbers, especially before spawning, since, nevertheless, most of them inhabit the mouths of these rivers and the very seaside. In addition, it is very numerous in the Kura and, probably, enters other Caucasian rivers, where, however, it is very small in stature; in small rivers, according to Menetrier, the hunchback variety is often found. In total, carp are most numerous in the rivers flowing into the seas - the Black and Azov. In the Dniester, Bug, especially in the Dnieper, Don, also Pripyat, Goryn, Styr, Desna, Seimas, Sula, Pele, Vorskla and others. secondary rivers, it belongs to the most common fish; along the Dnieper it reaches Smolensk, and along the Desna to Bryansk.

That river carp and catfish are the indigenous inhabitants of South-Eastern Europe and Central Asia, in general countries with high summer and relatively low winter temperatures, is indirectly proved by the high temperature necessary for spawning and development of eggs of these fish, as well as their deep winter sleep. Carp spawns very late, sometimes even later than catfish, tench and crucian carp, and, like these fish, it is very sensitive to low temperatures, lying down for the winter since autumn and ceasing to feed until the final opening of the waters. But tench and crucian carp burrow into silt, while carp, like catfish, hibernates in pits, and if it burrows, it is only in ponds and lakes, and then very rarely. Therefore, it is doubtful that carp and catfish could ever acclimatize in northern Russia and Siberia.

The carp comes out of its stupor only with ice drift, in the south - in March, and in central Russia - in April, in ponds and lakes even at the end. At first, however, he does not declare anything about himself and almost does not move away from his winter camps, but with the profit of water he rises upward, although for short distances, and when the water floods the meadows, he goes to the floodplain for spawning and for fattening. In southern Russia, spawning is undoubtedly dependent on the water supply, and only large carps spawn in the riverbed, when the river has already entered the banks, or in floodplain lakes and oxbow lakes.

The earliest spawning occurs in the south in the last days of April, but in central Russia, namely in the provinces near Moscow, carp spawn in the second half of May, and for the most part even in early June. The duration of the entire spawning period is very different and is determined both by the age of the fish and by local conditions. Everywhere, however, the smallest carp rubs first of all, then the middle one, and finally the largest, and the whole spawning lasts about a month, and the spawning of each group lasts no more than ten days. Observations of fish farmers have shown that carps, like many other fish, are not released from their reproductive products immediately - at a time, but in two or even three doses, sometimes after a considerable period of time; most of the caviar is swept out, however, for the first time. Some individuals, for some as yet unexplored reasons, are extremely late with spawning, and many cases are known that mature eggs were seen in carps even in August.

It is highly probable that for some time carps, waiting for more favorable conditions, may delay the final development of gametes, but, of course, the maturity of the latter depends most of all on the temperature of the water. According to A.A. Beer, on one of the sections of the river. In Voronezh, in the Lebedyansky district, real carp never spawn before June 15, before the mill dam (Dobrinskaya) is locked, moreover, all at the same time, large and small, and for several (3-4) days. Meanwhile, in the neighboring sections of the river, dammed earlier, carp begin to spawn from the first days of May, gradually; spawning of "carps" (probably, these are pond carps that have fallen into the river, or some special variety of carp) takes place in the Dobrinsky area, regardless of the time of the dam's constipation.

In the lower reaches of the Volga, Don and Dnieper, carp spawning always begins at the end of April, almost simultaneously with the flood, which is longer in the south than in the north. Carp in the Volga begins to play simultaneously with the profit of water - "goes to the game along with water" - and its spawning continues until June. The peak of spawning occurs near Astrakhan around May 9th. The same can be said about the Don and its tributaries. In the Northern Donets, along Dublyansky, carp begins to spawn at the end of April and continues to rub until almost the middle of June. Local fishermen divide carps into Yuryevsky, Nikolsky and Troitsky; small carps up to 4 kg (from 1.2) belong to the Yuriev ones, to the second medium - up to 8 kg; the largest carps, about 16 kg in weight, spawn at the end of May. In the Dnieper, near Kiev, carp spawning is also in full swing around May 9th. Then already in the river Motyre, Oryol province. carps spawn in the second half of May, as in the upper reaches of the Oka and Don (Bobriki). In the Moskva River, apparently, carps spawned (in 1889) between June 10-15; in the first days of the same month, carps spawn in the ponds of the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery. In Sura near Simbirsk - in May, sometimes late until mid-June; in Ardym (flowing into the Penza River) - in June. Apparently, everywhere pond and lake carps spawn earlier than river ones, since running water warms up later than stagnant water.

In Germany, the main spawning of the carp coincides with the flowering of wheat (Erenkreutz), and this sign will probably be true for Russia as well, since the flowering of wheat is due to the onset of intense heat, which quickly heats the water to the proper temperature. On the floodplain, in shallow places, the water heats up faster than in the channel, and therefore early spawning takes place on the sites. In the lower reaches of rivers (for example, the Volga), river carp spawn earlier than sea carp, as they have the opportunity to get out to flood earlier. Carp do not rise high up, hardly for many tens of miles, and this explains their unusually slow settlement in the upper reaches of the rivers and in general in central Russia. The water temperature at which carp spawn must be at least 18, even 20 °; according to the observations of fish farmers, the water should have the temperature of fresh milk, which explains the difference in spawning time in the northern and southern areas. In cold spring ponds, carps do not spawn at all, and the eggs are probably absorbed by the body.

There is no doubt that in the rivers the harvest of juvenile carp is in inverse proportion to the height of spring waters. The larger the flood, the farther from the channel the adult fish go, and the eggs spawned by them, and the juveniles dry out and become the prey of birds. On the contrary, when the water is low, a significant part of carps, especially large ones, spawn in pits or stretches, i.e., in bays, and are much more productive. However, river, more productive spawning sometimes occurs if the water does not heat up for a long time, that is, during a cold spring.

Males differ from females of the same age by almost half their height and transience, i.e., a thinner and elongated body. During spawning, they can be easily distinguished by soft irregular whitish warts dotting the back of the head, cheeks, gill covers and pectoral fins. In addition, there are always twice or three times more males than females, which depends on the structure of the eggs of cyprinids.

Some observations show that river carps, before starting spawning, sometimes do reconnaissance, that is, several advanced individuals appear in a given area, which return back and soon, usually the next day, bring a mass of fish. These explorations are known, for example, on the river. Voronezh, near the village Dobrogo, where the appearance of scouts in a flooded meadow, shortly after the locking of the mill dam, portends a quick and, moreover, gross spawning, with great impatience expected by the locals. On the lower Volga, carp, as it is said, "go to play along with the water," often in very shallow places, so that they have to swim sideways and jump over hillocks. On such fields, overgrown with grass, carp break into small herds, pieces of 10 - 15, and chase the females, who always go ahead of the pack. For spawning, the smallest spills are selected here, so that dorsal feathers are visible.

The very process of spawning takes place mainly in the morning dawns, especially at sunrise, and by 11-12 o'clock it completely stops. It is done in small batches, and usually large female eggs are accompanied by 2-3, sometimes 4 smaller molshniks. Males at this time try to swim side by side with the female, pushing each other aside, the noise and splashing they make in calm weather can be heard from a kilometer away. Milk is released with extraordinary force, even with a whistle, which is well known to catchers.

In the evenings, on the lower reaches of the Volga, carp do not rush at all, but only roam the spills, looking for places where water rolls into hollows, that is, they stay in deeper (1.5-2 m deep) and sometimes fast-flowing water. Here they jump out and splash, which is why, presumably, carp in such places, like other fish, "break their eggs," in the words of the fishermen, preparing for spawning. It may very well be that carp sometimes spawn in such channels, and in any case they need running water. In the upper reaches of the Oka under the Orel, according to Tarachkov's observations, carps even always (?) spawn in fast and shallow places, but this is probably an exception to the general rule, which can be explained by the fact that the river enters the banks here very early and quickly, before than the sexual products of carps ripen. As a very strong fish, carps during their turn to "battle" can overcome quite significant obstacles and freely jump over low dams, dams, strings and other obstacles on their way. It is known that carps sometimes jump out of the water to a height of 2 m, i.e., human growth. As for pond, already acclimatized carps, they are even less whimsical than river ones, and rub. h. in reeds, brushwood and snags, also in thickets of water lilies and other aquatic plants, to which caviar is attached. On river spills, caviar usually lays down in a layer on last year's rags.

Carp caviar is greenish in color and does not differ in size from caviar of bream, ide and other related species. The number of eggs is enormous, and carp can really be called almost the most prolific fish. Caviar and milk appear in the rudiment already in the 2nd year, but carps spawn only in the 3rd, even in the 4th year, mostly reaching 400 g, even 800 g. Already an 800-900-gram female has up to 342,000 , and 621,000 eggs were found in a 3.5-kilogram one. These figures, however, do not give an entirely correct idea of ​​the amount of caviar, since in females of the same size it can be very different. Undoubtedly, caviar is the more so, the more satiated the fish. In some cases, the weight of caviar can be almost half the weight of the fish.

The time required for the full development of eggs into young fish varies greatly and depends on the temperature of the water. At 18-20 degrees (B°), the embryo hatches in 10 days, maybe a week; at the lowest temperature, it leaves the egg after 3 weeks or more, and with a sharp change in the weather and a strong cooling of the water (8 degrees?), It completely dies.

The main enemies of caviar and young carp, however, are not cold, which does not happen every year. Most of the caviar on the spill dries up after the water subsides; many fry that have just hatched do not have time to slide into pits, floodplain lakes, old channels and remain on dry land. But even these lakes, pits and eriki often dry up by the end of summer, and carp become prey for water birds, herons and pigs. Shchuryat and small perch also produce severe devastation in their ranks, and by the fall it is unlikely that more than a tenth of the hatched fry can survive. I mean river carps, not pond carps, whose eggs and juveniles are less subject to various accidents, even if proper fish management is not carried out. It must be assumed that hardly a hundredth of the eggs develop into young fish, and one tenth of these fish is unlikely to survive in a year, that is, if we assume that a female with two males gives an average of 300,000 fertilized eggs, then one of them will hatch only 3000 fish, of which 300 remain after a year, i.e. 100 for each producer. In carp spawning on shallow spills, all eggs and juveniles disappear without any benefit.

Since most of the juveniles of carp are hatched in the summer, later than the juveniles of all river fish, and at the end of September or at the beginning of October they almost stop feeding and lie down for the winter in the reeds, then, of course, the first year it grows relatively slowly. Although on the lower Volga already in July and August there are carp-year-olds 9 cm long, and - 20-23 cm carp, found in May during the flood, should have a year, but there are also, undoubtedly, one-year-old carp that already have the rudiments of sexual products, at 13, even 12 cm. In the upper reaches of the Oka, near Orel, young carps by the end of autumn of the same year reach a length of up to 7.5 cm, counting from the end of the muzzle to the end of the tail. According to A. A. Beer, in the spring in the river. Voronezh, the smallest carp has 13 - 18 cm. The well-known expert on the Lower Volga fishing V. E. Yakovlev says that with a decrease in water, young carp roll into the river or into ilmen, but that in ilmen, despite the huge amount of plant and animal nutrients, carp grow much slower than in the river.

There is nothing surprising in this strange contradiction: hobbyists know how slowly their pets grow in aquariums, despite the abundance of food. There is even an opinion that the size of fish depends on the size of the water basin they inhabit, and this opinion is true to some extent, especially with regard to herbivorous and omnivorous species. Fish grow throughout their lives, and their growth is not subject to the same laws that govern the growth of higher vertebrates. At first glance, it seems undoubted that the growth of fish is directly proportional to the amount of food, but here one very important factor that determines the speed of growth with sufficient food is overlooked - this is the appetite of the fish, or its greater or lesser gluttony. In small stagnant waters, at least abounding in food substances, non-predatory fish are almost deprived of exercise, food is digested in it more slowly, it eats less and does not grow particularly quickly, much quieter than in large, all the more fluid waters, where food is obtained with some difficulty. , at the price of some exercise, and where the very spaciousness, and especially the current, contribute to exercise, rapid digestion and gluttony.

In addition, one more very important growth factor, which has so far been overlooked, must be taken into account - this is the presence of some, of course, a small amount of predatory fish in a given basin. The role of predators in the economy of nature is much more important than is usually thought, and most predatory fish are directly and indirectly much more useful to humans than some non-predatory fish, such as stickleback, char, gobies (Gobius) and others. Pike perch, burbot, pike and perch, firstly, destroy all sick and weak fish, and this is already their great merit; secondly, by thinning out a too dense population, they increase the portion of food of healthy and strong fish, and, thirdly, where there is no shortage of food, by their pursuit they induce sluggish and well-fed fish to take exercise, eat more and grow faster. Fish farmers know the benefits of small pikes in carp fattening ponds. They eat up their juveniles, which "beat off bread" from their parents, and adult carps are disturbed and forced to move, and therefore eat more. There is no doubt that in "wild" waters, predators can play - and mostly do - the role of appetite stimulants. And since predators are more numerous and varied in large flowing waters, it is not surprising that they, even more than the spaciousness and speed of the current, contribute to the rapid growth of fish.

I believe that in most cases, predatory fish do more good than harm, precisely in that they directly and indirectly contribute to the faster growth of fish, forcing them to take the necessary exercise and reducing the number of their competitors.

The reason for the rapid growth of carp, despite the duration of its winter sleep, is its extraordinary gluttony and, moreover, omnivorousness. In this respect, it surpasses the barbel myron, which does not reach such a size as a carp. A great analogy is generally seen between these two fish: myron has almost the same geographical distribution, but this is already a purely river fish that avoids quiet water; it hangs on the line itself and therefore exerts even more resistance on the line than the carp. Both myron and carp are real pigs between fishes, not squeamish about any plant and animal substances. But both river carp and pond carp prefer plant food to worms, larvae and various insects. The main food of these fish - in spring and early summer - is young shoots of reeds (Typha) and some other aquatic plants, as well as eggs of early spawning fish in ponds and frogs. Reed, presumably, is one of the necessary conditions for the prosperity of carps, delivering food and protection, and where it is not, they can hardly live in large numbers. Tender, juicy and sweet shoots of this plant are preferred by carps to others and very willingly suck, gnaw at them, while they are not yet coarsened, which happens in central Russia until the end, and in southern Russia until the beginning of June. Where there are many carps, there you can always hear in the mornings in the reeds their characteristic champing and smacking, louder than that of other herbivorous fish. It seems to me that the abundance of this food is the main reason why carp, despite the fact that they should be very hungry after a long winter fast, in some places do not take the bait at all in the spring. Later, carps, especially pond carps, feed on the mucus that covers the leaves of underwater plants, and slugs, dragonfly larvae, even dragonflies themselves, which are very cleverly grabbed when they sit on the leaves; in the rivers, carps also feed on crayfish, especially molts. Carp does not disdain even carrion and feces, cow and especially sheep, which is a delicacy for him. "At noon" watering places for livestock, carps are very fond of fattening in the mornings and evenings. Although carp have excellent eyesight, they are guided mainly by touch and smell when looking for food. In very populated places, river carps have, after every heavy rain, a huge amount of food in the form of dung and large earthworms and half-digested oats from horse droppings. In navigable rivers, various grains - oats, rye, wheat and millet - are probably even the main food of carp. For 6-7 months, such a mass of grain grain flows along our main rivers that, of course, many thousands of pounds are thrown into the river by spillways on barges. And how many baroques with bread are broken and drowned every year on the Volga, Dnieper and other rivers! A significant percentage of sunken grain goes to the share of river dwellers.

Like all other fish, the pond carp, like the river carp, does not disdain its own and other people's young. There is even reason to think that they feed on it until the very frost, even in late autumn. Large carps sometimes catch more than one little thing, but they also grab quite large fish. But, apparently, this happens only in the hungriest times of the year - early spring and winter. On the lower Volga, in late autumn, carp are caught on a lure: according to Cherkasov, in the spring of 1885, in one whirlpool of the Serdoba River, a fair amount of carp was also caught on a lure, and most of them were caught by the mouth, that is, they were caught not by chance - "samoder" . The same author speaks of a carp weighing 14 kg, caught in Serdoba on live bait. N. A. Dublyansky also mentions the flashing of carp and carp and talks about a 6 kg carp caught in late autumn (with a seine net), in the stomach of which a completely fresh perch of 15 cm was found. Obviously, carp in their winter camps sometimes grab swimming fish by .

As mentioned above, carp everywhere belong to the number of sedentary fish and do not make long-distance wanderings along the river to find convenient places for spawning. V. E. Yakovlev believes that the carp, living on the seaside and blacks, rise up the river for 200 kilometers and, having spawned, always return back. River carp, in his opinion, can go farther from their usual dens, but, of course, like all other fish, the travel distance depends on the degree of maturity of the reproductive products, that is, only carp that spawn later rise far up, became the largest. Having spawned (on spills), carp roll down and return to their former places, but, apparently, they begin to lead a completely sedentary life a few weeks, a whole month after spawning. In the Kyiv province, at least, carp in May and partly in early June still roam along the entire river and roam the large reaches.

Small carp, up to 3 years of age, constantly lives in these reaches and bays, choosing those that abound in reeds (reeds). Here he winters, but in the spring he also goes to floods - not for spawning, but for the sake of more abundant food on the shelter and because of the strong current in the riverbed during watering. An adult carp rarely chooses such reaches and bays as its residence, although it goes out there to fatten. Both in an open river and in large flowing ponds, more or less deep (several meters) pits that are inaccessible to a seine serve as a haven. Large carp always live in large pits filled with crowbar (foam) and snags. The humpbacked variety of carp, known on the Volga, Serdoba and other rivers under the name of croaker, and in some places (along the Northern Donets) incorrectly called korop, always prefers such impregnable shelters. In general, carp in the river, except for slabs, avoid too silty or sandy places and choose pits with a clay bottom as their habitat - for the reason that such pits are almost always located in ledges or have many boulders; these ledges and boulders replace the missing snags. For the most part, such pits are found under cliffs and steep ridges, in a bend made by the river. In lakes and ponds, carp prefers floating islands to pits, and sometimes keeps in reeds. In small rivers, it often lives under bridges, where it is usually deep between piles.

In general, carp loves shade and rarely comes to the surface of the water on sunny days, like other carp fish. In ponds this is noticed more often than in rivers, and here one can sometimes observe whole rows of carps with their heads turned in one direction, always against the wind, and standing 15 cm below the surface of the water. The surest sign of the presence of carp in a given area is its ejection, which cannot in any way be confused with the jumping of other fish. The carp jumps out of the water all over, almost upright, that is, perpendicularly, with extraordinary force, and at the same time makes (probably with his lips) some special sound, similar to the jerky croaking of a frog. This jump sometimes reaches a height of up to 1.5 m; Obviously, the carp does this balancing act from a running start, rising from the bottom to the top, and, moreover, only for the sake of exercise, and not from any other goals. Very often he jumps out in this way not far from the boat. Back, he falls as he has to - sideways, flat, on his head - and, falling, makes a strong splash with his tail and starts a big wave. Apparently, carp begin to be thrown out only at the end of spawning, not earlier than May, when they have already eaten a few and gather strength, and end the fight in September. Usually carp jumps in a certain place show, firstly, that this fish has a permanent den here, and secondly, that it is sent for fattening. Frequent ejection of a carp, in the complete absence of a bite, portends a change in the weather for the worse. In the middle of the day, they almost never jump out, but only in the mornings and evenings.

At this time, as well as at night, the carp fattens, i.e. feeds. To this end, he leaves the pits for small stretches or reeds, sometimes even in the evening and returns to his dens no later than 8-10 in the morning; in autumn, especially in cloudy weather, carp feed almost all day. In shallow places, carp are found only at night or in the early morning, before sunrise, but they cannot, however, be called such a night fish as ide, bream, especially burbot, because if carp are full and it’s coming to autumn, then they only fatten in the mornings and evenings, staying at the pits at night.

Carps are schooling, sociable fish, and although the largest ones live separately from the smaller ones, there are carps of different ages, sizes and weights in the same flock - from 1-1.5 kg to 8 kg or more. However, they do not walk very densely, but in rather long strings; from some observations it can be seen that in windy weather, when the rustle of reeds and the noise of trees frightens this sensitive and cautious fish, it walks at random, that is, alone. The number of individuals in a single flock is never as significant as in a flock of bream, and usually equals several tens, rarely hundreds, and very few pits contain thousands of carp, and then mostly at the end of autumn, when they gather for wintering. The only exceptions are the lower reaches of the Volga and the Dnieper, where carp are very numerous. Small juvenile carp, 1-2 or even 3 years old, keeps in huge flocks in bays and backwaters.

Like pond carp, so even more common carp are such strong, large and tasty fish that it is not surprising that in a large part of European Russia their fishing is considered a first-class and most difficult sport after fishing for salmon and trout. But salmon is rare among us, and very few anglers fish it, and trout, although it has a more extensive distribution than salmon, is still rare compared to carp, and most importantly small. Of the cyprinids, only carp is undoubtedly stronger than carp of the same weight, but it, that is, carp, has a very limited distribution in Russia and, moreover, is rare; as for the mustachioed myron, the strength of its resistance on the bait depends a lot on the fact that it is caught in a more or less significant current; catching a carp in a rapid is even more difficult than a myron of the same size. However, the speed of the current and the spaciousness develop the strength of any fish, and all anglers know that lake fish, especially pond fish, are much weaker on a bait than river fish, even if the latter was also caught in stagnant backwaters. The difference in the strength of pond and river fish is expressed especially sharply in carps: a pond carp has almost half as much resistance on a fishing rod as a carp of the same weight; lake carp is also far from being as striking as river carp. The carp that got into the river, however, can never be compared in strength with the indigenous, "wild" species.

Special angling for carps begins with us only at 55°N. sh. Starting from the southern part of the Ufa provinces, in Simbirsk, Penza, Tambov, the southern parts of Ryazan and Tula, in Chernigov and further to the west, carp already belongs to the number of fairly common fish and is well known to almost all anglers. To the north, carps are relatively rare and b. hours in ponds, where they are bred almost exclusively from imported German or Polish carps, b. hours at the beginning of this century. There is no doubt that in the flowing ponds and rivers of central Russia, or rather in the central provinces, both real carp and carp are found, and that they have already partly mixed with each other. In southern Russia - Orenburg, in Astrakhan, in the Donskoy, Novorossiysk and in the southwestern regions of the carp, or carp, is preferred by all angler anglers to other fish.

The time of carp fishing depends on the climate and starts the earlier and is the longer, the warmer it is. In Central Europe (Ruhlich) carp starts to take from March, and its biting ends in the last days of November. According to Poitevin, carp in France are line-fished until the end of October. In our country, even in the south, biting begins no earlier than April and rarely ends later than the beginning of October. According to Butkov's observations in the Kharkov province, carps begin to appear, that is, come out of the pits, only in the first days of April, when the water temperature reaches 12 ° R, and they begin to take in the twenties. In October, it seems that only a small l.5-2.5-year-old carp (lower Volga) falls for the bait.

The main biting of carps happens with us in the summer, and in spring and autumn they bite badly or do not take at all. It seems that spring fishing is possible only on small rivers (pp. Ardym, Penz. provinces, Motyra, Orlovskaya, Voronezh, in Lebedyansky district, in many rivers of Kharkov province.), which very soon enter the banks and where carp spawning takes place after the dams are closed. Large rivers, on the other hand, begin to overflow very slowly after opening, and any fishing on them, starting from the first arrival of water until the moment the river enters low water, is very difficult, and sometimes completely impossible. Therefore, the spring bite of carps hungry during the winter b. h. passes almost unnoticed, especially since it is rather short. The real bite begins here, when the river enters the banks and the carps take their permanent places, become completely sedentary. This happens, as you know, in late spring or early summer, one, more often two weeks after spawning: in more northern areas at the end of June or early July, and in more southern areas even from mid-May. It is remarkable that, according to the observations of Kharkov fishermen, the biting of carps begins everywhere at once, at the same time, even in lakes. This bite, with more or less interruptions, continues all summer and into early autumn. The best months for fishing in some places are June, in others - July and August. In September b. h. already takes a small carp.

The intensity of biting carp, like other fish, depends on various conditions, mainly on the weather. In general, before each sharp change in the weather, the biting weakens or completely stops; however, carp are known to take very well during a thunderstorm. Prolonged heat waves, like cold bad weather, are extremely unfavorable for fishing, as carp hide, wander a little and lose their appetite. When the water reaches a temperature of over 20 °, carps either clog into holes, under roots and floating banks, or approach springs and streams; in ponds and lakes at this time they sometimes stand motionless in the shade of reeds. In any case, at high temperatures, carps come out to fatten only at night, and therefore rarely fall for the bait. Cloudy warm weather with a little rain is very conducive to fishing; with a sharp drop in water temperature, biting always stops. The flood often forces the carp, avoiding the fast current, to stray into the quietest whirlpools, and here for several days there are very often very plentiful catches. Many anglers are finally convinced of the influence of the phases of the moon on the bite of carp and say that the carp is best on the "young" and worst on the damage. According to others, for which change (phase) the water has risen (and, therefore, spawning has begun), for that the biting will be the strongest every month. A similar belief exists in the north regarding pikes, whose zhor seems to be in the phase on which they rubbed. But the surest sign of biting carps is throwing them out in the mornings and evenings. But there is no rule without exception, and it happens that carp are constantly thrown out, but not taken at all. This always portends a sharp change in weather and cold. The carp almost does not take in the wind and wave, perhaps because the nozzle does not remain motionless; however, behind the wind, in the calm formed by a steep bank or coastal forest, fishing is often very successful.

The best time of the day for carp fishing is undoubtedly early morning, especially in summer. In hot weather, carp, as already noted, fattens even at night, but since fishing on the bottom is inconvenient and of little use, night fishing is almost completely unknown and has a random character, especially since you have to catch in shallow creeks or even on shallows. . However, I believe that in May and June you can fish almost all night with floats, putting black paper circles on them, quite noticeable against a lighter background of the water surface. N. Dombrovsky, attaching great importance to night fishing, advises fishing with a flashlight, with a strong reflector that illuminates the floats. I have reason to think that the morning bite of carp in the summer in their usual places, that is, in deep pits with a weak current, can be divided into early - from dawn to sunrise, and late - from 6 to 8 or 9 in the morning. In the first case, the carp take the bait, returning from the night feeding, in the second, going to the morning feeding. The largest carps are taken almost exclusively in the early morning or even at dawn. Most anglers do not seem to take advantage of the early bite for many reasons, although carp take much more decisively and boldly before sunrise than when they are completely flushed. By prolonged casting of the bait at certain morning or evening hours, one can accustom carps to visit the baited place even at not quite the appointed time, and these fish are very rarely caught without preliminary bait. But the evening bite is almost always worse than the morning one, and in the evenings a small carp usually takes the bait. In general, the evening bite is incorrect and inconsistent: in some places, carps take from 2-3 pm to 6, in others from 6 to 8. In late summer and early autumn, that is, in August and September, when the water gets colder, carps often the best fishing is from 9 am to 11 am.

In most cases, the place of fishing is the same hole that serves as a permanent residence for carp. However, in the spring, when carp is still wandering, it is best to catch it in flowing ponds near the mouths of streams, where it likes to stay until spawning. Later, in the summer, the abundance of snags and snags sometimes makes you choose for fishing and privatize places near the real den, which are sure to be visited by carps in the morning and evening fattening. These places should, however, be similar to permanent dens, i.e., have a significant depth and a weak, best reverse, i.e., whirlpool current, clay or silt-clay bottom, running in ledges. Such pits have a steep coast, are located b. h. under the yars and in a long, i.e., outer bend of the river. In small dammed rivers, carps keep and are caught (after the dam and the end of spawning) in the mill whirlpools or near the dam, the deepest part of the pond, sometimes in the channel, if it is not washed away. The location of carps can always be found out from shepherds and local residents (but not from fishermen), who can always indicate where there are pools with snags that are not accessible to the seine. It is even better to find such a place yourself, observing where carp are more often thrown out. If the indicated or noticed place satisfies the above-mentioned conditions of depth and quality of the bottom, then you can be sure that this is where the carp den is located. A sign of their location is also small bubbles blown by carp when it digs, on the go, in the mud, but such bubbles are blown by ides, bream and other fish. These are whole bouquets of bubbles, forming a circle on the surface of 13-18 cm in diameter.
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A typical bite of a carp is as follows: the float first goes to the side, with increasing speed, and rapidly plunges into the water, so that the angler does not have time to take the rod in his hands, as the fish has already hooked itself, and if they are fishing with a reel, they have already managed to wind up several meters lace. Sometimes this bite is completely unexpected: "in your mind, a motionless float continues to be drawn, when suddenly you notice that some bright snake has darted at the float and disappeared into the depths ...". However, in some cases, the proximity of a bite is foreshadowed by bubbles approaching the float, released by carps approaching the bait. The largest carp are taken with incredible and even completely incomprehensible force, as they manage to knock off hooks from a run to hooking.

With a weak bite, on the contrary, the bite of a carp is very similar to the bite of a tench, roach, or even cancer. A well-fed or cautious carp shakes the float slightly, then leads it to the side without plunging it, and stops; in some cases, he puts the float on the water, like a bream, that is, taking the nozzle in his mouth, he rises higher, lifting and sinker. Sometimes, finally, the bite of a carp is expressed in a slight trembling of the float, or in its barely noticeable immersion (like in cancer), or torsion in one place. This happens when the fish sucks the bait without moving, or when the fish, swimming along the bottom, touches the bait with its belly or lower fins. In these cases, there is nothing to wait for a clearer bite, that is, for the float to float to the side or disappear under water, and it is necessary to hook immediately. When fishing on peas, the bite is also usually transmitted in the following way: the float first trembles, sinks, then hesitates without sinking, and suddenly jumps out and lies down. This means that the fish took the nozzle with its hard lips, kneaded it, sucked it out and then spit it out along with the hook.

Since the lips and mouth of the carp are very fleshy, the cutting should never be strong and sharp; this strong fish almost always hooks itself, or at least, feeling the prick of the hook, with its swift movement causes the sting of the hook to stick very deep. Therefore, it is necessary to hook with the hand, and not with a stroke. However, when fishing with simple tackle and large hooks, you can and even should lift the rod up, but when fishing with a reel and small hooks, it is enough to lightly shake the tip of the rod, allowing the carp to sit on the hook properly. In general, hooking should not be delayed and one should sit on the shore, lying or sitting, so that the hands are as close as possible to the butts of the rods, but one must also take into account the place of fishing and the nozzle that is being caught. In ponds, quiet backwaters, as well as fishing for bread and porridge, i.e., for a large and soft nozzle, one should not rush to strike, but in a current, even if it is a whirlpool, and with a grain nozzle, one should not hesitate at all. In addition, when angling carp, especially with a weak, indecisive bite, it is necessary to take it as a rule - to hook before each throw. Needless to say, the cutting should be in the direction opposite to the direction taken by the float.

After hooking, if the fish turns out to be hooked, they quickly jump to their feet and, first of all, throw the rest of the fishing rods onto the shore with their free hand or foot so as not to interfere. Fishing is always done while standing. A small carp, up to 1-1.5 kg, however, more or less, depending on the strength of the fishing line, is pulled out without any ceremony and as soon as possible so as not to scare away the larger fish, but you have to mess around with the larger ones. The main task of the angler, if he is catching on ordinary tackle, is to take advantage of all the bending of the rod and the extensibility of the line, to prevent the fish from pulling the line and six in almost a straight line, that is, to keep the rod as high as possible, and try not to forcing too much, turn the caught fish to the side and make it walk in circles or, more precisely, in arcs. Too cool to drive a large carp should not be, because even if it withstands the tackle, it may not withstand the lip of the carp. Usually you have to hold the rod with both hands, and if it is long, then even rest the butt against the stomach. Of course, if the fish pulls along, then there is no calculation to stand still and it is much more prudent to follow it along the shore, unless it is obviously heading for some snag or grass. When fishing with a reel, it is impossible to drive a carp, even a small one, and you have to lower more or less amount of lace, according to the strength of the fish and the strength of the surrounding places. The rod is always held here with the left hand above the reel, resting the butt against the groin; the right hand is near the reel and lowers or collects the fishing line, delays, slows down the reel if it unwinds too quickly. Silk line usually hums like a telegraph wire.

Most often, carp, like other fish, hooks on the hook with the left or right corner of the mouth, upper jaw, near the nostrils, very rarely on the lower lip, much less often than on the middle of the upper jaw - on the forehead, as some anglers put it. In the latter case, large carp often break or unbend the hook, which is quite understandable. Feeling the cutting or pricking, the carp rushes away with extraordinary swiftness; if there are snags nearby, or any kind of support in general, then first of all he goes there; if he did not succeed, then he rolls to the middle of the river in a straight direction, trying to stretch the rod and fishing line in one line and cut off the tackle from a run. This is his most common maneuver and the most dangerous, but since the skill of the fisherman and the quality of the tackle passed this test and managed to turn the carp to the side - all chances for success. Seeing that nothing can be done by force, the carp begins to cheat: it either runs to the shore, right at the angler, trying to loosen the line and free itself from the hook, which, if the wound is very large, easily falls out of it, or, standing in one place , towards the shore with its tail, begins to spin and spin. This is done by him with the aim that the fishing line (or rather, the leash) gets behind the hard beam of the dorsal feather (sometimes the anal one), after which it is no longer difficult for the carp to grind or soak and generally reduce its strength. All "sazanyatniks" know very well how this is done, and many have seen more than once how the carp lies first on its side and, having missed the line where it should, begins to spin in one place. It is remarkable that only carps do this, while pond carps never fray the line, and not a single foreign author mentions this trick, even talking about river carps. Obviously, in mental abilities, as well as in strength, the acclimatized carp is inferior to its wild relative. This maneuver sometimes succeeds, especially with a hair line, the carp leaves with a hook and a piece of line. Therefore, one should not allow him to stand with his tail to the shore, and when stopping, one should try to wrap his face, and if this fails, then with frequent and rather sharp twitches they force the carp to move off. Probably, these twitchings cause him severe pain, since for the most part the carp cannot stand it and flies to the shore, tumbling along the way and wrapping the weakened fishing line around itself. That is why one must always be on the alert and keep the line taut, and since this is fully achieved only on the condition that the line is only slightly longer (no taller than human height) of the rod, the inconvenience of short bottom sixes and long lines is understandable. Moreover, it is extremely dangerous to drag a tired carp towards you on a fishing line, not completely, that is, not to the point of insensibility. By the way, I note that an untired carp going to the shore, if there is grass, snag or roots, it is necessary (especially when fishing with a reel and generally on a long line) to scare away from dangerous places by throwing stones or lumps of clay at it. It is more convenient to entrust this bombardment to your companion or comrade.

A caught carp jumps out of the water quite rarely, when it seems that it has already lost all hope of cutting or cutting the line. At first, he walks almost along the bottom, but, gradually weakening, makes smaller and smaller arcs and, finally, floats to the surface. It is especially difficult, although not briskly, for carps to walk, caught on a hook not in the mouth, but by the side, belly, behind the eye and in other illegal ways, which often happens when a whole herd of carps approaches the bait, and they, swimming along the bottom, touch the nozzle, move the float and make it hook. However, even small carp caught in this way with ordinary fishing rods almost always break, but when fishing with a reel, you can successfully pull out quite large fish. An experienced fisherman, in the course of the fish after hooking, feels in his hand whether he hooked the hook firmly into his mouth or not into his mouth. In the latter case, the fish goes very hard, but not briskly, somehow sideways and strongly rests. To an inexperienced fisherman, even a small fish caught on the side will seem large.

The strength of the carp has already been said above. The weakest of its varieties are carps, or karpushki, i.e. crossbreeds with crucian carp, followed by pond "German" carps, pond carps of Russian origin, river carp and, finally, the so-called. slabs. Probably, oblong (Hungarian) carps will occupy the middle between carps and croakers (sometimes called carps) in strength. Even pond carp offer at least 1.5 times more drag on the line than a line of the same weight; A 1.5-kilogram carp is in no way weaker than a 3-kilogram pike and the same tench, and a 1.5-kilogram croaker is equal in strength to a 4.8-kilogram pike. In general, carp is twice or three times stronger than all other fish of the same weight, with the exception of barbel, which is slightly inferior to it, carp, salmon and large trout, which are even stronger. The living power of carp, according to competent anglers, is 3, even 4 times greater than its weight, that is, a 4-10-kilogram specimen can, under adverse conditions, of course, cut off a fishing line that can withstand 12-16 kg, while most of our fish unable to break the line that can hold them up. The strength of the carp is evident from a superficial glance at its strong build. A valky and flexible body, a huge tail explain its swiftness and tackle-destruction. Whoever watched carps in the pond when they walk on top knows the strength and speed of their movements: one wave of the tail - and the fish disappears from the eyes; carp is even more powerful and agile. The main stumbling block in catching him is the swiftness with which he rushes away from the shore, b. h. to the middle, and the speed with which he pulls the rod and line in one line, sometimes before the angler has time to grab the six. A huge, i.e. wide, dorsal fin plays a significant role in the resistance of the carp, which does not allow the fish to be turned to the side, i.e., the carp is so stubborn in turns that it spreads the dorsal feather. It is remarkable that very large, old carp are slower, lazier, more passive in their resistance than "seasoned", but not yet old. The most lively and dangerous for gear are carp about 4 kg in weight. The larger ones are relatively lethargic, move slowly, without a characteristic rapid run, and cut off the lines with their weight, obviously relying on their strength. Carp of medium size, therefore, more often have time to wind the cord at the reel than the old ones, and cut it off. A large carp, not familiar with the treacherous properties of the coil, is more likely to get tired, but it should be noted that too thin tackle is not able to budge even a completely tired giant.

Therefore, one should not be especially carried away by the subtlety of gear, even when fishing with a reel.

When catching carp, a landing net is almost necessary, and it is difficult to pull even a medium-sized carp without the help of the latter. However, some experienced anglers manage to pull out rather large carp, after tiring them out and forcing them to take a sip of air; then they grab them with the thumb and forefinger of the right hand by the eyes, like a pike, but this reception is more difficult from the shore than from a boat. So do, for example, Astrakhan fishermen (Witte). Sazan, caught by the eyes, does not make the slightest movement and, obviously, falls into a fainting state. Most anglers, however, resort to the help of a net or tie-back, very rarely - to a gaff.

Tack for carp is somewhat different from an ordinary net. It should have a longer and stronger handle and a deeper (1 m long) mesh; some prefer the forks of the handle to the metal hoop, which is stronger.

As a very tenacious fish, carp can remain without water for a long time. Most anglers prefer to keep them alive or in large wicker baskets away from the fishing ground, or simply in canvas bags in which they behave very peacefully.

Commercial fishing for carp is carried out mainly in the spring, during the run and spawning, in some places also in late autumn and winter - in winter camps. The largest mass of fish is caught in the lower reaches of the Urals, Volga, Don and Dnieper mainly by seines - in spring and early summer, when the water is still muddy and carp, not seeing the approaching net, do not resort to their usual tricks. During spawning, they even forget all caution, and you can not only surround a whole flock with a net, but also slowly drive it to the shore. In summer and autumn, river carps are caught in a seine in much smaller numbers, as they live in pitted and strong places; even pond carps very cleverly elude the impending seine, lying in the bottom depressions.

Carp is one of the most delicious and fatty freshwater fish. The meat of carp, especially pond carp, is somewhat sweet and very plentiful in blood, which is why it is closest to beef. Catchers consider carp to be the bloodiest fish and the abundance of blood explains the intoxicating properties of carp. On the lower Volga, everyone knows that "in hot weather, carp meat produces headaches and febrile seizures, especially in visiting people, and in cold weather it has a soporific effect; for this reason, Astrakhan catchers always dine on carp. In the spring (on the southern Volga), carps have bitter taste (in the ponds and in the summer), and therefore the fishermen, when they boil the fish soup, first take out the gills, which seem to be saturated with the juice of the grass. a very good green paint is prepared for carp.The bitterness of meat, as well as the smell of silt in pond carps, is easily destroyed by the addition of strong vinegar.French anglers say that if you pour a glass of strong white vinegar into the mouth of a carp, sweat forms on the skin, which is peeled off along with the scales; the meat becomes stronger and does not respond with mud.Fat carp is recognized by the brightness of the color, the hardness of the body and the belly, on which there should not be a depression if pressed with a finger. In Western Europe, in order for carps to grow fat sooner, they often bachelor them by cutting out ovaries or milk, and in Holland and England they even fatten carps in cellars, placing fish in baskets with wet moss, sprinkled daily with BOJ milk; the food consists of bread soaked in milk or wine, which is given from a spoon. Carps in large fishermen's cages also very willingly eat bread thrown to them, grains, etc., but in winter they do not take any food. Feeding continues for 3-4 weeks. Fleshy carp tongues in the south are considered a delicacy, and even in the past century, according to Falk, in Astrakhan they were marinated in vinegar and sent to St. Petersburg.

Such tenacious fish as carp can withstand a very long transportation alive, and it is quite enough if it is kept in damp grass or damp moss. The unusual complexity of the carp's respiratory organs makes it possible for it to remain without water for a very long time. As expected, pond carps are much stronger than river carps and are not inferior in vitality to crucians. Young carps live especially long, which is proved by the following experience. Two carps were taken out of the aquarium; when they fell asleep, then after 4 hours one was placed in a pelvis with water, half diluted with alcohol, and the other in clean water. A few minutes later, the first carp completely revived, and the other, having lain in the water for 4-5 hours without moving, nevertheless, when they put it in vodka, came to life after five minutes and also completely recovered. In general, the carp sleeps not so much from a lack of water, but because the mucus they secrete hardens and seals the gill cover: the fish, therefore, suffocates. If the danger of sticking is eliminated, then the carp can be transported at a distance of several days of driving. This fact has long been known and explains the rapid spread of carp in Western Europe and northwestern Russia, from where it moved to the landlord ponds of the middle provinces. If you put a piece of bread soaked in vodka or vinegar into the mouth of a carp, then it can live in wet grass for more than a day. For this purpose, nettle is considered the best herb. It is also possible to safely send carps in the snow for a considerable distance, since, although they will freeze, they will soon be nursed in the water. The best way to transport carp is due to their complete immobility and the free action of the gill covers. For this purpose, the carp is placed in boxes in rows on its back so that the head of one is next to the head of the nearest; a small slice of an apple is first placed behind the gills of each fish, and a piece of bread moistened with vodka is placed in the mouth; the rows are shifted with grass (nettle) so that the fish cannot move. If the journey lasts several days, then it is very useful, and sometimes (in the heat) it is even necessary to take the fish out of the box once a day, free them from apple slices and pieces of bread and put them into water for several hours. With such care, carp can be transported thousands of kilometers by rail and many hundreds of kilometers by dirt roads.

Crucian carp (lat. Carassius) is a widespread genus of fish that belongs to the class of leche-finned fish, the cyprinoid order, and the cyprinid family.

The name of this fish migrated to the Russian language as an adapted transliteration of the old German word "karas", which goes back to the Latin designation of the genus, the etymology of which is unknown.

• - this type of crucian carp is represented by a huge number of subspecies, the number of which has long exceeded three hundred. All of them, with rare exceptions, are intended only for breeding in an aquarium. Representatives of this species differ not only in size, ranging from 2 to 45 cm, in color, which includes all the colors of the rainbow, but also in the shape of the body, which can be elongated, ovoid, or resemble a sphere. In addition, the shape of goldfish varies greatly, as well as the length of the fins and tail, which can be either short or very long and resemble wings or a developing veil. The eyes of goldfish are small in size or huge and bulging.

• lives in the waters of Japan and Taiwan. Wild species of this fish live in Lake Biwa in Japan. The length of the fish reaches 35-40 cm.