Freshwater

Common Carp

Cyprinus carpio · Cyprinidae

Also known as: European carp, Mirror & leather carp (scale variants)

A powerful, intelligent, widely distributed coarse fish — the backbone of European sport angling.

Identification

Deep, heavy body with brassy-golden scales, two pairs of barbels at the mouth, and a long dorsal fin.

Warm, slow lakes, ponds, canals, and rivers with soft bottoms.

Native to Eurasia; introduced worldwide and now one of the most widespread freshwater fish on earth.

Omnivorous bottom-feeder — insects, crustaceans, plant matter, and seeds rooted up from the substrate.

Late spring to summer in warm, weedy shallows; a highly prolific broadcast spawner.

Spawning tracks water temperature, so the calendar shifts with latitude and elevation. These break common carp timing down by state and water body.

Carp Species in North America
Five carp matter to a US angler, and two of the names people use are not species at all. Mirror and leather are varieties of common carp. The four genuinely separate invaders are bighead, silver, grass and black — and USGS no longer calls them Asian carp, for reasons it has published.

Pre-bait a swim to draw fish in, fish a hair rig so the hook sits free of the bait, and be ready for a hard first run.

Best techniques

Lures & baits

Best season: Late spring through autumn, in warm, stable weather.