Preserved and cased King Carp, caught by Harold Avery in a lake at Ross on Wye, on potato, 20th September 1941. Weighed in at 20½ lbs

Preserved and cased by J. Cooper & Sons of London.

CARP

Latin name - Cypinus carpo

Colour and characheristics - There are several forms of carp and it is their arrangement of scales which make them different. These forms are the leather, mirror and scaled carp. A carp has four barbels at the sides of the mouth and uses these to search for food by taste.

Scaled carp: this is covered in scales. The back is greenish brown, the sides are yellowish brown and the belly is creamy yellow.
Leather carp: This has few scales and is a darker brown than the scaled carp.
Mirror carp This tends to grow more quickly than the other forms of carp.

There is another species of carp: The Crucian carp. This is smaller than the other carp and has no barbels. This carp was introduced to Britain in the 1970s.

Diet - Carp feed on both plants and animals. They tend only to eat plants in the summer whilst in the winter feeding is irregular and sometimes stops in very cold weather.

Habitat - Carp prefer still, weedy ponds and lakes on slow flowing rivers. They often form small shoals and can tolerate low oxygen levels. Carp tend to swim near the bottom but will bask near the surface on warm days.

How fished for - Carp are a popular fish for specimen anglers and a variety of baits are used including bread pastes.

Interesting facts - Carp are famous for their longevity. One 20kg specimen captured in 1952, and named Clarissa, survived in London Zoo until 1972 when she was thought to have been 35 years old.

British record: common carp 51 lb 8oz (23.36kg)