Bighead carp

Quick facts

How to identify it

A deep, heavy-bodied carp with a disproportionately large head, a strongly upturned mouth and small, low-set eyes below the midline of the head. The back is dark grey to olive, the flanks silver-grey with irregular dark blotches — hence the German and Hungarian names "marbled" and "spotted" carp. The scales are tiny. The ventral keel runs only from the pelvic fins to the vent, whereas the silver carp's keel extends forward to the throat; the silver carp is also uniformly silver without blotches and has a smaller head. Hybrids between the two are common in stocked waters and show mixed features.

Where it lives

Bighead carp are fish of warm, fertile, standing or slow water: eutrophic lakes, gravel-pit lakes, reservoirs, fish-farm ponds and the backwaters and lower reaches of large rivers such as the Danube and Tisza. They roam the open water column rather than the bottom, following plankton blooms, and are most often seen rolling or "porpoising" at the surface on warm, still mornings and evenings. They prefer water of 20–28 °C, tolerate low oxygen and murky, green water well, and in winter drop into the deepest basins where they feed little. Unlike most carp they rarely visit the margins, so finding the shoal in open water is the main task.

Season and behaviour

The season runs with water temperature. Bighead become active from May, feed hardest from June to September when plankton is thickest, and slow sharply once the water falls below about 12 °C in autumn. They spawn in early summer at 18–26 °C, but need long stretches of flowing, rising river to reproduce successfully, so in most European still waters stocks are maintained only by stocking; natural recruitment is documented mainly in the lower Danube. Feeding is a daytime affair: calm, sunny, windless days with fish cruising just under the surface are ideal, while cold fronts and strong wind push the shoals deeper. Dawn and dusk often bring the closest fish.

Fishing methods

Because bighead filter plankton, classic hook baits are useless; instead you present a slowly dissolving cloud of fine particles with a small hook hanging inside it. The most popular rig is a float-fished "cloud" rig: a large float or a small polystyrene ball, a plankton-imitating groundbait ball (often pressed onto a spring or cage) fixed 30–60 cm above one to three small hooks baited with foam pellets or bread. Set the depth so the cloud drifts at the level where fish are rolling — usually 0.5–2 m under the surface. A bottom-fished version uses a heavy groundbait feeder with pop-up hook baits. Use strong 3–3.5 lb carp rods, 0.30–0.35 mm mainline and a big net: a 20 kg bighead makes long, powerful runs.

Baits and lures

The "bait" is really the cloud: a fine, light, plankton-like groundbait that breaks down in minutes and hangs in the water — commercial bighead mixes, dried milk powder, finely ground bread, semolina and sweet flavours such as vanilla, banana or strawberry all work. Hook baits are neutral-buoyancy items that sit in the cloud: small foam or polystyrene beads, puffed maize, a scrap of bread crust or a bright pop-up. Colour matters little; buoyancy and hook size (8–12) matter a lot.

Tips from the bank

1. 01Watch the surface at first light — rolling and "porpoising" fish tell you the depth and location of the shoal.
2. 02Fish the cloud, not the bottom: set the hooks 0.5–2 m down and re-bait the cloud ball every 10–15 minutes.
3. 03Fish the windward bank: floating plankton and warm water pile up where the wind blows onto the shore.
4. 04Use a big landing net and a padded mat — these are heavy, soft-scaled fish that bruise easily.
5. 05Hooks are small but the fish are huge, so use a soft-actioned rod and a smooth clutch to protect the hook hold.
6. 06Warm, still, sunny days beat cold fronts every time; after a cold snap wait two or three days before trying again.
7. 07Bighead are often only lightly hooked in the lip — keep steady pressure and never rush a fish to the net.

Where to catch Bighead carp

Waters where Shoalmap's fishing reports list Bighead carp.

• Palićko jezero
• Kikindski Kanal
• Skenderevo
• Kasapska ada
• Vrbica
• Joca jezero
• Krvavo jezero
• Kis-Járás
• Kígyós-főcsatorna

Related species

• Silver carp
  Hypophthalmichthys molitrix

  The plankton-sieving giant that jumps clear of the water and pulls like a tractor.

• Grass carp
  Ctenopharyngodon idella

  The vegetarian torpedo that fights like nothing else in the lake.

• Common carp
  Cyprinus carpio

  The heavyweight of still and slow water that built a whole branch of angling.

Frequently asked questions