Grass carp

Quick facts

How to identify it

A long, cylindrical, torpedo-shaped fish, far slimmer than a common carp, with a broad, flattened head, a terminal mouth without barbels and a short dorsal fin of only 7–8 branched rays. The scales are large, dark-edged and give a cross-hatched look; the back is olive to grey-green, the flanks silvery brass, the belly white. The eyes sit low on the head, level with the mouth. It is most often confused with a large chub or ide, but both have a deeper body and a rounder head, while the grass carp's head is wide and flat as a shovel. Silver and bighead carp have tiny scales and a keeled belly.

Where it lives

Grass carp are stocked into lakes, ponds, reservoirs, canals and gravel pits, mostly in warm, shallow, weed-rich water where they can graze. They also live in slow rivers, backwaters and oxbows, and big rivers such as the Danube hold self-sustaining populations that use the main channel for spawning. Expect them along reed beds, submerged weed, overhanging willows and lily pads, in 1–4 m of water, and cruising just under the surface on calm, sunny days. They like warm water and are most active above 18 °C; in winter they go deep and almost stop feeding. Grass carp are sensitive to disturbance and drift away from a noisy bank within minutes.

Season and behaviour

Grass carp wake up late: real feeding begins when the water passes 15 °C in late spring and peaks through the summer months, when they eat up to their own weight of plant matter in a few days. In most European waters they do not spawn naturally, as the eggs need long, warm, flowing rivers to develop; where they do, spawning falls in June–July. Feeding is a daytime affair, with warm afternoons and the hours around dusk the most productive, often in the shallowest, sunniest corner of the lake. Autumn keeps them going until the first cold nights, and winter is largely a dead season. They travel in small groups and feed in the upper and middle water as readily as on the bottom.

Fishing methods

Float fishing is the classic approach: a light waggler or a pole float set so the bait hangs 20–60 cm below the surface or just off the bottom near weed, with loose-fed sweetcorn or floating pellets to draw a group in. Surface fishing with floating bread, dog biscuits or a pop-up boilie on a controller float is thrilling when fish are cruising on top. Bottom fishing with a hair-rigged bait on a standard carp rig catches many grass carp, but lengthen the hooklink to 25–30 cm and use a lighter lead, as they pick baits up gently and drop anything that feels wrong. Use a soft-actioned carp rod, 0.28–0.35 mm mainline and a well-set clutch — the first run is violent — and keep the rod low through the jumps.

Baits and lures

Vegetable baits rule. Sweetcorn is the number one bait almost everywhere, followed by boiled maize, tiger nuts, bread, lettuce and cabbage leaves, cherry tomatoes and pieces of fruit such as apple or pear. Sweet and fruity boilies and pellets work on waters where the fish see carp baits, and floating pellets or bread crust catch surface cruisers. Freshly cut reed shoots, clover or grass wrapped on the hook mimic natural food. Feed lightly but regularly — grass carp respond to a steady trickle of loose feed rather than a heap.

Tips from the bank

1. 01Find the warmest, shallowest water in early summer — grass carp gather where the sun heats a weedy bay first.
2. 02Watch for a long back with a small dorsal fin cruising just under the surface; a grass carp shows itself far more than a common carp.
3. 03Use a longer, softer hooklink and a small, light hook — they mouth a bait and spit it if they feel resistance.
4. 04Loose feed sweetcorn or floaters little and often to hold a group; do not pile in groundbait.
5. 05Set the clutch lighter than for common carp and expect a searing first run followed by jumps.
6. 06Keep low and quiet on the bank; grass carp spook at footsteps and shadows and leave the swim in seconds.
7. 07Land them in a large net and support the long body — they thrash on the mat and damage themselves easily.

Where to catch Grass carp

Waters where Shoalmap's fishing reports list Grass carp.

• Tisa
• Tresetište
• Čik
• Čonopljansko jezero
• Akumulacija Svetićevo
• Begej
• Csertői halastó
• Begej
• Palićko jezero
• Kikindski Kanal
• Beli vir
• Ločka Provala
• Majdan
• Rokov potok
• Veliki bački kanal
• Akumulacija Panonija
• Kanal Zlatica
• Šodroš
• Kapitanski rit
• Kırkat Göleti
• Šumensko ezero
• Čik
• Malokamenički potok
• Ludaško jezero
• Jarkovačko jezero
• Skenderevo
• Mali Begej
• Krivaja
• Čukarički zaliv
• Srebrni potok

Related species

• Common carp
  Cyprinus carpio

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

• Silver carp
  Hypophthalmichthys molitrix

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

• Bighead carp
  Hypophthalmichthys nobilis

  The plankton-feeding giant of warm, fertile lakes and slow rivers.

• Chub
  Squalius cephalus

  The big-mouthed, all-year opportunist of rivers and streams — it eats almost anything.

Frequently asked questions