Silver carp

Quick facts

How to identify it

A deep, laterally compressed body covered in tiny silvery scales, with a big, upturned mouth, no barbels and eyes set strikingly low on the head — below the line of the mouth. A sharp keel runs along the whole belly from the throat to the anal fin; on the bighead carp the keel stops at the pelvic fins, and the bighead has dark blotches and a larger head. The back is grey-green, the flanks and belly bright silver. The long anal fin and the deeply forked tail give it huge power. Juveniles are sometimes mistaken for bleak or bream, but the low eyes and the belly keel are unmistakable.

Where it lives

Silver carp are fish of large, warm, nutrient-rich water: reservoirs, big lowland lakes, gravel pits, fish ponds and the slow reaches of major rivers such as the Danube and its tributaries. They roam the open water in shoals rather than holding on structure, following plankton blooms in the upper 1–3 m of the water column, and are often seen rolling or leaping in the middle of a reservoir on warm, calm mornings. In summer they favour sheltered, sun-warmed bays where wind concentrates plankton; in winter they gather in deep, still areas and become almost dormant. They need water above 20 °C to feed hard and do not spawn in still water.

Season and behaviour

The silver carp season is short and hot. Serious feeding starts when the water warms past 18–20 °C in June and runs through September, peaking in July and August when plankton is thickest and the fish sit high in the water. Spawning takes place in big, warm rivers in May–July at 18–26 °C on rising water; in lakes and reservoirs the stock depends on restocking. They feed by day, most actively from mid-morning to the afternoon and again around dusk, cruising slowly with the mouth open. A warm wind blowing into a bay is the best signal, as it piles up plankton and fish along that shore. Boat traffic and noise make them jump but rarely stop them feeding for long.

Fishing methods

The dedicated method is the plankton rig: a large sliding float carries a dissolving plankton bait block on a central stem, with 3–6 small hooks on short links hanging in the cloud it releases. The fish swim through the cloud sieving it and take a hook by accident; set the depth at 1–2 m and let the rig drift over open water. Similar bottom versions fish the same bait on a heavy lead for deep, calm days. Ordinary float fishing sometimes works with bread or paste on quiet fish ponds. Use a strong rod, 0.35–0.40 mm mainline and a big net — a 15 kg silver carp makes long, powerful runs and jumps. Snagging or foul-hooking on purpose is illegal on most waters and damaging to the fish; stick to the mouth-hooking plankton method.

Baits and lures

The silver carp filters plankton and does not chase conventional baits, so the key is a bait that dissolves into a fine cloud: compressed plankton blocks in vanilla, strawberry, aniseed or fishmeal flavours are the standard. Anglers also press their own from fine breadcrumb, milk powder and flavourings. The hooks themselves carry nothing or a tiny foam bead to keep them suspended in the cloud. On fish ponds bread paste, floating crust and soft cheese occasionally catch fish that graze on soft surface food. Match the flavour to the water — sweet in summer, fishy when the water cools.

Tips from the bank

1. 01Look for fish rolling and jumping in open water on a warm, calm morning — that shows the shoal and the depth it is sitting at.
2. 02Fish the bank a warm wind is blowing onto; the plankton and the fish stack up there.
3. 03Set the plankton rig shallow first, 1–1.5 m, and go deeper only if the fish stop showing.
4. 04Renew the bait block every 40–60 minutes; once the cloud stops, so do the bites.
5. 05Use small, sharp, thin-wire hooks so they lodge in the lips as the fish sieves the cloud.
6. 06Keep the clutch loose and be ready for a jump on the first run — a slack line loses the fish.
7. 07Land it in a big net, hold it firmly on a mat and cover its eyes; silver carp thrash violently on the bank.

Where to catch Silver carp

Waters where Shoalmap's fishing reports list Silver carp.

• Tisa
• Tresetište
• Čonopljansko jezero
• Akumulacija Svetićevo
• Begej
• Csertői halastó
• Begej
• Palićko jezero
• Kikindski Kanal
• Beli vir
• Ločka Provala
• Kanal Zlatica
• Kapitanski rit
• Kırkat Göleti
• Šumensko ezero
• Skenderevo
• Mali Begej
• Lake ATAR
• Velebitsko jezero
• Kasapska ada
• Koča jezero
• Vrbica
• Peskara
• Joca jezero
• Mrtva Tisa
• Kanal DTD
• Budžak
• Velika Provala
• Bezыmяnnый
• Stara Jasenica

Related species

• Bighead carp
  Hypophthalmichthys nobilis

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

• 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