Carp is one of the brightest representatives of the family Cyprinidae. The original home of this fish is East Asia where it inhabits waters from the Amur river to South China.
Alas, but now the natural fish population has sharply decreased, therefore, the Amur is the main object of artificial cultivation.
Bred Cupid is not only due to low populations, but also because of its excellent taste, rapid weight gain and ability to reach record sizes. Malek gaining 300-800 grams in 2-3 years, which is much faster than from his relatives.
Habitat
The fish lives in packs. Grass carp are characterized by high endurance, he can easily survive in conditions that are uninhabitable to other species in the family Cyprinidae. Can live in salt water (up to 10 grams/liter) and very well tolerate frosty winters.
The grass carp prefers to live in places with an abundance of aquatic vegetation. So often it can be found in the water canals, small rivers and reservoirs. Then again, when you are looking for fish, you should pay attention to the place in which a lot of algae.
Prefers to live in waters with a large forage base, but spawns only in streams. In most rivers of Central Russia carp is fully acclimated and its population increases. So the disappearance of this fish is not threatened.
Features
Carp is a very large peaceful fish, maximum length is 120 cm and a weight of 30 kg. the Body is slightly oblong, covered with thick scales, and almost not flattened at the sides. The forehead of the fish is very wide.
White Amur is a fish of great beauty. Its greenish-gray back, dark Golden flanks and dark rim, separating the edges of the scales, just mesmerize the eyes of the fishermen. The fish is very beautiful light Golden belly. The bright fins, except dorsal and ventral, they are more dark. In the eyes of the Golden eyes are.
Carp often becomes the object of pond fisheries. Very often, the Amur can be caught in ponds, which help cool the plant. Unfortunately, in such conditions it spawns Cupid alone can not, but its larvae are imported from fishermen.
Spawning
The spawning period of grass carp, unlike his kin, is determined not only by weather conditions and water temperature, and forage. Yes, so here goes, Cupid is still thinking what will he eat his fry.
Spawning usually falls on the month of may, rarely in June, depending on region and weather conditions, the main signal to lay their eggs for grass carp is the water temperature at 26 to 29 °C. in Winter the Amur descends into wintering holes, and the embryo development is similar to silver carp.
If you write in the reservoir enough that the development of the eggs is delayed significantly, and the fecundity of fish is reduced. Under normal conditions specimen 6 pound weight gives to 1 million eggs, which lay in the water column.
A natural environment for spawning are preferably of a channel of large rivers with very strong currents. Mass spawning of the Amur river occurs at a water temperature 23-28 °C. This gives a gain in artificial reproduction, controlling the timing of spawning by adjusting the temperature of the water.
A significant drawback of carp is that it refuses to spawn in temperatures below 26 °C and spawn only in running water. For this reason, in most natural waters Cupid is not the spawns.
What to catch
Particularly strong activity Cupid shows in April and may. Clearly say where exactly to look for Cupid does not work, but it can be argued that on the water it must be inhabited and artificially on the place of fishing should be a lot of aquatic vegetation.
Mostly fishermen prefer to catch carp on the float rod, the way the fish is pretty strong so equip all of them very carefully. Bait for grass carp is mandatory, and as the bait is best suited canned corn. It flavors the fish is bad, so their use is highly undesirable.
As bait you can also use tender, young vegetation, it can be an ovary cucumbers, young corn stalks, a few young pea leaves, you can clear the scarlet leaves from the thorns. The bait is tied to the hook using thread floss, color which fits it.
Fish calendar
Biting activity of grass carp is pretty predictable, so an experienced fishermen have long been able to predict the bite. But those who have had less experience, we offer you to look at the calendar nibble grass carp, and use it to select the days for fishing. Click on the image to enlarge.
January
January is a dull month for catching grass carp. The probability of biting fish is reduced to zero. We can safely say that he does not bite.
February
In February, the activity of the Amur river is not observed. The fish are not biting.
March
With the onset of spring warmth the fish starts to Wake up, but in March of Cupid bites very rarely. His capture was seen as a success
April
The April heat of the Amur awakens after winter hibernation, but the fish remains passive and reluctantly takes the offered her the lure.
May
If your region in may the water temperature reaches 12 to 16 degrees, then Cupid starts very well caught.
June
In June fishing for carp begins to bring the desired result. This month the fish are biting best.
July
In July, the Cupid comes zhor. Anglers celebrate active and sustainable biting of this fish.
August
With the onset of the August intensive feeding of grass carp does not stop. The use of float tackle to catch a Cupid becomes relevant in the second half of August.
September
In September zhor subsides, and with it biting. But to catch a Cupid is still possible, though a bit harder than in summer.
October
In October of the Amur river continue to catch on float tackle until the water temperature falls below around +12°C.
November
In November, the Amur is almost inactive, and most of the flocks sent to the wintering holes, where not out.
December
In December, the fish stands on the wintering pits and capture Cupid – a rarity. So head down to the Amur in winter is impractical.
Looks like carp
The white Amur has a long body, slightly flattened on the sides, and his wide mouth is located at the bottom of the flattened head. It is easy to distinguish from other members of the carp family by the characteristic black edges of each scales. Near the pelvic fins are rounded, which belong to the tail fins.
The rear part of the belly and the back in the center fin is also slightly curved. The anal fin of the fish is also rounded. Grass carp are characterized by a rather large dorsal fin.
The caudal fin of the fish is pretty big. It is characterized by a small neck size. In the lateral line of carp is about 50 scales. On the gills can observe the characteristic radial strips.
