Where To Find Crucian Carp

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Fishing Academy

Probably, the well-known expression "Lazy like a crucian" comes from the way of life of a crucian carp. Or an even more famous saying: "That's why the pike is in the sea (river), so that the crucian does not doze." I don't know how long this saying has been in existence, but it is either outdated or initially erroneous.

Swimming with a mask and a snorkel in different reservoirs, I had the opportunity to observe the life of the crucian carp. And, of course, made some conclusions.

Firstly, this fish has a good idea of who is really dangerous to it, and therefore almost constantly keeps near thickets of aquatic plants, trying not to move away from them.

Secondly, even rummaging in the silt, or examining grass thickets, the fish does not lose vigilance for a moment. At the slightest suspicion - a wave of the tail - cloudy turbidity forms and … the crucian carp disappeared! Once I witnessed how he somehow discovered a pike that was around a bend, five meters away from him. And instantly darted into the thicket of grass.

Thirdly, even while standing motionless (we will assume that it is "dozing"), the crucian carp climbs into such impassable jungle that no predator is afraid of it. Therefore, I responsibly declare: the crucian never sleeps, it is always on the alert, ready to disappear at any moment. He is on his guard even when there are no predators in the reservoir.

As for the expression "Lazy like a crucian", I propose to replace it with a more just one: "Lazy, but smart - there is a lot of wisdom in him."

Therefore, based on such a fish lifestyle, one can draw another conclusion: it is at the edge of the grassy jungle that one should look for a fat crucian carp. Often, its location can be determined even from the shore. It is clear that not the crucian carp itself, but the bubbles, which one by one, burst out of the water and burst noiselessly on the surface. This is just evidence of the work of the karassin brothers.

As soon as some crucian carp, buried in the silt, move, these very bubbles immediately appear on the surface of the water. And the larger the crucian carp, the more vigorously it will stir up the silt, looking for tasty food, the larger the bubbles will be. Moreover, an observant angler can immediately determine not only the nature of the bubbles, but also the approximate direction of movement of the fish.

All that remains is to throw the baited hook a little further than the place where the bubbles appeared and then quietly pull the line to the right place. And if the angler guessed right, then, as a rule, the bite will be instant. And if not, you should rethrow the fishing rod and again pull the line to the right place. Moreover, we must try to do these manipulations silently. And if this time there is no bite, you need to change the bait.

Practice shows that an ideal place for catching crucian carp can be considered an area where immediately behind the grasses (urut, cattail, reeds, elodea) there is a sharp drop in depths of 1.5-2 meters. It is here that the crucian carp tries to stay. First of all, especially large specimens. However, even knowledge of crucian carp places does not guarantee a generous catch for the angler.

It is not at all easy to catch an adult crucian carp. Shallow water, heavy muddy soil, an impenetrable wall of algae, satiety with food, which in this place is abundant - all this complicates the catching and playing of crucian carp. It complicates the fishing of this fish and its selectivity.

There are ponds where large crucians are caught only at night and at the end of it, there are also those where they bite for a short time: before and after spawning. There are large lakes and ponds in which crucian carp is found in abundance, but for some unknown reason it does not take any bait. Which makes catching this fish completely ineffective.

I also had a similar case … I was fishing once on a lake on the Karelian Isthmus. How many times from the shore and from the boat I saw (and not only me!) How crucian carp "plow" the water surface, and even their fins stick out of the water, or they stir algae or twirl a live funnel. In a word, everything testified that there were crucians. But bite - no. And no tricks of experienced, seasoned crucian carpenters could help. The fish simply did not take it. But there are some general reasons causing the reluctance of local crucians to take any bait. There is no effect without a cause.

I will give one more vivid example … My constant companion in fishing wanderings, Alexander Rykov, last summer, while on vacation in Belarus, fished for crucian carp on a lake in the Vitebsk region. According to him, in the first part of the vacation he was very successful in catching weighty crucians (the bite coincided with the earing of rye). In the second part (more in time), he, despite all the efforts, fished out only three.

In addition, no one knows for certain how the crucian carp will behave when the weather changes. For example, when a cold snap is approaching, or, conversely, when a heat sets in. With a sharp drop or increase in atmospheric pressure, with a change in wind direction, with the onset of cloudy or clear weather. When you ask fishermen about this, you get such inconsistency in answers that the thought involuntarily arises: how many fishermen, so many opinions.

Alexander Nosov

Photo by Ivan Rubtsov