Carp colouration?

[Skeff]

She is indeed a battler Shaun.... Nothing ladylike about her! She has taken over an hour to subdue in the past and better still, she isn't caught very often. Now, hook her on a centrepin and wait for the finger-burn......

I'm a common man myself (cue fanfare....). That long common of yours that I've commented on before is my ideal, even though it wasn't from the UK.

[Shaun Harrison]

I still love commons but I was a little over spoilt with them.

[Grubenreiner]

I was just looking through some pictures of mine and found this one.

Normally the carp in this cocoa brown water are quite pale, not so this reddish one:



No idea why though...

[Estaban]

Fine fish Axel, and very interesting color

[Mark]

Yes that is a lovely fish Axel.

[Shaun Harrison]

Carp tend to get a reddish/orange golden tinge to them in cold water particularly around the belly and tail. Looking at the picture and the lack of leaves on the trees this could be part way to your answer.

[Grubenreiner]

A quick look to my personal fishing journal....and i guess youre right again, Shaun.
5°C water temp. 10°C air temp. on that day.

[Shaun Harrison]

If anyone has a picture of that fish in the summer months I would imagine it looks much paler in colour. Winter is the time to see them at their best. In my humble opinion anyway.

[Skeff]

I've always wondered about winter darkening and colour change... I think the lack of fish activity and plankton simply makes the water more clear and the fish darken in response to this but it may also be a physiological/metabolic effect?

[Shaun Harrison]

I have always felt that the clarity of water is the biggest governing issue but there has to be physiological/metabolic effect too for the bottom half of the fish to 'orange up before the upper parts appear to change too much.