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Crucian carp

Mike Thompson

Senior Member & Supporter
For many years I concentrated most of my fishing time to carp, and am lucky to have access to a small local water holding some good twenties. But during the last three years I have spent more and more time on my local rivers, particularly in search of barbel and chub.
But the close season effects us all, so in spring I go back to my local pond. The carp this year have not really interested me, and the tench have not really switched on yet. So I have been aiming for the crucians. Light gear set exact depth, fine line and small hooks and I'm ready to go. Normal groundbait and maggot, caster or bread would switch on bream, roach or rudd rather than my intended target. So having tried many alternatives, my preferred approach is to feed hemp and bait with tiny cubes of luncheon meat. I still get other species, but it's proving the best for the crucians. A morning session yesterday netted me 9 beauties.
What is your approach ?
 
I had a good Crucian session early last summer using corn, feeding very lightly with corn to avoid attracting the Carp. The jolly green giant stuff seems far better than frozen or budget tinned .
 
Bed of scalded micro pellets for the ground bait , bread flake , punched meat and cheese for the hook bait , bait fished at depth. Better with a pole .
 
Bed of scalded micro pellets for the ground bait , bread flake , punched meat and cheese for the hook bait , bait fished at depth. Better with a pole .
Tried to get him interested but my Polish neighbour say's he doesn't want to come fishing :D
 
I used to fish Marsh farm ,Harris lake for the monster Crucians and did very well with a bit of an unusual method.Marsh farm in its first few years was devoid of cover,apart from the end corner outflow swim which had a small tree over the water,you had to fish your float as tight to the bank under the tree or up against the metal gate to catch well.I realised that the fish wanted cover and made it myself,2 x 9ft plastic uptide rod tubes were connected with 3 sections of 3 still connected black plastic bags, sealed and floated and secured out in the water with rod rests.This provided a large dark area in the margin in any swim i chose.The first time i used it Tony King of the Tench fishers saw me walking round with it and commented that i had a cunning plan.Within 5 muinutes of putting it out Crucians were rolling under the plastic.I fished double caster on the pole with a tiny float with the tip greased to hold it in the surface tension,18 hook and light line 010.I caught about 20 massive crucians that afternoon with an audience watching.They wanted cover in very shallow water and i was the only person with it. Every 3 or 4 fish they would move out from the cover and my next fish would be a few feet away before they went back under the cover again.If i fished over the ledge into the deeper water i caught too many Tench.I used to average 30 plus crucians with around 50% being over 3lb from then on using that method from when i arrived in the morning.A week later 3 of the Tenchfishers had built a similar pontoon and were also catching,but on the ledger under their cover.It totally sorted the fishing there,lots of people used to blank or get just Tench.Sometimes the bites would be sail away's but most were just a tiny dib of a very thin float tip.
 
Wonderful stuff Mark. The crucians in Harris are a bit smaller on average now, but still beautiful fish and a joy to catch. The current approach is a bit more conventional. Its great to catch them on float, but the bites can be tricky to hit so I prefer light method rigs which allows me two baited spots (it can be along time between bites), and to watch the water and wildlife while I wait for the buzzers to scream. The crucians storm off just like tench and you wouldn't believe they are the same fish that can so finicky on float.
 
I used to fish Marsh farm ,Harris lake for the monster Crucians and did very well with a bit of an unusual method.Marsh farm in its first few years was devoid of cover,apart from the end corner outflow swim which had a small tree over the water,you had to fish your float as tight to the bank under the tree or up against the metal gate to catch well.I realised that the fish wanted cover and made it myself,2 x 9ft plastic uptide rod tubes were connected with 3 sections of 3 still connected black plastic bags, sealed and floated and secured out in the water with rod rests.This provided a large dark area in the margin in any swim i chose.The first time i used it Tony King of the Tench fishers saw me walking round with it and commented that i had a cunning plan.Within 5 muinutes of putting it out Crucians were rolling under the plastic.I fished double caster on the pole with a tiny float with the tip greased to hold it in the surface tension,18 hook and light line 010.I caught about 20 massive crucians that afternoon with an audience watching.They wanted cover in very shallow water and i was the only person with it. Every 3 or 4 fish they would move out from the cover and my next fish would be a few feet away before they went back under the cover again.If i fished over the ledge into the deeper water i caught too many Tench.I used to average 30 plus crucians with around 50% being over 3lb from then on using that method from when i arrived in the morning.A week later 3 of the Tenchfishers had built a similar pontoon and were also catching,but on the ledger under their cover.It totally sorted the fishing there,lots of people used to blank or get just Tench.Sometimes the bites would be sail away's but most were just a tiny dib of a very thin float tip.
Very interesting Mark, used to fish a large clear gravel pit with deep margins. The advice from the locals was to put a keepnet in on arrival and the fish would gather underneath.
I'm sure you know about how successful the floating islands have been at riverside, a shame the EA have stopped the club using them at the Farm. I'm sure the overhead cover would spread the Barbel out a bit and give us more of a chance with the Roach. LOL.
 
First week back on the pond for Crucians. They have really grown in the last twelve months and are in magnificent condition. Tuesday was great, 3 hours fishing produced four fish, 2.6, 2.11, 2.12, and 2.14, heaven.
Thursday, 4 hours, but they were not in the same mood. had one at 2.5 which is still a cracker. You really cannot beat crucians for bringing a smile to your face.
 
Good going for this time of year Mike, looking forward to some crucian fishing once the rivers close.
 
Fished a local club stillwater yesterday for a mixed bag of tench , crucians and rudd , weather was pants , but a first in February for the tench and crucians . Went home smiling .
 
That's fantastic fishin' Mike, well done !! Got to admit to being slightly green with envy.....LOL :) Keep the reports coming..."love it !"
 
Thanks Bill,
All these fish are in absolutely beautiful condition. I will try to remember to take some pics next visit and post one on here.
 
Went back to the pond today, but pointless fishing. Every carp and crucian was spawning, and every other species was dining on Carp caviar !
Fantastic to watch and pretty sure I saw a few crucians I would estimate as bigger than 3lbs.
 
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