Catching finicky Crucians in Spring
Russ 'The Obsessed Angler' Evans reveals some fascinating tips and thoughts on how he approaches his favourite species, the Crucian Carp.
CRUCIAN CARP NEED ACCURATE FEEDING
Sensitive floats like these Drennan Choppa are ideal for showing shy bites
Today, I am going to target one of my favourite species the Crucian Carp on Milton Lake at Bury Hill Fishery near Dorking in Surrey, England. Crucian Carp are known for being very finicky feeders so the approach I use is very delicate with a light and balanced tackle set up to register even the smallest of indications on a float. Let’s talk about the target species first, the Crucian Carp which is the smallest member of the Carp and the British record stands at 4lbs 9oz and 8drams although bigger specimens have reported but not claimed as a new record. A fish over 2lbs would be considered as a real specimen and being as the crucians swim around in big shoals there is a chance of many specimens to catch when a shoal is located. They are very wide in body and are very much round plate shaped in size and with their small mouths it is easy to understand why the bites they give are very finicky and shy as they tend to suck and blow out a bait many times before deciding to take the offering. They are fantastic looking fish with small eyes and a lovely buttery gold colour down the flanks and the fins are often orange with a tint of red. They have no barbules like the rest of the carp family but because they have a tendency to inter breed with other members of the carp family and anglers often mistake the hybrids as true crucians. Crucians are often found feeding near the margins or close to big beds of lily pads and reeds as it gives them the perfect feature for protection and tell-tale signs of feeding crucians are small fizzy bubbles which are similar to the tench. It can be very exciting to watch a stream of fizzing feeding fish next to your float and bites are never far away when this is witnessed.
The Tackle
Light and balanced tackle like this is essential for a good day's action
For today’s feature I am using a pole so I can hit more bites ...
