The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

OK, here's a slightly contentious one... Do split fins, worn tales, missing scales sometimes add character to a carp..? Or do these signs of either a long, eventful life or past mistreatment sometimes take the edge off a capture? Increasingly, I'm looking for "perfect" fish. Sometimes, as with the carp above, I'm happy to have caught it while being slightly (more than slightly?) dismayed by its condition...

Every fish is individual, I wouldn’t hold it against a fish if it was in a bit of a state though I would feel a little guilty if I thought the reason it was in a state was due to being caught by less caring anglers..

J.T wrote:Every fish is individual, I wouldn’t hold it against a fish if it was in a bit of a state though I would feel a little guilty if I thought the reason it was in a state was due to being caught by less caring anglers..

Oh of course JT, the fish reserves respect and care, always! - but on some waters, the damage is almost certainly caused by other anglers, sadly... Do we, as traditionally-minded anglers, avoid such waters?

There’s nothing wrong with catching and old warrior complete with his lifes battle scars FB. I think it can give them a bit of character.

What I don’t like to see are the carp with deformed mouths due to the number of times they have been caught or by the rigs they have been caught on. I do avoid these sort of waters.

I see your point. :thumb:

I would say it depends on the water.

What I mean is if it’s an old pond/estate lake in nice surroundings where maybe the fish have battle scares from pike attacks or maybe have been brought in from less well cared for commercial waters then I say fish it and maybe you will be lucky enough to catch a fish and show it the respect it deserves.

If on the other hand it is a commercial water with enough bivvy’s round it to start a small town then I avoid it and quietly say a little prayer for the poor fish that have to live in it. :hat:

EDIT: Mark says it much better than I do but I mean the same thing. :D

Small and insignificant marks are not a problem and a sign of a life lived. Pretty much like us picking up the odd scar along the way.

I think a lot of fish these days are treated less well than they could be. A lot of commercials allow matches and therefore keepnets, which is a far from ideal environment for a carp.
Another aspect is, as J.T. says the methods used. My local lake is relatively small with features (islands, reed beds) which the Bivvy Brigade target, then lay their rods on pods, connect their bite alarms and retire. When they get a run, the fish is already self hooked and in the snag before they pick up the rod. They therefore drag the fish out, using hugely thick line and running the risk of injuring the fish. I catch at least as many carp as the carp boys, even though I am fishing in open water for roach. The carp I caught yesterday (float fished maggot, 2.5lb line and 14 hook) was towing round the remains of a bolt rig which looked to be at least 15lb breaking strain. This is not the first time this has happened. A bit of common sense and some education could go a long way to helping the fish.

Another Yateley fish - this one was missing the upper half of the tail fin and bore several scars on its flanks:

Mark wrote:There’s nothing wrong with catching and old warrior complete with his lifes battle scars FB. I think it can give them a bit of character.

What I don’t like to see are the carp with deformed mouths due to the number of times they have been caught or by the rigs they have been caught on. I do avoid these sort of waters.

Dear Mark, MG, JT and GOS -
All good points - I do think deformed mouths are often caused by heavy pole tactics, on waters where matches are allowed, and split fins are often caused by keep-nets, for the same reason. I once fished a nice-looking pool where serious matches were the norm, and I failed to photograph a single fish, because I didn't want to - there was no point. One could only feel sorry for them and put them back.

gloucesteroldspot wrote:Another Yateley fish - this one was missing the upper half of the tail fin and bore several scars on its flanks:

That is still a magnificent kipper, GOS! -
I wonder, was the tail damage, perhaps, caused by otters? I once caught a nice common with a half-moon bite out of the lower part of its tail, and I started to wonder. They go for the tails to cripple fish, don't they?

Sometimes though, it is very hard to work out why a fish should look so mauled...
Luckily, I don't catch many looking like this - Heron attack when young? Disease that healed? No pike in the water, so far as I know...and no catfish...