Despite the vast expanses of our country, there is no place in it except the Kola Peninsula, where crucian fish is not found - one of the typical representatives of cyprinids.
All reservoirs with standing waters, whether it is a sand or stone quarry or a dam made by the hands of people, a natural lake, a watery swamp or a rivulet calm with the unhurried flow of water, are always full of them. Crucian fish breeds well where there is a lot of vegetation and silt at the bottom. After all, this gives her a stable food - worms, algae, mosquito larvae and other insects. In the hottest summer months, you can watch them rise closer to the surface of the water, choosing places shaded by bushes or trees near the coast, and remain motionless there, as if enjoying the heat.
In our reservoirs there are two species of crucian carp. One was nicknamed golden, the other silver. The first of them is absolutely natural and has a more rounded body shape. Silver - bred by breeders in fish farms, but also well established in natural reservoirs and reproduces plentifully along with the golden "brother", which in central Russia reaches a length of up to twenty-five centimeters and a weight of six hundred to seven hundred grams. Although many fishermen boast that they managed to catch a two-pound goldfish, this is the exception rather than the rule. In reservoirs of fish farms, where fish are intensively fed with feed and grain, silver crucian fish reaches forty-five centimeters in length and can weigh up to four kilograms, but when it falls into natural conditions, it rarely exceeds the size of golden and slightly inferior to it in weight.
In late autumn, when the temperature of the air and water drops significantly, the active bite on fishing stops. This fish is not always easily caught in the spring. As soon as the gardens fade, and the water temperature reaches fifteen degrees, the spawning season begins in the reservoirs. Then the fish stops taking the bait. For crucians, this period coincides with the time of flowering rose hips and lasts throughout May-June.
True, there is one secret. The one who owns it knows how to catch crucian in spring. The fact is that this species of fish spawns unevenly. Within a month and a half, it then calms down, and the crucian begins to take the bait and is caught on a hook, then it grows again, and fishing stops. Periods succeed at least three times per season.
Normal fishing begins only from the time when the bird cherry begins to bloom, and every day more and more actively and better. Simple carp fishing tackle is a fishing rod with a length of at least four meters with a fishing line 0.2-0.3 mm thick, the color of algae, and with a light, very sensitive float. The hook should be with a straight bend and on a shortened forend. As a bait, a dung worm, maggot, bread crumb with boiled potatoes and cottage cheese or hard balls of undercooked potatoes flavored with vegetable oil are used as bait. The best time for fishing is an early morning or evening dawn, although silver carp is not averse to taking the bait in the afternoon.
