Fish Specials - Ruffe or Pope

Common Name - Ruffe or Pope
Latin Name - Gymnocephalus Cernuus
Family - Perciidae
Weight - > 6 oz.
UK Record - 5 oz 4 dms - (Cumbria, 1980)

The Ruffe or Pope is our smallest predator which is mainly bottom dwelling. It is very similar to the Perch in fin structure and body shape. The colouring is a very drab, khaki brown.

They are normally located on rivers but will also live in stillwaters. They can be caught using maggots, casters and chopped worms.

Fish Specials - Perch

Common Name - Perch
Latin Name - Perca Fluviatilis
Family - Perciidae
Weight - > 6 lbs 6oz.
UK Record - 6 lbs 2oz - (River Thames, 2008)

The Perch, in my opinion is most probably one of the best fish in our waters. No matter how small they nearly always make up part of a good days fishing. These stripy predators can be caught in virtually any water and on any tactics.

The are unmistakable by their green body with their black vertical stripes. Sometimes they are called the Sergeant Major due to their stripes. They are the smallest of our native predators. Baits such as maggots, casters, worms & minnows all work well. Artificial lures work well for the larger specimens. If you are using minnows or lures then a wire trace is a must as Pike will also be taken on these methods.

They are a shoaling fish and in summer can be seen chasing fry in the shallows. The bigger Perch tend to hide in the margins or deeper down in the water. They are also cannibalistic as they will eat smaller Perch.

Fish in areas such as the edge of weeds, rushes, bridges or any other type of structure.

Fish Specials - The Carp

Common Name - Carp
Latin Name - Cyprinus Carpio
Family - Cyprinidae
Weight - > 70 lbs (British Carp) European Carp may reach > 90 lbs.
UK Record - 67 lbs - Mirror Carp (Conningbrook Lake, 2008)

The Carp is by far the most powerful of the fish in British Waters. There are four types of Carp, which are, Common, Mirror, Leather & Crucian. The Common Carp is the original type which was originally brought to the UK by monks for food in the 1300's. Since then, the Carp has been introduced into virtually all of the UK's rivers and stillwaters.

The Common Carp is a fully scaled and can be almost black in colour, although a deep bronze is more common. The Mirror & Leather Carp are strains of the Common bred in Asia.

The Mirror Carp is identified by large scales which only cover parts of the body and is now by far the most seldom caught of the Carp in British waters. This is due to its fast growth rate, making it the most preferred when stocking waters.

The Leather Carp are generally scaleless however some fish do have a few scales. They also tend to have a smaller more rounded tail than the Common & Mirror's. Leather's are the slowest growing of the big Carp.

Carp can be caught on boilies, bread, meat, sweetcorn, tiger nuts, tares, maggots, worms, dog biscuits, trout pellets, cheese and meat pastes. Carp are generally bottom feeders but during in times of hot weather they will feed on the surface and will fall for floating crust or dog biscuits.

Crucian Carp, are very small compared to the others and is mainly a stillwater fish. The Crucian has no barbules unlike the Common, Mirror & Leather which have 2. The British record currently stands at 4 lbs 9 oz. The Crucian is a member of the Goldfish family. Crucian are very shy and therefore quite hard to catch, but will take maggots, casters, worms, bread and sweetcorn.