How do tell the difference between a male and female common carp ?
by admin on Sunday, February 6th, 2011 | 3 Comments
I love fishing carp and I catch plentiful and I feel as if I’m catching an unfair share so I want to release the females for more reproduction. I fish at glen helen regional park in California
Its very hard to tell most of the time, but in the spring(or when there breeding), males will have little white bump on there head/gills. Females will also be fatter during breeding season. Outside breeding season, its almost impossible to tell which is which.
Hope this helps!!
Edit: I also have to agree with the other poster. They reproduce so fast that you will not damage the population. As a matter of fact, many people would like you to take the carp out, given the fact that they prey on other, more desirable fishes eggs.
Don’t worry about it. There is NO way you will do any damage to the population !!
NO, No, no…
do not release them. you are catching nowhere NEAR your fair share. your neighbors definitely need some, that kid down the bank wants to take one home as well as those guys on the other side of the lake.
the very best way to tell is to slice the carp open and gut it. if it has an egg skein in it that is filled with approximately three million eggs, it is/was a female. if it has a long piece in it that looks like a white liver, it is/was a male.
l guess you already knew that and wanted a way to tell without cutting them.
don’t worry about wiping out the carp. the more you catch, the bigger service you are doing to the rest of the fish. there is no way you are going to dent the carp population.
take ‘em home. give ‘em away. bury them in the garden. feed ‘em to the raccoons and buzzards.
don’t throw them back!