Carp Fishing

The Skeletal Structure

The carp is a member of the teleosts, a sub-group of the bony fish, and it possesses a skeletal structure throughout its whole body. The most obvious parts of the internal skeleton are the dorsal and central vertebrae, and it is to the latter of these that some of the most important internal organs are attached. Surrounding the internal organs are ribs; very often, protruding ribs on the sides of the fish are incorrectly claimed to have been caused by anglers, when in actual fact most are genetically evolved. Nevertheless, the shape of the skeletal structure may be down to any one of a number of reasons (very often you will come across fish that have developed deformities at the egg-hatching stage).

The Swim Bladder

Aside from the use of the fins, carp, and indeed all bony fish, can regulate their depth in the water column by using their swim bladder. The swim bladder is basically a gas-filled sack above the intestine. It helps the fish to reduce the amount of energy it expends, and is filled with air from the surface in the first few weeks of the fish's life (known as the swim-up stage). Carp have been known to survive perfectly well without the assistance of the swim bladder.

The Kidney

The carp has a number of internal organs to help it to survive in the aquatic environment. It is a cold-blooded creature, so its internal temperature is always in balance with that of the surrounding water. Internally, the carp's bodily fluids contain large amounts of salt, so the kidney, its most vital organ, is continually flushing out water which has traveled via osmosis into the fish. If you make your own boiled baits always watch the amount of salt you use - any exertion of the carp's kidney may lead to possible damage, resulting in the fish swelling or bursting through taking in too much water.

The Heart

The carp's heart lies just below the gill cover (known as the operculum) and pumps blood around the body. The blood is pumped in a single circulation and absorbs oxygen from the water in the gills. Here, the blood passes through capillaries (fine blood cells) which have a very thin wall. As the water is drawn over the gill capillaries, oxygen is drawn from the water. Smaller fish breathe (so to speak) at a quicker rate than larger fish, and this is one reason why the smaller inhabitants of a water are normally the first to be lost during times of pollution.