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