If carp do not eat, they will float, i.e. they will pass away. And in order to eat they must detect their food in a variety of ways. One way is sight, but it’s the lesser of their many senses. (Yes, if the water temperature drops under 39 / 41 fish, carp tend to sulk and go into a short dormant period, but in general they will feed all year round). So, one of the keys to a long existence in most species is a varied diet, to understand what constitutes a healthy diet for carp, we must understand the fundamental nature of the Omnivore. An omnivore is a kind of animal including fish which eats either other animals or plants. Some omnivores will hunt and eat their food, like carnivores, eating herbivores and other omnivores. Some others are scavengers and will eat dead matter. Many will eat eggs from other animals. Omnivores eat plants, but not all kinds of plants. Unlike herbivores, omnivores can’t digest some of the substances in grains or other plants that do not produce fruit. They can eat fruits and vegetables, though. Some of the insect omnivores in this simulation are pollinators, which are very important to the life cycle of some kinds of plants. Carp are Omnivores and will eat almost anything. Carp graze continually, moving and patrolling from area to area for a feed. They are crafty & clever enough not to deplete a whole food source; they have been observed crazing and them moving on, leaving some of the food behind in a certain area. It is thought that they do this to ensure that there is food available for a return visit, or they are leaving food for other members of the shoal or group to feed on. The carp’s ability to eat small amounts of lots of different food items has allowed this species to colonise vast areas of the globe. Carp are happy eating algae, plants, insects, tiny crustaceans, and freshwater shrimps, insect larvae, including mosquito larvae, worms, molluscs and the eggs of other fish. Carp love a Tench egg or 2. They will also feed on small freshly hatched young fish, and tadpoles. Carp will feed at all times of the day or night, in nearly all temperatures and at all depths. They have no choice in the matter, they do not hibernate, and they. MUST EAT. Carp do not digest their food easily, they have a very basic digestive tract, they do not have a stomach as we know it. In fact, carp have the ability to eat and discard food at the same time, taking in nutrients as the food source touches the lining of the wall of the food tract. They can absorb nutrients directly into their blood this way. In layman’s terms carp can graze on food and defecate simultaneously. Therefore, digestion is not the be all and end all for carp, they do not have to digest their food in the same way as we humans do to reap the benefits. Food items are reduced and broken down initially by the pharyngeal teeth (throat teeth) and then by digestive enzymes as it passes through the intestinal tract. Some fibres and proteins cannot be broken down by the natural process and will be discarded whole. Nuts are very often discarded and re-eaten several times. Carbohydrates are broken down into complex sugars, fats are broken down into fatty acids and glycerol, depending on the temperature of the water, breaking down at differing rates. Nutrients, vitamins and minerals, cannot always be extracted from certain foods and carp will regularly top them up by eating mineral rich clay, and silt. I have observed carp sunk up to their gill rakers in mineral / salt rich clay, they must be extracting minerals, there is no other explanation for it….Apart from terrorising the Bloodworm and Caddis Larvae. Carp are cold blooded, so their body temperature is the same as their environment. Carp are however a warm water species; they like it warm. Warmer temperatures speed up metabolism and colder temperatures slow metabolism down, but not necessarily their digestion as we have already mentioned. They do not necessarily need to digest food and can’t digest some foods at all. Extra Sensory Perception Unlike humans, carp are not dependent upon all of their senses at the same time, in order to source food items. Carp, smell, taste and see the food that they plan to eat when and if it suits them. Carp live in an electrolyte soup; they can detect minute quantities of amino acids and minerals in water. It is argued that carp can detect butyric acids at levels as low as 1 part per billion. (Butyric acid, also known as butanoic acid, is an oily, colourless chemical with the formula CH3CH2CH2-COOH that occurs in many dairy products, particularly milk, and is also a by-product of fermentation in many cases. It tends to have a somewhat rancid smell when isolated and is the primary cause of the foul smell associated with human vomit and flatulence. It is a common addition to stink bombs for this reason. Some of its derivative chemicals and esters are sweet smelling, though; a lot depends on presentation and precise chemical composition). Tip…. try it in your bait mix. The carp’s highly developed olfactory system allows them to sense any dissolved substance in the water in which they live. Carp tend to use both eyes to see, similar to the way which we humans use both eyes but will live happily with only one eye or no eyes at all. Some anglers state that “The carp’s eyes are more sensitive than ours”. Sorry guys. this is pure rubbish; they are not Owls!

Carp Vision Due to the position of the eyes on the head, the carp has an excellent wide field of view, with only two small blind spots, which are directly in front near the nose and also behind them towards the tail. The carp has a small field of high-definition vision, whereby both eyes can focus on the same subject at the same time. However, the super high-definition vision is only a few centimetres in front of the nose and not beyond, they also have high-definition a few centimetres to the sides of the fish. A carp’s general visual acuity is poor. Meaning that if placed in front of an optician’s eye-chart, a carp would only recognise the larger letters unless they were very close to the smaller letters. The further away the carp is from an object, the less clear the field of view is thought to be. The carp has relatively big eyes when compared to other species of fish, which does aid hunting when combined with an excellent sense of smell using the barbules found above and below the fish’s mouth. Carp have similar characteristics in their eyes to that of a human, with a retina containing rods and cones; Cones allow the carp to see colour, primarily used in the daytime. However, it is believed that the rod cells cannot differentiate any colour in particular, but are tuned to monochromatic (black, white & grey) vision rather than true colour. The Jury is out on this, we will NEVER know. Carp are very light sensitive. So, the jury is still out on bait colour. ( I can feel the bait colour fans firing up their laptops and tablets already. The science does not lie, the veterinary dissections have been done. None of us know for certain, I will continue to use Yellow Plastic Corn. Pink Pop Ups & Black Zigs. It makes me feel confident and that’s 99% of the battle for me personally). It is important to remember that unlike humans, who rely on eye- sight predominantly even in the wild or a natural situation, carp have other sensory organs finely tuned for underwater life, such as an inbuilt sense of sound, amazing smell, sensory organs that can small a single drop of food flavouring in the size of an Olympic swimming pool and a lateral line that acts like a GPS system for the fish. A carp isn’t solely a predatory fish like a shark that would use eyesight to spot prey and then kill it; the carp is designed to feed in silt, sifting food such as bloodworm and other natural larvae. Although other fish generally are not thought to be part of the natural everyday diet of carp, they will eat fry. They will eat almost anything if it is accepted as a food source. Water clarity of course, plays a big role in how far the fish can see. Having clear pond water will allow the fish to have better vision, relying more on the cone part of the eyesight, with a spectrum of (possible) colour vision. Having murky water will put the carp back into a more native state, relying on the lateral line and monochromatic vision to manoeuvre around the water. The eyesight is also aided by the lateral line of the fish, enabling carp to pick up vibrations from nearby objects and also allowing the carp to be aware of its surroundings. The lateral line contains sensors that can detect changes in pressure waves underwater, caused by the reflection of other objects and fish - therefore allowing them to avoid a collision. It is believed the lateral line is used far more at night and in murky water than eyesight, as the fish navigates its way around the water. In conclusion I believe that Carp are happiest feeding on natural food which does not contain complex preservatives, synthetic bitter tasting molecules, and strong flavour enhancers which they find difficult to break down and can be scary to them in many cases. Everything in the Carp world is diluted by water….. Example; Whisky is easier to consume with a touch of water; it also helps it to release its complexed blends & flavours. Carp live in an electrolyte soup, surrounded by a plethora of different scents and flavours. So the jury is out on bait seriously adulterated by strong tones and flavours. It may not be necessary. Carp will feed at all depths in the water, but they are not Rudd, naturally the carp species as a whole, are bottom feeders with under- slung mouths. This does not mean that you can ignore The Zig, the minute the water temperature pops up, they will be above the thermocline in many instances. Carp like it warm, give them 27c and they are blissfully happy. Warm water, low pressure, windy, rainy, cloudy day?. Get your arse to the lake and set up! Because carp are physically designed to bottom feed, sometimes a fish may miss a zig / bread / biscuit presented right on the surface, with light refraction making the bait appear closer than it seems, they lunge and miss very often. They usually get it in the end though, so there is no need to run off to spec-savers if your fish misses the floating trap on a regular basis first time! The trick is to think the baiting process through on every single trip, because it is seasonal, weather dependant and forced methods play a part on a heavily fished day ticket venue. We will do a paper on Forced Methods. Do not follow the crowd, or the bait industry experts blindly down the rabbit hole, the industry is regularly driven by profit and sound science is sometimes not included in the marketing of baits. Im not anti-boiled HNV baits, we use them. You do need to read up and swat a little for the best results. If you must use boiled magic, try and choose bait with an easily absorbable / digestible, soft, food source. The industry has moved to fish-meal. I’m sticking with Milk Proteins- Caseins-Legume & Seed Milks-Natural Bloodworm and super soft baits for 95% of my fishing. Tight lines. TT