In the following article, we will not mention the technical issue of fishing but merely refer to the issues related to the spawning time of carp and whether to go fishing in this season or not.
The spawning season of carp is when carp lay eggs in large numbers, with more than 300,000 eggs, and each female carp now weighs up to 4kg. In the article below, let’s learn more about “when do carp spawn,” how they do it, and whether to catch them in the spawning season.
When Do Carp Spawn?
Depending on the climate of each place, the spawning time of carp varies. In Europe and temperate climates, carp spawning will be from April to August every year. In the tropics, carp will also spawn once a year, but time all depends on the food source.
Nowadays, there are 4 four common subspecies in the classification of carp: European carp (many in the Danube and Volga rivers); Deniz carp abundant in Asia Minor, Turkey; Amur carp sourced from native to East Asia; and Southeast Asian carp. You can find more information about typical carp species in the world
There is an easy way to identify the signs of carp spawning time. You will often see them swimming around in shallow freshwater because carp prefer to lay eggs at water temperatures between 18 and 24 degrees celsius (it may vary by region and climate).
As mentioned above, when carps jump around in shallow water, they are in the breeding season. The reason why is they want to spread their eggs evenly over the aquatic vegetation and let the eggs cling to it and grow.
How Do Carp Spawn?
During the spawning season, carp will focus on shallow water, with lots of plants, algae, and duckweed with a water level of about 2 – 3 feet for support for eggs to cling to the grass, moss.
At this time, there will be about 4 – 5 male carp and close to 1 female carp participating in mating. The males will compete to rub themselves against the female.
The stimulated female will bend and struggle to make the eggs come out. Carp roe shell has a sticky substance, so it sticks to grass, seaweed, and waterweed. At the same time, the male fish immediately sprays semen; the sperm swimming in the water to meet the egg will help the egg be fertilized. Sperm will have a lifetime of 30 – 60 seconds.
How Many Eggs Survive?
As mentioned above, carp can produce about 300,000 eggs each spawning season, sometimes up to 1 million. It all depends on the age, health, size, and number of spawns of the female carp.
However, not all those eggs hatched, and not all the hatchlings survived, as the eggs and young carp are “delicious” for other fish such as crayfish, insects, larvae, birds, or even carp.
Generally, after about 48 hours, carp eggs will hatch if successfully fertilized. Initially, the baby carp will be about 5mm in size. In the first 2 – 4 days, baby carp will be about 8mm in size and eat nutrients in the yolk sac to feed themselves. Next, they will eat water fleas and micro plankton.
If the 4th day is passed, the baby carp continue to feed themselves and try to get through the approaching cold winter. Because the cold weather makes a large number of baby carp die. By spring, this number is only very few compared to the original million.
Can You Catch Carp During The Spawning Season?
There is no law against fishing during carp spawning season. So you can still go fishing during spawning season if you want.
However, some fishing places will be closed during carp spawning season, partly to help the carp spawn smoothly and partly because the carp rarely come foraging during this season. So the possibility of catching fish is also not high.
Reproduction is an essential process in the development of freshwater carp ecosystems. Therefore, if you want a good day of carp fishing, it is best to choose other times of the year to go fishing or choose the option of fishing other fish species. And, of course, catching carp is not easy because they are geniuses. Good luck!
Conclusion
All in all, that’s our explanation about “When do carp spawn?” for people interested in carp or intending to go carp fishing should know.
If you go fishing in this season, although the chances of catching fish are not high, you will have the opportunity to admire the incredible sight of hundreds of carp mating and jumping around in the lake.
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