Description : This species is common in stillwaters, very tolerant of pollution and low oxygen levels. Crucians feed on plant material, invertebrates, and insects. Similar to common carp in appearence but have a flatter body and no barbules. They are bronze in colour with a long dorsal fin, prominent lateral line and red colouring visible in the pelvic and anal fins. During spawning from May to June, the female lays up to 300 000 pale reddish eggs.

Angling information : The current UK record is 4 lb 2 oz 8 drm, and anything over around 1 1/2 lb is considered to be a specimen. Crucians are relatively small and not nearly as hard fighting as common carp so a much scaled down fishing approach is adopted, lighter tackle, finer line and smaller hooks being the order of the day. As crucians are generally bottom feeders start fishing hard on the bottom. The best methods include swimfeeder for distance fishing and preferably a waggler for closer, better presented fishing. The best baits include : maggot, caster, worm and sweetcorn.

Tip : Target the margins. Look for features in the water such a lillie pads. Fish a float using the lift method which is sensitve to bites from this species of fish.