Carp Fish Care
Over the last twenty years, Carp Care has become critical in carp angling both in the United Kingdom and Europe. Carp being unhooked, weighing fish with your carp fishing scales, and taking photos. carp care is paramount, as it helps preserve carp and carp fishing as a sport through the longevity of the fish. It is easy to make mistakes in fishing, and you can minimise any damage or hurt to the carp with correct carp care kits. Carp are easily injured as they often flip in weigh slings and on unhooking mats when anglers take pictures and weigh their catch.
Simple Carp Fish Care -
Carp Fishing Unhooking Mats
Carp mats are a hugely critical part of protecting the carp from damage, as they can often flip and move around while being unhooked. If you do not use a mat, carp can become damaged quickly due to their sudden movement.
Before Carp Care was developed, our ancestor carp anglers used to land and unhook their fish onto the bank or grass. This can cause damage easier to a carp when not using an Unhooking Mat. However, they protect the carp from harm and give the angler peace of mind when landing and unhooking fish, giving genuine care to the carp in question.
Carp Cradles
Another similar care product is Carp Cradles. They incorporate a cushioned base like a traditional unhooking mat, although cushioned and enlarged circumferences reduce the chance of flipping onto the grass and injuring themselves.
Carp can be hostile and problematic on the bank when dealt with, making them hard to control. The fishing mat protects the fish and the angler from any harm. All anglers MUST take all their photos over a carp mat.
Many carp mats come with safety covers that can be used to stop a carp from falling out of the mat or if you need to move away from your mat. The added advantage is that a cover keeps the fish in the dark and calmer while you set yourself up for Carp Scales and that all-important photo. In addition, the additional shade helps stop the carp from drying out and losing their natural oils and slime, which helps keep them healthy from viruses and infections.
It's essential to keep the fish watered and wet, especially during warmer months like Summer & Autumn.
Fishing Weigh Sling
A Weigh sling plays an essential part in carp care. They enable you to weigh and protect the fish. The most important concept with all types of sling is that they support the carp when it is lifted, keeping it calm. Even if it moves in the sling, it provides enough padding and support to stop the carp from damaging itself. Slings also assist when releasing the carp into the water. Lots of slings have buoyant sides, which allows the angler to rest the carp in the water before unzipping or unhooking the sling to enable the carp to swim out efficiently and in their own time. This makes the catch and release process easier for the Carp Angler and the carp.
Carp Slings have been constructed with the fish in mind, from materials and fabrics that do not damage the fish scales to the lightweight and buoyancy to make weighing and releasing as easy as possible. The other important feature is the materials used to create the Weigh Sling, as even the carp's weight has been considered to deal with fish of all sizes.
Accessories
Some Carp Care Kits have been created as carp kits from Nash and Korda. The kits include medical supplies you can place on carp to treat infections or damage to the fish. These treatments can last a few days, even in water.
Anglers often place medical serum in the mouths of carp, where the fish has been hooked, to protect against infection. As mentioned above, these gels or serums can be applied all over the carp's body if the fish has sustained injury.
Korda and Nash supply Carp Care Kits are an essential part of any tackle box, giving you peace of mind in case of accidents or fish damage. If you want to protect carp for future anglers, please consider the fish's welfare.
Additional Features
Certain cradles/mats come with added side flaps or pads. Alternatively, you can generally purchase freestanding versions of these products on the market. Additional padding and mattings can also aid with the protection of the angler as well as the carp. The extra padding can be inside or outside the mat. It can act as a kneeling place for the Carp Angler to hold the fish, protecting him from uneven ground or objects. Fabrics on the cradles/mats can also be used to keep the carp out of the Sun and assist in keeping the carp cool in the shade.
Why Is Padding Important to Fish Care?
Carp are used to being in water semi-buoyant and don't tend to feel their whole weight, so taking them out of their natural environment and putting them onto a hard surface can not only be distressing to them but can add pressure to them internally. So we must reduce any harm to the carp by placing them in a well-padded and safe cradle or mat.
Fifty years ago, placing a fish on the bank's side was common without any protection. Instead, our ancestors would generally find some lush grass to give as much protection as possible. However, as times have changed and manufacturing Carp Fish Care has become more common, there is no excuse to buy a Budget Carp Fishing Unhooking Mat and care for the fish as much as possible.
Top Carp Care Tips:-
Moisturisation - A dry mat or cradle can cause severe damage to a Carp, especially if the weather is warm. The carp can have protective mucus and essential oils burnt away from the warmth and cause serious fish problems. Therefore, it is imperative always to keep the mat or cradle wet when handling a carp. The best practice with this is to use the water from the lake that the carp is already acclimatised to. Suppose you do not have a Carp Fishing Bucket. In that case, generally, most mats and cradles are easy actually to put into the water and lubricate. It is worth noting that cold or hot water can also shock the carp.
Proportions - When purchasing a carp mat or cradle, size is essential! We know carp anglers are always bragging about who's is bigger… This is important to be realistic about how big you are likely fishing for.
A large carp mat is essential if you are fishing for carp over 30Lb. However, suppose you are generally fishing match lakes, where the fish won't reach over 20Lb. In that case, a medium-sized mat is sufficient. With this in mind, be safe and don't underestimate - overestimate. You are better to have a carp fishing mat too big than too small, as you might find yourself with a carp flipping out of the carp mat onto sharp objects on the bank and causing potential hurt to themselves.
Cleanliness - Some Carp can carry transmittable diseases. It is important to disinfect your mat or cradle between sessions at different waters. This will help stop the spread through one fish touching a diseased unhooking mat and then being released into a separate water system.
Inspection - It is crucial to inspect the carp you have caught for any problems or injuries. The information can be helpful to the fishery owner or bailiffs. Not only this, but you can treat any potential injuries with Carp Fishing Care Products.
Carp.com cannot stress enough how vital Carp Care is. We want to promote it as much as possible and ask all of our customers to consider the above article before purchasing any Carp Care products. If you have questions, why not sign up for our forum on Carp Fishing Tackle Shop - Fishing Forum and Carp Message Board and ask over 101,000+ members their opinions?