carp senses,

Just a bit of information to help you understand the carp,

And this thread hopefully will give everyone a guided tour of carp senses, and how they work.


Firstly a carp's sense of "smell", comes through a set of nares, to us its their type of nostrils, looking at a picture of a head they are based either side of its head, just below the eyes.
Carp bring up water through these and out again, then a doorway of skin shuts and opens to allow the fish to take in and sense what food is around, inside these are masses of tiny hairs, that sense and sort out the types of food there is around, whether it be sweet or savoury.
As these are amazingly sensitive a carp can sense this way better than you or I.
This is why a carp will then pick up and "blow" through their mouth to find what they have picked up on previously.
carp can pick out bloodworm in deep silt, or your bait that has lodged itself in the lake bed, its so amazing how accurately they can find a feed.
A carp's sense of "taste", is fantastic....and can pick and chose what or not to eat, they do not keep their taste senses in the mouth, but but can taste through their barbels, pelvic and pectoral fins, when they have found their feed, and have done all the relevant "tests" they suck into their mouth from an area where they have sensed the feed.
once they have done this they then "blow" the waste out through their gills, this allows them to keep what they have found and then eat it.
This is why when an angler goes to a water to fish,they look for fish feeding, and bubbles coming to the surface proves that.
Once a carp has decided and sorted it's feed, it then takes it to the back of it's mouth to chew it, a carp's "teeth" like areas are at the back of it's mouth, like grinding types of pad like areas, it's brilliant to watch a carp chewing, as they do it so carefully, and then once eaten come back for more.
A carp's "sight" is nothing like ours, they can see all around them, but their eyes sort out colours and movement, they can see well in the dark, as their senses pick up on areas that we couldnt.
I have actually proved this by testing my fish, I can walk around my pond, and taking a handful of bait can get them to come to different areas to be fed, and they follow me to do this.
If I make a sudden movement they will disappear imediately, this then brings another sense a carp has into play, "hearing", these sensor's are either side of the gills, again full with hairs, these pick up on sound waves, again to prove this I have sat by my pond , and watched for movement, looking into the water to see where the fish are, and me being there has not caused any un-ease with them, if I put my hand into the water and click my fingers, they will come to see what it is, and I have been able to "stroke" my fish , or then give them something to eat....normally a rather large lob worm.....