This article will focus on the care of your carp. Many carp sustain cuts and sores from their natural activities. Unfortunately, sometimes our actions as anglers inflict injuries on the fish we love to catch. Carp angling in the UK is strictly catch and release so we owe it to our fishy friends to help them heal up and get on the mend as soon as possible.
If you want to catch your fish again at bigger weights, it’s advisable to carry around a first aid kit in your tackle box. By first aid kit, I mean a bottle of Klin-Ik. Every carp angler should have this essential item in their tackle box. It costs less than a fiver and will last a good while. More importantly, it will ensure the survival of your capture and help reduce the spread for any disease.
Every time you catch a carp, you should do 5 things.
1. Ensure you use an un-hooking mat to stop damage to the fishes internal organs and prevent cuts from anything on the ground.
2. Squirt some Klin-Ik on the hook wound you have just caused by catching the carp.
3. Check for any previous wounds that have yet to heal in or around the carps mouth.
4. Check the rest of the fishes body for any cuts, sores or infections.
5. Treat any wounds with Klin-Ik, document any severe cases and report them to the fishery manager. For extreme cases, you might want to sack the carp and allow the fishery manager to inspect the fish.
