F1 carp are set to be Britain's most popular coarse fish species

Just as it says on the tin



‘I can’t breed F1 carp quick enough to meet demand for what is the best fish money can buy’.

These are the words of outspoken fish farmer and former fishery boss Simon Hughes, who this week revealed that he’s sold out of the popular, yet controversial, species after shifting 150 tonnes of F1 hybrids in just six months.

A cross between crucian and common carp, F1s vastly outsell other popular species, such as barbel, tench and bream and now account for over 60 per cent of orders at Riverfield Fish Farm in Kent.

More than 600 commercial fisheries in the UK have taken delivery of the hard-fighting fish since they were first bred 12 years ago, and it’s a trend that shows no signs of slowing down, with Simon revealing that orders are currently growing by 20 per cent a year.

“F1s have revolutionised fishing ¬ I can’t grow them quick enough,” said Simon.

“They are the perfect fish for commercials ¬ they feed all year round, don’t grow too big and can’t contract KHV. Some people call them ‘Frankenstein carp’ but they have helped to make many commercials what they are today.”

One such fishery is Lindholme Lakes, in North Lincs, which is home to a vibrant match scene. Owner Neil Grantham believes the popularity of his complex is largely down to the stocking of F1 carp.

He said: “This fish helped to make Lindholme. Anglers can get a bite-a-chuck all year round, and I’d encourage all fishery owners to get their orders in. I haven’t lost a fish in six years.”

However, not all fishery bosses are fans of F1s. Phil Briscoe, owner of Maver Larford Lakes in Worcs, believes that he’s found a chink in their armour.

“There’s no doubt that F1s helped Larford establish itself, but I’ve suffered a lot of fatalities so have decided to stick to the normal strains of carp which, in my opinion, are much more hardy and reliable.

Now i enjoy a day on the commercial bagging pools as much as the next man but that's exactly what they are "BAGGING POOLS"
I can see the water craft in drawing on the fish and then having to try and get the freebies in quicker than the man on the next peg so he won't feed them off you.

However the revenue generated by the F1's in there farming sale and subsequent draw on anglers to fisheries can only benefit the sport. it might be me.......... but I'm a river man

sorry that should read "Can't see the water craft"

i don,t care what size or what species of fish that are in a lake, pond or river, so long as they pull your string and give a good fight to get the addrenalin pumping, thats what its all about to me the rush ....

fish with 4lb main line size 18 hook and those F1's will pull you all over the gaff

great fun on the pole too, like you said they are all over the shop, if there is any kind of a snag about you can garuntee they wil head for it at some point

Its not my first choice of fish but it’s a great fish if you want a bag in the winter as already stated they feed all year round and on a pole just lifting the bait and dropping it can get you some savage bites even I the colder months.

a good fish to cut your teeth though, you can get a lot of action which is what you want for a novice.

My two cents would be that guys like me who are relatively new to carp fishing and carp handling could learn a lot from catching fish this size all day, it would definately help when it comes to the bigger carp and might help to preserve carp fishing in the long run with a new generation of careful considerate anglers.

Its funny how top of the list was carp for most fisheries they were relatively easy to breed and grew very quickly providing the sport that anglers demanded of this day and age.

But there is a downside for carp as they are very susceptible to diseases and it is now a regular occurrence to find several fisheries every year devastated all the KHV thats going about now

A lot of fish farms are also producing barbel in large numbers, and a lot of fisheries are now stocking them but the snag is that the growth rate is slow compared to the carp and they are a lot more expensive too. As a river angler i think they should be in rivers but i think you will see a hell of a lot of them in the next few years

exactly as what I was ranting about on

http://ukfishingforums.darkbb.com/lounge-f14/fish-o-mania-2009-t2707.htm

there is now a second cross this is called................


hold on............


lets think...........


yes a f2 took some time working that one out


However you need to look very closely at the information and history surrounding these fish.
Basically the first ones, f1s stocked were imported from Israel, and sold under the pretence that they were great match fish.
The reasons given were they did not grow too big, they feed in cold weather and are disease resistant.
UK farms started to copy others and produced these, as there was a demand.
Now the f2 sold in the UK was not the second cross, it was infact a f1 crossed with a genetically modified tripled carp.
Again fetched over from Israel and sold as, super fast growing, small eventual size, decease resistant, cold tolerant and because they did not breed they would feed year round.
However they are now banned from import and no one in the UK produces them.
They were banned, as it was believed they could carry KHV and no one could prove otherwise.

all this cross breeding...

sardarel wrote:

all this cross breeding...

like a day out with Nidge