Species

Grass carp

A large plant-eating fish from China that was stocked to control water plants and is a hard-fighting target fish for anglers.

Ctenopharyngodon idella

Photo: Dezidor, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0, adjusted to 3:2

Spawning: Spawns in strongly flowing water over gravel; according to the Red List it is not established in Germany, and populations come from stocking.
German Red List: not established
Typical method: Ledgering with a hair rig
Top bait: Sweetcorn

Plan a day fishing for Grass carp

How to recognise it

Elongated, chub-like body with large scales
Blunt snout, slightly underslung mouth without barbels
Back dark green to greenish black, scales with dark edges (net pattern)

Easily confused with: Looks like a large chub; the grass carp has five rows of scales below the lateral line, the chub only three to four (Wikipedia). Unlike the common carp it has no barbels.

How to catch it

Methods: Ledgering with a hair rig, Float fishing close to the bank, Surface fishing

Baits: Sweetcorn, Floating bread, Boilie, Fresh blades of grass

Warm summer months; the species likes warmth, its optimum lies at 22 to 26 °C water temperature according to Wikipedia.

Habitat and food

Originally calm, deep rivers and lakes of the Chinese plains; in Europe stocked into many waters since the 1960s, preferring large, slow-flowing or still waters with plenty of vegetation (Wikipedia, FishBase).

Higher aquatic plants and submerged grasses, plus detritus, insects and other invertebrates (FishBase); young fish eat small animals at first (Wikipedia).

Size and age

Up to 150 cm (Wikipedia). FishBase: max. 150 cm, heaviest published weight 45.0 kg, maximum age 21 years.

Protection and rules

Conservation status: German Red List (freshwater fish 2023): not established, no Red List category (status: casual, unbeständig). IUCN: not threatened (Least Concern, 2020). Not on the EU list of invasive alien species (as of July 2025). FishBase lists it as a potential pest because of the damage it does to aquatic plants.

Grass carp: closed season and minimum size by German state

Berlinno minimum size, no closed season

From the official state fisheries regulations, retrieved 2026-10-11. All rules by state

Check the rules

Closed seasons and minimum sizes are set by each German state and can be stricter for single waters. All rules by state, with the legal source

In the kitchen

According to FishBase eaten fresh, steamed, pan-fried, grilled or baked; according to FishBase one of the most important aquaculture species worldwide.

Sources (4)

Last checked 2026-10-13. Found a mistake? Write to [email protected].

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