# Why do carp jump?



## Buffdaddyfish (Sep 14, 2006)

I have been fishing for a few years now and I was wondering why carp jump? It may be an instinct they have, but I always see them jump pretty far out of the water, usually it is the bigger ones and they create huge splashes. A fisherman a few years ago told me they do this to "clean their gills". I don't know why, just curious. My wife and I were out walking along the eflmr yesterday evening and witnessed a carp do this 3 times in a row.....she always asks me why they do that but I can never give her a good answer! Thanks to all those who reply!


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## Net (Apr 10, 2004)

I'd be real surprised if you get a definitive answer. Scientists are still unclear why _whales_ breach. I'm partial to the theory that it's an alternate form of communication....kind of like saying "this is my territory". Cleaning their gills sounds just as plausible....not that a whale has gills...oh, never mind.


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## creekcrawler (Oct 5, 2004)

I also heard that they get mud and silt in their gills bottom feeding and
jumping clears it out.


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## Mushijobah (May 4, 2004)

Last time I asked a carp, she told me that the males would do this after a pretty female carp rejected him, in an attempt to commit suicide by drowning in air....Moral of the story is, people do not know exactly why animals do a lot of things. We are different creatures from the remainder of the animal world, leaving us clueless of a lot of natural processes!


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## Whiskers (Aug 11, 2004)

I remember several times witnessing this late in the afternoon, just before sundown. I use to fish at the small pond off buck creek in new moorefield (until the area was deemed permit only). That pond is full of 1 foot plus carp. Several times in the afternoon I'd be fishing there and it was completely quiet. Then, right before sundown, the carp just started jumping. 

I always thought it had something to do with their feeding habits. Never saw a carp pluck a fly out of the air, but with my experience it just seemed to coincide with periods in the day when feeding was more active.


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## soua0363 (Jun 10, 2005)

I believe they jump to get small water bugs at the surface. I only normally see this in the early morning and evening hours. During the heat of the day when there is next to no bugs on the water, you do not see this any more.


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## sevenx (Apr 21, 2005)

Carp do at times feed on the surface. Also during the spawn they become very active and will often times chase each other out of the water, mostly males trying to run other males off of the females. They will also chase bait fish and this can bring them up as well. I have seen carp jump in all conditions and have no idea what they are up to most of the time, it seems very random in my experience and always right out of casting range so I think they are just teasing. I did see a very large carp activily feeding just under the surface this summer. He was in hole with a swirling eddy and moving back and forth. One cast to him and he was gone in a shot. It might just be that bugs up top or schools of bait present themselves and create opportunity for an easy meal. S


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## BigSmallieMike (Oct 20, 2005)

I believe it has to to with gill cleaning as well - I seem to remember reading about this a few years ago. Additionally, it would make sense to coincide with feeding time as that would be when they would get the most mud/silt on their gills. 
Don't forget, they are messy eaters and there are usually smallies hanging around to pick off the scraps!


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## dinkbuster1 (Oct 28, 2005)

BigSmallieMike said:


> I believe it has to to with gill cleaning as well - I seem to remember reading about this a few years ago. Additionally, it would make sense to coincide with feeding time as that would be when they would get the most mud/silt on their gills.
> Don't forget, they are messy eaters and there are usually smallies hanging around to pick off the scraps!


i see them doing that a lot when the barometor is falling, that is also when i noticed they feed aggresively (falling pressure) so it may just be to remove mud from their gills.....


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## crappielooker (Apr 5, 2004)

they jump because they can't run.. LOL... heck, i don't even know and i fished for them thing.. its not only the little ones that jump, the big ones do too..  it scared the crap outta me hearing those huge fish jumping in the middle of alum creek reservoir..


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## woodysoutdoors (May 18, 2007)

Woody says he often sees them jumping after a hard rain in the river so the cleaning of the gill theory sounds good to us.
connie


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## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

ok, i'll say it....because they can.


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## Fishaholic69 (Apr 6, 2007)

I got a new theory. seems to me they do it when you are trying to catch a fish and all you catch is all these small fish. they just wanna let ya kno the biguns are still there but not gonna eat your crappy fake looking lure! so they jump . so basically my theory is that they r just F***'n wit ya!  oh trust me they kno! ever look away for a second just to see your fly get took? ya see they kno you are there! they r smarter than us! ever catch a fish to let him go and no others bite? its cause he done told his boys! hes like don't bite that fat nice black leech it just hooked the sh*t out of me!!! jk I am drunk. whos know why they do..... wish they would take a dry fly when they did tho!


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## leeabu (Apr 10, 2004)

Why would jumping out of the water clean their gills?????


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## cantsleep (Jul 25, 2007)

Seems most of the different ideas about this are all probably right some of the time. I kinda see how that rush up into the air and the crash down would shake some stuff loose, and I think if they are feeding aggressively(sp) any type of behavior seems plausible.
I never target them, but never mind fighting them.


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## Fishman (Apr 5, 2004)

They're trying to fly back to Europe/Asia.


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## zspook (Apr 4, 2006)

Carp Olympics...high jump.


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## Mushijobah (May 4, 2004)

hahaha! Indeed.


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## Buffdaddyfish (Sep 14, 2006)

I know there are a million questions we could ask about why something does what, just thought this one would give me some more background......I love the responses! Seems to me they do this more in the evening and morning as well too but those are the times in which I try to fish! I was actually out in the heat of the day over the summer quite a few times and did witness this behavior, but it seems to go on more in the evening. I was fishing a section of the EFLMR a few days ago and just happened to be looking upstream and saw a huge carp leap out of the water and left one heck of a wake. Thank you for all of your responses!


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## dinkbuster1 (Oct 28, 2005)

i witnessed 2 carp jumping from the water right off the bank while flathead fishing this weekend on the GMR. what was shocking is after they hit the water they both spun UPSIDE DOWN, belly up, in a circle down to about 4ft, maybe further but i couldnt see them anymore. i wonder if they all do that, that was strange to say the least!


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## iteech (Apr 4, 2005)

The last time I went fishing in a little lake that my friend owns, I was alone and the sun was going down--I was gathering up my things to leave when I heard something hit the water so hard, I thought someone had thrown a dead body in. It scared the heck out of me! I just kept my eyes glued on the wake and sure enough, a carp about the size of flippin' CAR came out of the water and splashed down again ("Houston, the Apollo has landed"). Well, maybe not quite that big, but huge for sure. I have heard them before but that's the first time I saw it. If I didn't know better, I 'd say they jump to terrify humans. Can fish laugh? Because he told that story at the card game that night, I ga-ron-tee it.


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## fisherman5567 (Jan 3, 2007)

I think they are out to scare us too...my brother and I were heading off the river just as it was getting dark and as i was scootin down the river as fast as my lil 6hp would go a carp jumped about a foot away from my brother in the front of the boat....i could of swarn i heard that thing laughing as my brother just about fell out the other side of the boat.


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## zspook (Apr 4, 2006)

I love it when they seem to arch up out of the water in slooooow motion!
z


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## jcstu (Oct 1, 2007)

I don't know if it was carp or catfish, but I had my wife and mother in law with me one night near the campgrounds at Hueston Woods where the creek comes in. The fish were smacking inside the metal tubes going under the road. I thought the girls were going to run for the truck of those broke the night's silence


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## mrfishohio (Apr 5, 2004)

I think this came up quite some time ago and the concesus was because they are so pretty & want to show off....


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## Chuck P. (Apr 8, 2004)

Carp jump only because crawfish pinch their tails. It hurts


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## castmaster00 (Oct 23, 2007)

how were you catching those shad?


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