Overview
RF4 staff members dive into the game and share their knowledge with the players. This guide was written by admin Levo with the intent to show players how to catch Black and Grass Carp on Old Burg.
Introduction
This guide was written with the intent to show players how to catch the Black and Grass Carp in Old Burg and to share some bottom and float techniques used in the game. Please remember that in our game fish might change spots and lures/baits over time. The spots that I will show you might not work in the future and the same goes for the lures or baits I used. From my own experience as a player, I knew that Black Carp and Grass Carp likes to bite on potatoes and cabbage so I decided to mainly focus on cheap wide available baits to target both species.
Species Overview
Black Carp is a species of cyprinid fish. The black carp is native to eastern Asia from the Pearl River basin in China to the Amur River. It is also found in the tributaries of these rivers in China and eastern Russia, as well as northern Vietnam. Currently, black carp can be found in the United States in aquaculture facilities and farm ponds. It prefers freshwater but may live in brackish water. Black carp have massive pharyngeal teeth with well-developed mastication surfaces enabling it to eat molluscs which constitute the basis of its diet. Its body and fins are dark, almost black. The body is oblong and covered with dense scales. Black carp are a large fish that grows quickly. By the end of the first year of its life, it may reach 10 cm in length. An adult black carp at the age of 7-8 years is more than 80 cm long and weights up to 30 kg. Black carp can reach up to 5 feet in length, a maximum weight of 150 pounds, and can live up to 15 years. In Russia, it is listed among threatened species and is protected by the state. In China, it is considered a food fish.
Grass Carp is also known as White Amur Carp – is a valuable commercial fish It is the only species of the genus white cupids, belongs to the family of carp. It Inhabits the waters of East Asia to southern China. The carp prefers abundantly overgrown ponds because it feeds exclusively on plant foods. Moreover, it eats both aquatic and terrestrial plants (for example, in the form of mown grass thrown into the water). Grass Carp, as the name would suggest, do eat aquatic weeds and plant material and do eat considerable amounts, especially when young, however, they will also feed on invertebrates and molluscs. When artificial breed, it becomes omnivorous. The body is elongated and flattened laterally. Fins are grey, the dorsal and caudal are darker. The colouring of scales on the back go from greenish to grey-yellow, flanks with a golden tint. The belly is lightly golden. Pharyngeal teeth are two-rowed and can heavily serrate. The grass carp is a large fish, large specimens reach 30 kg and a length of more than 1 m. They inhabit freshwater lakes, ponds and rivers, preferring areas with slow currents or still waters that are heavily vegetated, though are capable of dealing with a range of temperature and salinity variations as well as low oxygen levels and water temperatures from 0 – 33 degrees C.
Setups
To target Black and Grass Carp I used bottom fishing and float setups. For Bottom fishing I used a loop rig:
For float fishing I used match rods with a waggler rig.
Black and Grass Carps are strong and fun fish to target. It might be a bit difficult to fight them with weaker gear so if you decide to target them please be very careful with weak/low lvl gear. I used strong monolines and leaders 36.4 kg, and very strong reels and carp rods to land the fishes very quickly. To get more bites please use thinner lines and leaders but be prepared for longer fights.
Baits
These were the baits that I used:
Black Carp is rarer than a Grass Carp. You might have more luck with targeting them when using a Bunch of Algea. From my experience in the game, I know that this bait is one of the favourites for Black carp at Old Burg. I didn’t use it during my research as I know that Old Burg is mid lvl map and mid lvl players might not have yet unlocked scooping algae so they might not have access to this bait yet. Beside bunch of algae that I mentioned above to target Black Carp you can use all the baits in the Bait used section. For me, the best were: Coconut and Cream boilies size 16; Potatoes and Cabbage leaf. For Grass Carp, the best for me were: Potatoes, Sweet Cream 16 boilies and Mint Cake 15. Again, please be aware that those baits might change in the future. Please don’t be afraid to try other boilies. I know from my own experience that prior to making this guide Cream Mango boilies and Strawberry boilies were very effective as well.
For my research, I used standard Black/Grass carp ground bait. I can clearly say that you will get more fish if you use ground bait to attract the fish.
Fishing Spots
In total I fished at 4 spots. I choose those spots from my own experience in the game and as I know that Grass Carps and Black Carps like to be in the spots where there is a lot of weeds, reeds and other vegetation around. Looks like they prefer shallower water and not very deep holes.
Overview of the spots:
Spot No.1 21.77
Spot No.2 71.50
Spot No.3 53.13
Spot No.4 64.17
During those 4 days, the best spot for me was spot No.1 and No.3 – please be aware that this might change when you will be fishing there. But please try all those 4 spots as from my previous experience I know that those 2 species might bite there as well. Look for spots with plenty of weeds, reeds and other vegetation around when targeting Black and Grass Carps.
Results
I fished 4 days for around 1 – 2 hrs a session. During those 4 days, the best spot for me was spot No.1 and No.3 – please be aware that this might change when you will be fishing there. But please try all those 4 spots as from my previous experience I know that those 2 species might bite there as well. The results are posted below.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Weather and Time of Day
The most bites for Grass Carp I had during a “morning bite ” – 5am – 9am in game and “afternoon bite” 5pm- 9pm in game. But for Black Carp, the most of them bit for me in the afternoon and evening – 4pm – 8pm. I didn’t have any nighttime bites during my 4 days of research.
Both species were active for me when the temperature was around 11C -15C but the most bites of Black Carp were when the temperature was 12C. I had the most bites during sunny weather and the bite rate was good as well during cloudy weather. Grass carp also bit when it is raining, but a bit less than when sunny or cloudy.
Conclusion
Both black and grass carp are fun fish to catch that can really test your skills and your gear. Because of their strength they may be more difficult for lower level players, so if you decide to target them, be very careful with your gear. Strong monolines and leaders with heavy reels will land you the carp quickly. Black carp is more rare than grass carp, but if you carefully select your bait and the correct time, you will hook into these beauties too, and they give you plenty of XP. Don’t hesitate to try out different boilies than I tested, you may stumble upon a bait that works excellent as well, next to those I mentioned. Keep in mind that over time, the fish may change their habitat and choice of food.
Good luck and have fun guys. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to post them below (but not ingame please). Thanks!
– Levo