chub_on_the_block
Well-known member
Does anybody know why fish like bream or tench roll?. I have heard a few theories, but what are they doing?. Anyone know for sure?
Why do fish roll?
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barbelboi
Well-known member
Probably checking what swim you're in Caco
Jerry
Jerry
Jeff Woodhouse
Moaning Marlow Meldrew
They never did learn to rock...
chub_on_the_block
Well-known member
So theyre rolling their own then? Dont blame them. Much less expensive that way.
PS i knew i could count on you guys for a sensible answer..
PS i knew i could count on you guys for a sensible answer..
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Keith M
Well-known member
I have heard lots of stories from removing parasites (when they leap) and breaking up things that are on or near the surface or feeding on freshwater plankton which is rising up to the surface; which plankton does in the evening; which is why on some waters the surface is full of fish breaking the surface as dusk falls; but also maybe it's just because they simply like the sensation of pushing their bodies through the surface film into cooler or warmer air just like humans who like to have a cool dip in warm weather? who really knows?
There is usually more than one reason why anything happens so maybe everything above has some part to play in it?:
There is usually more than one reason why anything happens so maybe everything above has some part to play in it?:
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barbelboi
Well-known member
Only too pleased to assist caco - any more tricky questions just send 'em over.
Seriously, I'm very much with Keith - I've heard of lots of theories but no firm facts.
Jerry
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I have got 5 koi carp in my garden pond who are over 15 years old, of the 5 there is one who breaks the surface, and he does it with style, usually when there is a hatch of fly.
It's not uncommon for 2/3rds of his body to be out of the water as he tail-walks backwards after the fly's.
There was also a swim on the middle Severn which had a barbel that would jump all the time, Back in the day when we used keepnets you knew if you had him as nothing left the water, then when you emptied the net at the end of the day he would be jumping again before you finished packing up.
It's not uncommon for 2/3rds of his body to be out of the water as he tail-walks backwards after the fly's.
There was also a swim on the middle Severn which had a barbel that would jump all the time, Back in the day when we used keepnets you knew if you had him as nothing left the water, then when you emptied the net at the end of the day he would be jumping again before you finished packing up.
no-one in particular
Well-known member
They mainly seem to roll in hot weather so, has it got to be something to do with temperature? Do they get a fillip of oxygen when they do it? I thought of some benefit in change of air pressure but then they would do it all year round. It has to be linked to temperature in some way I would have thought.
barbelboi
Well-known member
Carp will sometimes roll in winter, especially at dusk. A useful sight as it means there are probably a few friends shoaled up beneath.
Jerry
chub_on_the_block
Well-known member
Carp are an all-water fish - feed anywhere. go anywhere - they would climb over the banks if they could (as they do if the water level rises). Often cruise with their back half-out of the water or launch themselves out for no apparent reason.
But i think the more enigmatic ones are the fish normally found at the bottom in deep water - like tench, bream, barbel.
The other week i watched a shoal of bream rolling around a duck and they followed it all around the corner of a lake. The duck was feeding on something on the water surface, but they were just doing their own thing next to it.
But i think the more enigmatic ones are the fish normally found at the bottom in deep water - like tench, bream, barbel.
The other week i watched a shoal of bream rolling around a duck and they followed it all around the corner of a lake. The duck was feeding on something on the water surface, but they were just doing their own thing next to it.
no-one in particular
Well-known member
That's a weird one Chub-B.... bream following a duck around. I imagine carp do roll in winter but, it has to be more common in the summer months or in warm water temperatures but, bream do seem to roll prior to spawning as well. I still think it has to be water temperature related in some way. Would fish be able to gulp oxygen from the air? Could their gills work in this way?
Certainly in hot weather, and the low DO levels this brings, fish will swim at the top of the water gulping from the surface. Anyone who has kept fish will have noticed this.
bigdog78
Well-known member
Pretty sure fish can extract oxygen from air... providing their gills are wet, COTB should be able to confirm. My theory with bream following ducks would be that if the are fed regularly by people then it stands to reason that when it gets quieter towards the end of the day that maybe the ducks and at this point fish go round clearing up. The chub certainly do where i live , Lots of people throwing in bread. No fish , 1 hr later no people lots of fish and ducks feeding. Maybe we underestimate the intelligence of say an 8lb bream that could be 20 years old? im pretty sure it would become instinct after a while.
hugo curgudgeon
Well-known member
Because they can!
Hugo
Hugo