Listen to the Song – Phantom of the Lake
The complete lyrics are included in the companion book, Our Jewels in the Water, allowing readers to follow every song while discovering the remarkable stories behind our freshwater fish.
Enjoying the music?
The companion book Our Jewels in the Water includes the full lyrics, additional stories, exclusive photographs and beautiful illustrations for every species.
The Ghost Carp
Phantom of the Lake
“From the darkness beneath the water comes a pale shape — silent, mysterious and shimmering like a ghost beneath the moon.”
Species Profile
The Ghost Carp is one of the most striking and mysterious-looking members of the carp family found in ornamental and managed waters.
Rather than being a separate species, Ghost Carp are associated with crosses between ornamental Koi and more traditionally coloured Common or Mirror Carp.
The result can be a powerful carp carrying unusual pale, metallic or ghostly markings.
Some appear almost white or silver around the head and shoulders, while others carry shades of grey, cream, gold or darker colouring across the body.
Seen swimming through deep or shadowed water, these pale markings can suddenly appear before the rest of the fish becomes visible.
One moment there seems to be nothing there.
The next, a ghostly shape emerges.
The Phantom of the Lake.
Clive’s Story
There is something wonderfully mysterious about seeing a pale carp appear from deep water.
You may be looking across a lake where nothing seems to be moving.
Then suddenly you notice something.
A flash.
A pale head.
Perhaps the faint outline of a large fish beneath the surface.
For a moment you’re not quite sure what you’ve seen.
Then the fish moves into clearer water and the shape of a carp becomes unmistakable.
That is exactly what makes the Ghost Carp such an appropriate fish for this collection.
Fishing has always contained an element of mystery.
We spend hours looking at the surface while wondering what is happening underneath.
And sometimes something unexpected appears from that hidden world.
Natural History
Ghost Carp share much of their biology and behaviour with other forms of Common Carp.
They are powerful, adaptable fish capable of living in lakes, ponds and other suitable managed freshwater environments.
Like other carp, they are omnivorous.
They search for insect larvae, worms, molluscs, crustaceans, plant material and other available food.
Sensitive barbels around the mouth help them investigate the bottom while feeding.
During warmer conditions Ghost Carp may cruise close to the surface, making their unusual colouring particularly noticeable.
Given good water quality, sufficient food and suitable habitat, they can grow into large and impressive fish.
Their carp ancestry also gives them the strength that anglers associate with the Common, Mirror and Leather forms.
Interesting Facts
- Closely associated with the Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio).
- Ghost Carp are not regarded as a separate species.
- They are associated with crossings involving ornamental Koi and Common or Mirror Carp.
- Their colouring can include white, silver, grey, cream, gold and black.
- Pale markings around the head can create their characteristic ghostly appearance.
- Individual Ghost Carp can look dramatically different from one another.
- They possess the barbels characteristic of carp.
- Omnivorous and adaptable.
- Can grow to impressive sizes.
- Strong fighters when hooked.
- Their unusual markings can make individual fish recognisable.
- Particularly striking when seen moving through dark or deep water.
Behind the Song
The title Phantom of the Lake almost wrote the picture itself.
Imagine looking into dark water at dusk.
For a moment the lake appears empty.
Then something pale emerges from below.
At first there is only a white shape.
Then a head.
Then the outline of a great carp slowly materialises behind it.
Before you can properly appreciate what you are seeing, the fish turns and disappears back into the darkness.
That image became the heart of the song.
The Ghost Carp isn’t frightening.
It is mysterious.
A reminder that beneath every lake lies a world we can only glimpse for a few moments at a time.
And sometimes one of its inhabitants rises just long enough to reveal itself.
The Phantom of the Lake.
Responsible Ownership and Fish Care
Ghost Carp are popular ornamental and fishery residents, but like other artificially produced carp varieties they should never simply be released into natural waters.
Moving fish between waters can introduce disease and create ecological problems.
Unwanted fish should therefore be responsibly rehomed rather than released.
When caught by anglers, large Ghost Carp deserve the same careful treatment as any other carp.
Suitable unhooking equipment should be used, the fish should be properly supported and its time out of the water kept to a minimum.
After a hard fight, the fish should be allowed to recover before being released.
Then comes perhaps the most appropriate ending possible for an encounter with a Ghost Carp.
You loosen your hands.
The fish moves forward.
And the phantom disappears once more.
Clive’s Reflection
The Ghost Carp captures something I have always loved about fishing.
We never really know what is beneath us.
We can study a water.
We can watch for bubbles.
We can look for movement amongst the reeds.
Experience may tell us where the fish are likely to be.
But there is always an element of mystery.
Perhaps a great fish is sitting only a few yards away without us knowing it.
Then, occasionally, the water gives away one of its secrets.
A pale shape appears.
A fin breaks the surface.
A great Ghost Carp rolls before disappearing again.
For a few seconds, two worlds meet.
Ours above the surface.
And theirs beneath it.
Then the water closes and the mystery returns.
That is why there could only really be one name for this song.
Phantom of the Lake.
“The lake keeps many secrets — and sometimes, just for a moment, one of its ghosts appears.”