Listen to the Song – The Living Reflection
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 Mirror Carp
The Living Reflection
“Beneath the still water, great golden mirrors catch the light — each one reflecting a story written across the body of a remarkable fish.”
Species Profile
The Mirror Carp is one of the most distinctive and beautiful forms of the Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio).
Unlike a fully scaled Common Carp, the Mirror Carp carries a reduced number of much larger scales, often scattered irregularly across its flanks.
These scales can shine like polished bronze, gold or silver when sunlight reaches the fish beneath the water.
No two Mirror Carp are patterned in exactly the same way.
That individuality has made them especially fascinating to generations of anglers, who can sometimes recognise particular fish simply from the arrangement of their scales.
The Mirror Carp is not a separate species, but a remarkable variation of one of the world’s best-known freshwater fish.
Clive’s Story
There are few sights in fishing quite like a big Mirror Carp rolling beneath the surface.
For a moment you may see nothing more than a dark shape.
Then the fish turns.
Suddenly one of those enormous scales catches the sunlight and flashes back at you like a little mirror beneath the water.
That is where I think much of the beauty of these fish lies.
Every Mirror Carp seems to have its own identity.
Some carry just a handful of enormous scales.
Others have lines of scales running along their bodies.
And occasionally you encounter one whose pattern is so distinctive that you could recognise that individual fish years later.
For an angler, that makes every Mirror Carp memorable.
Natural History
Mirror Carp share their biology with the Common Carp.
They favour lakes, reservoirs, ponds, canals and slow-moving rivers, particularly waters containing areas of softer bottom, aquatic vegetation and abundant natural food.
Carp are omnivorous feeders.
They search the bottom using their sensitive barbels, taking insect larvae, worms, molluscs, crustaceans, seeds and plant material.
Their powerful mouths allow them to investigate sediments in search of food.
During warmer weather, carp may become particularly active and can sometimes be seen cruising close to the surface.
Spawning normally occurs when water temperatures rise, with groups of fish moving into shallow, vegetated areas.
Given suitable conditions, Mirror Carp can live for many decades and grow to impressive sizes.
Interesting Facts
- Scientific name: Cyprinus carpio
- Family: Cyprinidae.
- The Mirror Carp is a variety of Common Carp, not a separate species.
- Distinguished by its large, irregularly arranged scales.
- Every Mirror Carp can have a unique scale pattern.
- Individual fish may sometimes be recognised from photographs taken years apart.
- Colours range from dark bronze and brown to beautiful golden shades.
- Possesses sensitive barbels around the mouth.
- Omnivorous and feeds extensively on the bottom.
- Can grow to very large sizes.
- Capable of living for many years.
- One of the most prized fish amongst specialist carp anglers.
Behind the Song
When writing The Living Reflection, I kept returning to one image.
A carp turning beneath the surface and a great scale suddenly catching the sunlight.
For just a second, it becomes a mirror beneath the water.
But the title has another meaning.
Every old Mirror Carp carries its history upon its body.
Its distinctive scale pattern identifies the fish.
Scars may tell of previous encounters.
Its size tells of years spent surviving beneath the surface.
And photographs taken by anglers can sometimes reveal that the same fish has been caught and safely returned many years apart.
The fish becomes a living reflection of the water in which it has spent its life.
That is why the song became The Living Reflection.
Conservation and Fish Care
Large Mirror Carp can be old and valuable members of their freshwater communities.
For anglers, responsible fish care is therefore particularly important.
A large carp should be handled carefully, supported properly and kept out of the water for the shortest practical time.
Suitable unhooking equipment helps protect the fish while hooks should be removed carefully before it is returned.
After a hard fight, the carp may need time in the water to recover before swimming away strongly.
The photograph may preserve an angler’s memory of the capture.
But the greatest satisfaction should always come from watching that magnificent fish disappear safely back into its underwater world.
Clive’s Reflection
There is something about an old Mirror Carp that commands respect.
Perhaps it is knowing how many seasons that fish has experienced.
How many winters it has survived.
How many times it has watched the world above the water change while its own life continued quietly below.
Then there are those scales.
Each fish carries a pattern that belongs to it alone.
They are almost like fingerprints.
And when sunlight catches them, for a fleeting moment the fish seems to carry pieces of the surface upon its body.
Sky.
Trees.
Water.
Light.
All reflected in those great scales.
The angler may hold the fish for only a few moments before returning it.
But the memory can last a lifetime.
That, to me, is the Mirror Carp.
The Living Reflection.
“For a moment it reflects our world — then turns, disappears, and returns to its own.”