Springtime Carp

Watercolor of a Springtime Carp cruising in shallow water

Last Spring I spent a few days paddling my kayak around the local reservoirs and ponds. One of the cool things I saw was the Carp as they come into the shallow waters to breed.

The Carp would loom up from the milky murk of the water. I would usually see the pattern of their scales first. The hard, linear angles of the scales would be jarringly distinct compared to the curves and reflections of the water surface. Then the gold of the fish’s pectoral fins would appear, then the eyes, and finally the rest of the Carp would paint itself into existence. Like a magic trick.

Carp just under the surface of the water. See how distinct the scale lines are?

Carp cruising just under the surface of the water.

Carp with tree reflections. This was in a narrow creek, and the trees were overhanging the water in a lot of places.

This is the photo that I tried to capture in the painting. Look relatively rotund this Carp is compared to some of the others - I wonder if this is a gravid female, and the others are males(?)

If they noticed me in the kayak, if I moved too quickly, the Carp would explode away in a big splash. They’d leave wakes like speedboats as they swam away just below the surface of the shallow water.