Ghost Carp
By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026
A pale, almost white shape drifts under the surface of a commercial lake, nothing like the bronze commons around it. That is a ghost carp, and it is not a separate species. It is a common carp (Cyprinus carpio) with koi in its breeding, usually a mirror or common crossed with metallic koi such as Platinum Ogon or Yamabuki Ogon.
Anglers call them ghosties. This guide is written for the bank, not the garden pond. It covers how to tell a ghost carp apart, how big they get in the UK, where they live, how to catch one and what the law says about releasing koi and ghost koi.
What Is a Ghost Carp?
The “ghost” is only skin deep. Under the colour, a ghost carp is the same species as the common carp on the next peg, so it feeds, fights and grows like one.
Ghost carp are hybrids of common or mirror carp crossed with metallic koi strains, mainly Platinum Ogon (white or silver) and Yamabuki Ogon (gold), according to the Farnham Angling Society species notes. Koi are themselves carp, selectively bred for colour.
The names overlap:
- Ghost carp and ghost koi: the same kind of fish, named by anglers and by the aquatic trade respectively.
- Ghostie: the angler’s nickname.
- Koi: the fully ornamental, brightly patterned fish of garden ponds.
Hybrids tend to be vigorous and compete well for food. Many of their offspring revert to the look of one parent, which is why a water stocked with ghosties can throw up odd-coloured fish over the years.
At species level, common carp can reach about 120cm (47in) and live from 9 to more than 45 years. For the wider family, see the carp species guide and the common carp guide.
If you can catch a common carp, you already know how to catch a ghostie.
How to Identify a Ghost Carp
Two checks on the unhooking mat settle it: colour, then scaling.
Colour. Ghost carp run from bright white through silver and pale gold to gunmetal grey, often with a metallic sheen. The colour can change as the fish ages, so a ghostie photographed as silver a few seasons ago may have darkened since.
Scaling. Because the cross can be made with commons or mirrors, a ghost carp can be fully scaled, partly scaled like a mirror, or close to scaleless. The body shape is standard carp, with two pairs of barbels at the mouth.
| Fish | Colour | Scales | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghost carp | White, silver, pale gold or gunmetal grey, metallic | Full, partial or near scaleless | Stocked carp fisheries |
| Common carp | Bronze to olive-brown | Fully scaled in even rows | Lakes, rivers, canals, fisheries |
| Mirror carp | Bronze to olive-brown | Scattered large scales | Lakes and carp fisheries |
| Leather carp | Bronze to dark olive | Few or no scales | Lakes and carp fisheries |
| Koi | Bright, patterned reds, oranges, whites, blacks | Varies by variety | Mainly ornamental ponds |
Check for barbels on any pale fish. They separate a carp from goldfish-type fish, which have none. For anything else, the fish identification guide covers UK coarse species side by side.
A ghost mirror differs from a standard mirror carp only in colour, and a ghost leather is a pale leather carp. The scale pattern tells you which carp it is. The colour tells you it is a ghost.
How Big Do Ghost Carp Get in the UK?
Ghost carp over 50lb have been caught in the UK, yet fish of that size are unusual because, according to Angling Times, the strain is not stocked in many lakes.
Angling Times reported a brace of ghost carp weighing 53lb 3oz (24.1kg) and about 51lb from Spooky Pool in Cornwall, a small water holding 18 fish. Mark Caddy caught them on a spinner rig with boilies and pellets. The magazine called it the biggest brace of ghost carp it could recall. Treat those as press-reported weights, not a ratified record.
Most ghosties on day-ticket commercials will be far smaller. As with any carp, size comes down to the water: how many fish share it and how much natural food it holds.
No separate British record listing for ghost carp could be verified for this guide. If you think you have a record fish, check the current carp record rules with the British Record (rod-caught) Fish Committee before the fish goes back.
Judge a ghostie against the other carp in the same lake. A fifty is exceptional anywhere.
Where to Find Ghost Carp
You can fish a lake for a whole season and never see a ghost carp, because they are only where a fishery has put them.
Ghost carp have no natural range. According to Wingham Wildlife Park, they live mainly in commercial fisheries and private collections, and plenty of carp lakes hold none at all. Stockings change, so do not rely on old catch reports.
To find a water that holds them:
- Read fishery websites for stock lists and recent catch reports.
- Look for pale fish in the venue’s social media posts or catch photos.
- Ask the bailiff, or ring the fishery directly.
If you want a ghost carp specifically, pick a venue that publishes catch reports featuring them, and check with the fishery before you travel.
How to Catch Ghost Carp: Use the Fact You Can See Them
Put on polarised glasses and walk a slow lap of the lake before you set up. A pale back is the easiest carp in the water to spot, and that visibility is the one real edge a ghost carp gives you.
Spot first
Walk the margins and look under overhanging trees, along reed lines and in the upper layers on warm, bright days. Spend the first part of the session looking, not fishing. Then pick the method to suit where it patrols.
Surface fishing
Feed floating dog biscuits or mixers little and often until fish are competing for them, then cast. A controller float gives you casting weight, and a soft hooklength helps with wary fish. Hooks around size 10 to 8 are typical, matched to the bait. The surface fishing guide has the full set-up.
Margin stalking
Lay a small bed of pellets or sweetcorn close in. Fish a light lead or a float over it, and lower the bait in only when the ghost is feeding on the spot. The margin fishing guide covers rigs and feeding.
Static methods
A method feeder packed with pellets, or a bolt rig with boilies, catches ghosties as it does any commercial carp.
Standard carp baits all work: boilies, pellets, sweetcorn, bread, tiger nuts, hemp and worms. Tiger nuts must be properly prepared, and some fisheries ban them or nuts in general, so check the fishery rules first.
On busy waters a known ghostie can be the most targeted fish in the lake, and it learns to avoid obvious baits.
Care for it like any carp: an unhooking mat, wet hands and as little time out of the water as possible. Follow the fishery’s rules on sacks and keepnets.
Sight-fishing suits anglers who like to stalk. Skip the surface on cold, windy days, when fish stay deep.
Koi and Ghost Koi in Fisheries: What the Rules Say
A ghost carp in a fishery got there through a permitted stocking. Tipping a garden koi carp into a lake without consent is an offence. These rules apply to England.
Releasing fish. The Environment Agency says releasing ornamental fish such as goldfish and koi into the wild, or moving fish between fisheries without consent, is an offence under the Keeping and Introduction of Fish Regulations 2015. Ornamental fish can carry disease and can interbreed with crucian carp (Environment Agency news release).
Fisheries. A fishery must register with Cefas and hold an Environment Agency site permit listing the species it may stock. Check GOV.UK for the current permit rules.
Keeping. GOV.UK’s non-native fish guidance says keeping common carp needs no non-native fish licence. Koi are not mentioned, so check before stocking a pond.
Fishing for them. You need an Environment Agency rod licence to fish for carp in England. The trout and coarse licence covers up to two rods, and juniors aged 13 to 16 need a free one. See the fishing licence guide and check the current price on GOV.UK.
Close seasons depend on the type of water and local byelaws, so check the fishing seasons guide and the GOV.UK freshwater rod fishing rules. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules: check with Natural Resources Wales, the Scottish Government or DAERA.
Rehome unwanted koi through a koi dealer or aquatic retailer. Never release them.
Frequently asked questions
Are ghost carp a separate species?
No. A ghost carp is a colour form of the common carp, Cyprinus carpio, usually bred by crossing common or mirror carp with metallic koi. Under the colour it feeds, grows and fights like any other carp.
Are ghost carp rare?
Not every carp water holds them, and many lakes have none. Angling Times describes ghost carp over 50lb as unusual because the strain is not stocked in many lakes. Check a venue's stock list or catch reports before you go looking for one.
Do ghost carp fight differently from other carp?
Expect a normal carp fight. Ghost carp are the same species as commons and mirrors, so the colour makes no difference on the rod. Like most hybrids they tend to be vigorous and compete well for food, and a fish's size and condition matter far more than its colour.
Can I put a ghost koi from my pond into a lake?
No. In England, releasing fish into the wild or moving them between fisheries without Environment Agency consent is an offence under the Keeping and Introduction of Fish Regulations 2015. Rehome unwanted koi through a koi dealer or aquatic retailer instead.