SPECIMEN CARP: ‘Two Tone’ grows 4 kg in only 3 months

WORDS: Shanin Weir  IMAGES: Supplied

Laurentia Dam near Krugersdorp on the West Rand is well known for many famous fish that over the years were sought after by visiting anglers, eagerly wanting to have their names and faces posted while posing with the ‘legends’ of the venue, such as Scarface, Tony, Buhlah, Vodacom, Flash Gordon, Apples, Italy, Lourens, Sunshine, Garfield, Richard, Amber, Crinkle Cut, PineApples, Darkie, Blancmange, Smarties, the list goes on.

And over the years this desire has never faded, simply because the description ‘Specimen Angler’ in part means an angler who is targeting a Specific Fish, or a Specimen that he or she has targeted. It is therefore such a joy to hear an angler arrive at the dam and declare, “this session I am targeting ‘Apples’” and then out of the hundreds of fish present in the dam it so happens that he or she indeed catches THAT specific fish! The smile on the face of the successful angler is always priceless!

 From a dam management perspective, the catches of named fish is used as a measure of how well the general population of resident fish is doing. For example, if ‘Vodacom’ was caught last year at 9 kg and again this year at 11 kg, it proves that the fish are growing, which in turn is a sure indicator that there is an ample food supply and that the ecology of the dam is favourable for the fish in it, and of course also that fish management is sound.

One fish in particular has recently been doing exceptionally well, namely a fish named ‘ Two-Tone’. The name derives from the two distinct colours that run the length of its body, greyish on top and white underneath. It changes to a greenish hue at times, but the difference in colour is very distinct along the entire body.

 First caught back in 2012 by Ronnie Foster at around 6 kg it grew to around 9 kg within two years. Two-Tone went ‘off the hook’ for several years and was then caught again at around 12 kg. It was still growing, which was good news, eventually becoming quite regularly caught weighing between 14 – 15 kg for many years. Then all of a sudden Two-Tone went from 15 kg to 19 kg within just three months. It was unbelievable ! How could a fish that regularly grew a few kilos every year, suddenly within a few months put on 4 kg!

Yes, there are international strains out there that grow exceptionally well, we all know that, but that growth rate starts at birth and continues throughout their life cycle as a given fact. This is ONE fish that suddenly started eating steroids! We’re all looking forward to seeing how far this growth rate continues with Two-Tone, which currently weighed just over 19 kg when captured this year by Henti Joubert.

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