Mirror, common and leather
Three coats, one fish. On a common plate the scales run in tidy rows. A mirror plate carries a scatter of big ones, and a leather is nearly bare. All three are Cyprinus carpio, as the Wildlife Trusts point out.
That's why a carp plate has to be right. Our guide to the types of carp also covers linears, fully scaled mirrors and the fish that only share the name.
What each plate gets right
A carp is a deep-bodied, heavy fish, greyish-bronze in colour, with barbels at the mouth. The Wildlife Trusts give its length as 25 to 80 cm and its weight as up to 30 kg. Ours are drawn side on, the way you'd study a fish on the mat, so the whole flank shows.
On the mirror plates, the big scales sit along the back and the lateral line, with bare skin between. On the commons, the rows run unbroken from gill plate to tail root. Check them up close on each product page.
Which carp print for which wall
A carp lies long and low, so most of these plates are wide. They sit well above a sofa. On a narrow wall, one plate framed at A3 looks better than a big canvas squeezed into a space too small for it.
Hanging a few? Match the frames. A mirror, a common and a leather side by side read as one set if they share a frame and a size. Leave a hand's width between them. Our print sizes guide gives every size in millimetres, from the A4 poster at 210 x 297 mm to the 70x100 cm poster.
A print of your own carp
A plate of a mirror is one thing. A print of your mirror is another. Upload your catch photo to print it as it is, or see it in a house style with a free preview first.
Check the scale pattern before you approve anything, because you'll know straight away whether it's your fish or somebody else's. Our catch photo guide helps you pick the right shot, from the flash frames at 3am to the self-take on a timer at dawn.
Poster, framed or canvas
Fine scale detail is the point of a carp plate, so a framed poster shows it best. A slim black or natural wood frame suits the plates and sits close to the wall. Sizes and frame depths are in our print sizes guide.
Canvas is softer. It wraps round a wooden frame and needs no glass, which helps in a bright room. It runs from 30x40 cm up to 60x80 cm. A poster on its own, from A4 to 70x100 cm, is the cheapest way in if you'd rather choose your own frame.
Carp fishing gifts
Buying for a carp angler and not sure which fish they'd want? Go for a mirror if in doubt, because it's the fish most carp anglers talk about. Our carp fishing gifts page goes through the options by budget. Christmas fishing gifts will carry the order-by dates once they're set, and fishing mugs cover the stocking fillers. A mirror mug rarely misses.