A Summer Surprise

As I moved the fish closer to the net, I thought I had a small common.  But, after netting and reaching in the net to unhook the fish, I noticed this was not a common carp.  In fact, it was not a carp at all.  It was a wild hybrid goldfish.  I had caught only a few in the past, and this certainly came as a surprise as it was my first of this year.
Wild hybrid goldfish look a lot like a small common, but there are differences.  First off, they have a straight mouth with no barbels under the chin.  Their scales tend to be smaller and really golden.  This one had a dark back, something I had not seen in the others I had caught.  They also tend to have specks of red or orange on their bodies.  They are quite beautiful. This one was about a foot long but real chunky.  In the past I have caught them up to about 4 lbs.
They hit the same baits as carp and can be found in the same waters.I suspect others have caught them and think they have a small common.