Controller Fishing
Controller fishing can be one of the most frustrating forms of fishing, but with a bit of perseverance and hours and hours of practice you can re
ally make a serious edge of it. Believe me it’s worth it. Over the last 3 years I have been fortunate enough to have landed 8 different 30lb carp on controller tactics.
(Nene valley 33+ caught
using controller tactics)
There are so many factors that make this style so tricky. Feeding been the first. Feeding a little and often tactic seems the key because you always need to have baits drifting through the areas of water your targeting. Surface patrolling carp often move around in small groups, and it’s a case of been patient and waiting until a few fish drift through the area. If the fish are interested, they tend to circle the freebees and almost dare each other to take one. Eventually the fish should start hitting mixers in the safety of their group. You need to try and keep in contact with them, and present half a dozen or so mixers with a catapult well ahead of their path. You can now gauge how up for it they are. Often, you’ll find larger carp milling about picking odd mixers that has strayed away, so keep your eyes on the whole area. So many different opinions have been written about when you 
should cast at them. A lot say you should keep feeding them and feeding them and gain there confidence before casting. Personally I don’t muck about for to long. 2 or 3 pings with a catty, and as long as they’re having the ones that landed in their path I’ll present a hook bait with the next pouch. Hook baits wise, I use a whittled down popup tipped with a slice of cork ball to balance the bait upright and make my hook bait more visual. (The power of floater fishing, 35lb and 24lb)
The controlled end of the set up usually involves a drennan controller float and 12lb drennan double strength as mainline and hook link. I simply thread a float stop up the mainline, then the controller, and then tie on a size 11 swivel with a 4-turn grinner. The red foam in the picture was pierced with scissors and threaded on to eye of the controller before it was threaded onto the mainline. This was used to make the float more visible in chopp
y water. The hook link and is tied to the size 8 esp. hook using a 14 turn knotless knot, and fished about 6ft behind the controller. The hook link is tied to the swivel using a 4-turn grinner again. This is the most affective presentation I’ve used for good hook holds. This is important when you’re hard in fight with a surface hooked specimen. (Standard controller presentation)
Now you know the set up you’ll need to learn the technique needed to cast this without it tangling. Try to always overcast your target and feather the cast to kick your hook bait ahead of the float just before it impacts the water. It sounds easy, but it’s not when your shaking like a shitting dog, trying to get it to a massive Pac man slurping every bait in its path. Only a week ago I was lucky enough to land 4 big carp in a day on a hard Northampton water under these circumstances. Believe me I missed twice the amount I hooked. The fish I had went, 31lb common. 22 mirror, 24, common and a 35.14 com
mon. A new Pb common.
(The Golden Common
at over 35lbs)
The set up and hook baits in the pictures below are exa
ctly the same as what I used on this red-letter day. The rod I use is a century fat boy slim in 2.75tc. I use this rod for the bigger weedier pits that hold carp to over 40lb. On a more commercial venue when 20lb fish is the target, and the swims are more angler friendly, I use a free spirit surface rod, which has a lovely soft playing action. Reel wise I use a Shimano 8000 bait runner. This feels balanced with most rods. That about covers controller work in brief.
Safe and Peace. The Burping angler.