Approach

The best way to approach floater fishing is to build the fishes confidence by not casting in too soon. You must keep introducing free offerings till you get the fish feeding confidently that they wont mind you casting a controller out. Also this encourages other carp to join in .Its not easy to hold back and wait while the fish are feeding but this means that you can try and select a bigger carp.
For if you hook a carp in amongst feeding fish there is a great explosion as all the fish are scared off . It may take a while to get the fishes confidence back so you dont want to waste the chance on a smaller fish. Sometimes it may seem that some people are lucky in the size of fish they catch.
With this technique you can be more selective about the size of fish you catch . I tend to pull the bait away from the mouth of a fish if i think its a smaller one. This tends to spook the fish (but only a little if you do it slowly !).This is why you need to get the fish confident so you are always in control of the situation. With floater fishing it is best to watch the bait rather than the controller as you will be able to strike quicker.
At range if you cant see the bait always try and wait for the line to move before you strike as you dont want to spook the fish for no reason . You may get a lot of swirling around the hookbait if the fish are not very confident . You must have nerves of steel and the patience of a saint to avoid striking before you get a "real" take. That moment of excitement is well worth waiting for !

Tackle Needed

The sort of tackle needed for floater fishing depends on the situation but i would tend to go for a 11-12ft through action rod of about 2 pound test curve. You need a rod that will cushion the initial take from the fish . The first run can be stunning in its speed and power.The line size depends on surrounding conditions. If there are lots of trees and snags in the water nearby, you may need to bully the fish away from these so 12-15 breaking strain would be about right Try to use a line with lots of stretch as this will adsorb a lot of the power of the fish. If conditions allow use a lighter breaking strain , especially for the hooklength as this is less likely to turn the carp away.

Hook size and pattern are important , dont go any larger than a size six , as anything else will be too heavy for your floating buscuit plus the carp may be able to see and feel it and spit the bait out. One pattern to use are Drennan Super specialist size six or eight . Dont be frightened to use small hooks as they have a smaller gape and are really strong. You can use a standard reel as long as it has a good drag (clutch). The Controller can be made out of pike floats or you can use a bubble float half filled with water to add casting weight without sinking.

Conclusions

Floater fishing for carp in the UK is very strange in that some waters are "floater waters" and others are not . This means that at some waters the carp are not very responsive to floating baits where others they get caught all the time. It is possible to catch carp off the top at most waters but at some its very hard to be consistent. Some anglers in the UK use floater fishing method to exception of all others.There is no doubt that floater fishing is one of the most exciting ways of catching carp . There is nothing like the excitement of watching a big carp approach your bait . Floater fishing can be considered as another method that can be used when the situation arises. Floater fishing can turn a bad day into a good day.