Carp Floater Reel?

[Crow]

Saw this on ebay, and wonder...What is a carp floater reel? It's from England, and I know they do lots of carp fishing, but never heard of "carp floater reels".
RETRO DAIWA JUPITER Z 3550 - SPINNING REEL - CARP FLOATER REEL - VGC

[JasonGotaProblem]

A lot of people tend to list things by how they used them even if sometimes they were using it wrong.

[Swami805]

Those the carp guys who keep the maggots in their mouth while baiting their hooks?  That's dedication right there!

[philaroman]

it's a guy who can only catch floaters, selling a cheap crappy reel
just regurgitating terms that are popular in his geographical area

a Carp Float-Rod reel would be something smaller/lighter than a "Big Pit" Carp Reel
same drag & overall strength, but less capacity (not much line out when you hook 'em)
a budget rear-drag Jupiter is decisively NOT IT!!!  one of Fred's 3002/2002 would be ideal, IMHO
as I understand, the Bite Alarm is a rudimentary baitrunner feature that was badly misnamed

[philaroman]

Those the carp guys who keep the maggots in their mouth while baiting their hooks?  That's dedication right there!

mostly, a fairy tale...  few whacko Brits might do it 'cause they like it...  no purpose or dedication, involved

true, common & indicative of dedication:
hardcore Euro Ice fishermen keep F/W bloodworms (midge larvae)
in a moist rag between cheek & gum, ALL DAY!!! 

[JasonGotaProblem]

My question, is there a ton of carp in the UK or just not a lot of other types of fish? It feels like 90% the discussion of UK fishing is centered around carp.

[DougK]

carp in the UK have a mystique. They have been hard-fished for centuries and are spooky and tough to hook. Mostly they are in small ponds with plenty of weed, wood and other snags, so many hookups end in tears.
Salmon and trout were traditionally only for the aristocracy, pike too for many years. So if you were a peasant and wanted to hook a big strong fish, carp was it. Now there are plenty of stocked trout fisheries it's a bit less so, still the carp retains its aura of mystery.. I can recommend the book Confessions of a Carp Fisher by BB for a sense of it.
Further reading here.

[Wompus Cat]

 CARP Fishin Fox
Reel must have FLOATED OFF

[Gfish]

I always thought of trout when it came to UK fishing. I like that one book title: "Carp Life". I was schooled in the USA that carp were undesirable bottom dwelling scavengers, that ate all the eggs of desirable sport fish. But,  I've had my share of fun with them; bait fishing, bow hunting and fly fishing. One of the most fun/difficult battles I've had on a fly fishin' rig was a carp that everyone who came around to see, and myself, thought was a giant Eagle lake Rainbow.

[Shellbelly]

Well, fellas, carp is a fun fish to fight on light tackle.  We used to target them when we took our families camping at Lake Travis.  We couldn't abandon the wives and kids and disappear on the boats all day without getting a serious ration of "neglect" upon return and for a considerable time afterward. 

They are good to eat if you're inclined to bleed them and butcher them correctly.  I'm sure there's a video for that.  I ate one once.

We just (drank beer) weighed, measured, obtained temporary bragging rights and let 'em go.

My son had to inspect them first to make sure we didn't cheat.   

[UKChris1]

I know this one has gone a bit quiet, but the term 'floater' has various meanings 

But seriously, there is a technique for catching carp whereby the bait, such as a piece of bread crust or a dog biscuit, is floating on the surface. Once the carp have got used to slurping down all the free samples, you hope they'll also take your bait with the hook in it. Of course, 99 times out of 100 they actually suck the crust off the hook or ignore the dog biscuit with the hook in it.

The other tricky part is casting a single dog biscuit (the little ones about the size of your thumbnail, not one of those giant bone-shaped things dogs gnaw on) or a lightweight piece of breadcrust without anything else on the line. Ideally, you'll end up with the bait just in the water whilst the line is draped across a lily pad and is therefore less visible to the carp. Actually, there are several floats made to help in this task (I think you US folks call them bobbers).

Alternatively, you hide yourself in the bankside vegetation with just the tip of your rod over the water and lower the bait till it just touches the water in the very margins of the lake. Hold your rod tightly! When a fish does take the bait, it can easily pull your rod in. I've seen it happen several times now!

Almost any reel will do the job. I have used a Mitchell 301 and 411 (I'm left-handed and these reels have worked well for me for over 30 years) and one of several centrepin reels (brilliant fun and a much more direct connection to the fish).

[Midway Tommy]

I know this one has gone a bit quiet, but the term 'floater' has various meanings 

But seriously, there is a technique for catching carp whereby the bait, such as a piece of bread crust or a dog biscuit, is floating on the surface. Once the carp have got used to slurping down all the free samples, you hope they'll also take your bait with the hook in it. Of course, 99 times out of 100 they actually suck the crust off the hook or ignore the dog biscuit with the hook in it.

Did that in the US when I was a kid standing on a bridge and dangling the bread from above. We would chum first with part of a bread slice. The nice thing about doing it that way was the line never touched the water until you hooked a fish. All hell broke loose if you hooked one and he took off in the wrong direction under the bridge.   

[handi2]

I've caught plenty of "chicken dolphin) Mai Mai floating cheese puffs!!