28 Influential Carp Anglers in 2024

Oh, how the power has shifted. Back in the ’90s and early ’00s, it was the magazines that yielded the power—they dedicated what you saw, liked, and, ultimately bought. Then, in the mid-’00s, social media emerged and advertisers had a new outlet to promote their wares. No longer were they held hostage to the publishers—in fact, soon they were to be calling all the shots. But in the last five years, it’s shifted again, this time to those who have built up large online audiences on Instagram and Facebook. Between them, Pitchers, Hamidi, Peck, Blair and Dove almost have a combined audience of 1M! But influence comes in many forms, not just numbers, as you’ll discover from the 28 anglers (in no particular order) we’re paying homage to and thanks to… 

1. Tim Paisley
The godfather of carp-angling media. Tim’s visionary approach to magazines saw his considerable gambles with Carpworld and Carp-Talk pay off. As the long-running editor of the former in a bygone media landscape, his content choices shaped the course of the UK’s carp scene.

2. Julian Cundiff
The most helpful, encouraging man in carp fishing? Quite possibly. Jules represented the time-pressed everyman angler in the print heyday and, now retired, has moved with the times to use social media in a positive way. Whatever the decade, he has always sought to help other anglers better themselves.

3. Tom Dove
Since winning the BYCAC in 2005, Tom’s impact on carp fishing has grown and grown. Now a big cheese at Korda helping develop bestselling tackle, he’s also formed a hugely popular on-screen double act with Neil Spooner and inspired plenty of ITV viewers to reach for some rods.

4. Darrell Peck
If carp angling ever produced an Action Man doll, it would be modelled on Pecky. No task too tough, no water too daunting for the long-casting big man. From smashing Yateley Car Park as a youth to epic French trips and plenty of time in front of the camera, Darrell has done so much in a relatively short space of time.

5. Gary Archer
The ‘Ronnie’ behind the rig we’ve all used, Gary’s low-lying, free-turning pop-up presentation has taken the scene by storm over the last decade. Just think how many big carp and how many dedicated products have come off the back of this one idea.  

6. Chris Yates
Angling’s poet laureate, Yates articulates the beauty of our sport with peerless skill. A Passion for Angling inspired a generation; while his antiquated tackle, THAT pic of his Redmire 50 and a current angling hiatus all add to the mystique. Unimpeachably cool.

7. Kevin Maddocks
A man who’s done it all. Pioneered the hair rig alongside Len Middleton? Tick. Owned Withy Pool? Tick. Ushered in the modern carp era with the 1981 publication of the epoch-defining Carp Fever? Tick. And that barely scratches the surface.

8. Terry Edmonds
In a hobby dominated by intangibles like watercraft and bait theories, Terry has made thousands of anglers better mechanically. As the pre-eminent carp-casting coach, he’s the PE teacher we all wished for and has inspired countless people to take lead chucking seriously.

9. Bryan Houghton
The name might not be familiar to all, but his product is. Inventor of the Spomb, Bryan fundamentally changed the way we bait up and stuck to his belief in the device when it would have been easy to give up.

10. Frank Warwick
He invented the Chod Rig, took the first punt on fluoro hookbaits, was Zig-Rigging before most of us were born and can cast to the moon. And he tells a campfire story like no other. Frank Warwick has been there, done it and got the T-shirt, all while thinking outside the box. 

11. Terry Hearn
Carping’s greatest storyteller has a captivating enthusiasm, an incredible angling mind and a style thousands have tried to emulate. His ever-lengthening CV of captures has kept Tel at the top of the game for nigh on 30 years and his ability to convey ideas, atmosphere and a burning love for fishing strikes a chord with us all.

12. Tom Maker
The day-ticket terminator is the blueprint of a successful modern carp angler. Responsible for some ridiculous big hits yet willing to freely share his knowledge, Tom has turned three-on-a-spot fishing into an art form.

13. Carl Smith
If you’re under 30, Carl is just as important to you as John Wilson or Matt Hayes was to older generations. His YouTube channel tells beautiful, varied stories with a sublime deftness of touch and reaches hundreds of thousands of online anglers.

14. Jim Shelley
A divisive figure but one you’ve all heard of and probably all learned from. Seemingly able to catch from a puddle in all weathers, Uncle Jim is a master tactician whose attention to detail and hunter-like instincts have resonated with so many.

15. Ali Hamidi
A one-man whirlwind who barged into Korda via Sky Sports, looked carp fishing up and down, picked it up by its feet and shook it until it changed its ways. Responsible for much of the current fishing media landscape, whether that be marketing or TV shows. 

16. Mark Simmonds
If you’re reading this, it’s very likely you’ve caught one of Mark ‘Simmo’ Simmonds’ carp. He’s stocked hundreds of waters with his distinctive breed and has helped shape the modern carping landscape.

17. Dave Lane
Author, storyteller and capturer of nigh-on all of the best history fish—Dave hasn’t just ticked all the right boxes when it comes to big-carp fishing—he has very much smelt the roses along the way. Where he once inspired with his catch pics in Carp-Talk, he now does it every week straight into your living room (or bivvy, depending on where you’re watching) with this very successful Inner Circle paid-for channel.

18. Mark Pitchers
Despite being a talented former youth international matchman and equally successful carper, it was Mark Pitchers’ sense of humour and relatability that turned him into the face of 2010s online content. Arguably carping’s first influencer (though he’d hate that phrase), he continues to show just how much fun you can have bankside.

19. Scott Lloyd
Mark Pitchers walked so Scott Lloyd could run. Instagram’s most engaging cheeky chappy has depth far beyond his online persona. A businessman, deep thinker and unstoppable carp-catcher, his photos with the Burghfield Common are already iconic.

20. Adam Penning
One of carp fishing’s greatest communicators, Adam’s words of wisdom are both inspiring and instructional—and delivered in way that makes complex theories accessible to all. He’s also had a huge hand in creating iconic products at ESP, Fox and Korda.

21. Gaz Fareham
A scene is about its collective impact, but if one person is responsible for the way some carpers looked, fished and took photos in the 21st century, it’s got to be Gareth. His Subsurface brand is the bible for all things atmospheric in the modern carp world.

22. Kevin Nash
What hasn’t he done? Invented the lead clip, created the first 60-inch oval brolly, and then completely changed the bivvy game with the Titan. He also began the whole big-pit-reel trend by importing surf-casting reels from Japan.

23. Dave Chilton
If you’ve ever used a coated braid with a peelable outer coating, then you have this man to thank. The Kryston boss took inspiration from some discarded tennis racket strings and created Snake-Skin and Snake-Bite to change the way we create rigs forever.

24. Danny Fairbrass
It’s difficult to understate Danny’s impact in the last quarter of a century. Product design, distribution, media, packaging, venues—Korda and Embryo have re-written the rulebook on all these things under DF’s guidance. He’s also raised crucial awareness around skin cancer and, fundamentally, made carp fishing more accessible to all.

25. Del Romang
Every carp angler has heard a Delkim alarm scream. The idea for the revolutionary and unique vibration-sensing buzzers came to Del in a dream about a record-player stylus (no, really!), and the resultant product changed bite indication overnight. 

26. Rob Hughes
Dynamic, ambitious, hard-working and well-connected—Rob Hughes has pushed carp angling forward on various levels, whether he’s in a wetsuit or in Downing Street. From media output to international competitions, via politics and product design, there aren’t many roles in the industry he hasn’t fulfilled.

27. Kev Knight
The Mainline Bait boss created the Ford Model T of the boilie world when his firm released the Cell more than two decades ago. Easily the most popular readymade bait of all time, its impact was enormous, yet Mainline is much more than a one-trick pony and the brand continues to innovate.

28. Alan Blair
There is no one in angling—carp or otherwise‚ with the energy and drive of Alan Blair. He’s the man who popularised urban carp fishing and ultimately became the face of Urban and Euro Banx. He’s launched a thousand Nash products—and you need to thank him if you’re using 6 to 9ft rods now—and had the ‘loveliest of times’, all with a DnB soundtrack and barely any sleep!