Carp know-how

Boilies: types, sizes and how to make them

Boilies are boiled paste baits made from meals, proteins and egg that leak attraction slowly and stay on the hook for hours. Pick the type and size for the lakebed, the season and the water, and with a little practice you can roll your own.

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What you need

Sinking boilies (bottom baits) for feed and hookbaits
Pop-ups that float off the bottom, for light weed and silt
Wafters: balanced hookbaits that sink very slowly
Hair rig, baiting needle and boilie stops
Throwing stick or catapult for feeding
To make your own: base mix, four eggs per batch, liquid attractors, mixing bowl, fork and a sealable bag (one example recipe uses about 25 tablespoons of base mix to four eggs)
Bait gun and rolling table for even sizes, a saucepan, kitchen towel or an air-dry tray

Step by step

Check your licence, permit and the fishery rules first, including whether boilies and loose feed are allowed on the water.
Choose the type for the bottom: bottom baits over firm, clean ground, pop-ups over light weed or silt, wafters when you want the hookbait to fly into the mouth of a cautious carp.
Match bait to hook. A common rule of thumb is 10 to 12mm with a size 10, 15mm with a size 8 and 18 to 20mm with a size 6.
Thread the boilie onto the hair with a baiting needle and lock it with a stop. The bait sits off the back of the hook, moves naturally, and the hook usually takes hold in the bottom lip.
Before casting, lower the rig into the margin or a bucket of lake water and watch how it settles. A wafter should sink slowly and only just stay down.
Making your own: mix the dry base mix thoroughly, for example by shaking it in a bag with air in it. Whisk four eggs with the liquid attractors so the flavour spreads evenly.
Add the powder to the eggs a little at a time, never the other way round: first with a fork, then by hand, until the paste no longer sticks to your fingers. Leave it in a bag for about five minutes.
Gun or hand-roll the paste into sausages and roll them into balls. Boil for around a minute, or until they float, to form a tough skin.
Dry the baits on kitchen towel or an air-dry tray, for example for 24 hours, then freeze them. Without preservatives they must go in the fridge or freezer.

Common mistakes

Piling bait into the margins: a handful of 10mm boilies there is often a better presentation than a kilo of 20mm baits.
Believing big baits mean big fish: larger boilies cast further and keep bream and tench off, nothing more.
Storing freezer baits warm: without preservatives they go off and must be kept chilled or frozen.
Using bright pop-ups all year: by summer the carp have seen hi-viz baits for months, so a pop-up that matches your feed often works better.
Pouring liquid attractors straight into the powder when making your own: add them to the eggs first, or they will not spread evenly through the paste.

Tips

In winter and spring, bright, high-flavour pop-ups often score because they catch the attention of cruising fish. White, pink and orange are proven colours.
Snowman: a small hi-viz pop-up on a drab bottom bait gives a visible, balanced hookbait. Two half boilies mounted back to back on the hair are harder for carp to eject.
For wafters, add a handful of cork dust to the dry mix. For pop-ups, mould the paste around a cork ball.
A splash of fish oil, around 10 to 20ml, makes the paste easier to roll and adds attraction.
Fish you return (where the rules allow or require it) go on a wet unhooking mat. Fish you keep should be stunned and killed straight away.

Check the rules

Size limits, closed seasons, night fishing and aids such as bait boats are set by the local rules and the fishery. Carp rules in the overview

Quick answers

How long do you boil boilies?

Around a minute is enough to form a tough skin, and many anglers boil until the baits float. Then dry them and freeze them.

What is the difference between a pop-up and a wafter?

A pop-up floats and sits above the lakebed, which helps over weed or silt. A wafter is close to neutral buoyancy: the hook weight pulls it down slowly, it rests very lightly and rises into a feeding carp's mouth quickly.

Shelf-life or freezer boilies?

Shelf-life boilies contain preservatives and keep at room temperature for a long time. Freezer baits have none and must be chilled or frozen. Many anglers rate them as more attractive, but that is debated.

What size boilie should I use?

Boilies range from about 8mm micro baits to 40mm. Small 10 to 12mm baits are popular in winter and for wary fish, while big baits cast further and put off nuisance fish.

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Last checked 2026-10-25. Found a mistake? Write to [email protected].

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