A boilie is a boiled bait ball and the most important carp bait, both on the hook and as free offerings. In this group you will find shelf-life boilies as well as freezer and fresh boilies. The choice depends on how long you need to store the bait and how quickly you want it to break down in the water.
Shelf-life boilies are made to keep at room temperature. They are handy on short sessions and long trips when there is no freezer available, and a bag is easy to keep in the car or your tackle bag for an unplanned session.
Freezer and fresh boilies contain fewer preservatives, so they break down faster in the water and release their attraction effectively. They are kept in the freezer and thawed before you go fishing, and many anglers use them for heavy prebaiting.
For baiting, boilies can be fed with a throwing stick, a catapult or a spod. When you fish the same swim over several days, regular baiting with the same boilie teaches the fish to look for it.
Choose the size to suit the target fish and the swim. Smaller boilies get fish feeding more quickly, while larger ones stand up better to the attentions of nuisance fish and crayfish, which is useful when the bait has to last through the night.