Field notes
Tactics, gear, and guides for Wicklow shore anglers. Written from the marks between Greystones and Arklow.
48 articles · Wicklow coast · Updated regularly
Good · SSE 4 km/h · Swell 0.2m
Today's planFeatured
Featured
Every shore mark worth fishing in Co. Wicklow, what swims there and when. Beaches, piers and rock marks from Bray to Arklow with tides and access notes.
9 min read · sea fishing Wicklow
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KEEP LEARNING
Articles explain the why. Today's plan ranks the marks when conditions line up.
Species
Where to catch bass on the Wicklow coast in 2026: the beaches and rock marks that produce, the baits and lures that work, and the tides to fish them on.
8 MIN · BASS
Species
Smoothhound from Irish east coast beaches, May to October (peak June to August). Peeler crab rigs, evening flood tides and Wicklow sand marks that produce hard-fighting double-figure fish.
6 MIN · SMOOTHHOUND
Beginners
Start shore fishing in Ireland with one rod, one rig and a safe beach mark. Honest gear, bait and tide advice for your first sessions on the Wicklow coast.
10 MIN · BEGINNERS
Seasonal
What is worth catching on the Wicklow coast every month of 2026, from spring plaice to autumn tope. Species, peak windows and local timing in one calendar.
7 MIN · SEASONAL
Species
Winter flounder on Irish beaches, October to March. Estuary mouths, short casts, ragworm ledger rigs and the flood tides that put flatfish at your feet.
6 MIN · FLOUNDER
Tactics
Bass from Irish harbour piers and walls: where fish hold, dawn and dusk tides, lures and baits that work on Greystones, Wicklow and east coast piers.
6 MIN · BASS
Tactics
How to find, identify, prepare and fish peeler crab, the bait Irish bass and smoothhound cannot ignore. Where to collect it and how to keep it fresh.
6 MIN · PEELER CRAB
Tactics
Fish feed harder after dark on Irish beaches. The species worth targeting at night, the Wicklow marks that fish best, and the gear and safety rules that matter.
7 MIN · NIGHT FISHING
Tactics
Three rigs cover almost every Irish shore session: running ledger, pulley and paternoster. When to use each, how to tie them, and the sizes that work.
7 MIN · FISHING RIGS
Spots
Every shore mark worth fishing in Co. Wicklow, what swims there and when. Beaches, piers and rock marks from Bray to Arklow with tides and access notes.
9 MIN · SEA FISHING WICKLOW
Species
Land tope from the Irish shore: autumn beach marks, whole mackerel baits and night spring tides. Kilcoole to Wicklow tactics from late September through November.
8 MIN · TOPE
Spots
Brittas Bay fishes best from late May: bass and smoothhound on the evening flood. Where to park, where to cast and the baits that work on the sand.
7 MIN · BRITTAS BAY
Tactics
The bass lures that consistently produce from Irish beaches and piers: soft plastics, surface lures and metals, plus the colours and retrieves for each.
8 MIN · BASS LURES
Species
Are the mackerel in yet? When they run in Ireland, the best piers and rock marks to catch them, and the feather rig that works. Wicklow coast conditions updated daily.
7 MIN · MACKEREL FISHING IRELAND
Species
Wrasse hold tight to Irish rock and kelp from April to October, peaking June to August. The marks, crab baits and soft plastic tactics that winkle them out.
7 MIN · WRASSE FISHING IRELAND
Spots
Wicklow Head is the county's best rock mark: pollack, wrasse and mackerel from May to August. The three platforms, how to reach them, and what to throw.
7 MIN · WICKLOW HEAD
Spots
The 10 best shore fishing spots in Wicklow, ranked. What each mark produces, when it fishes best, and the parking and access notes for every one.
9 MIN · FISHING SPOTS WICKLOW
Species
Dogfish Ireland shore guide: year-round sport on Wicklow beaches when little else bites. Simple rigs, strip baits and how to unhook them safely at night.
6 MIN · DOGFISH
Species
Whiting arrive on Irish beaches in October and feed hard after dark until February. The marks, two-hook rigs and mackerel strip baits that fill a winter session.
7 MIN · WHITING FISHING IRELAND
Species
Coalfish or pollack? Quick ID for Irish shore anglers, then the Wicklow pier and rock marks, lures and baits that catch both from late May through summer.
7 MIN · COALFISH
Seasonal
Wicklow beaches keep producing all winter: whiting, flounder, dab and codling. The marks that fish in a blow, the rigs to use and the gear that keeps you out.
8 MIN · WINTER FISHING IRELAND
Tactics
Ragworm catches almost everything on the Irish shore. Where to buy or dig it, how to keep it alive for days, and how to hook king rag and harbour rag properly.
6 MIN · RAGWORM
Spots
Where to fish in Greystones: the harbour pier and South Beach. What each produces from late May and how to fish them.
7 MIN · GREYSTONES FISHING
Beginners
The safety rules that keep Irish shore anglers alive: reading swell on rock marks, the night fishing checklist, and exactly what to do if someone goes in.
6 MIN · FISHING SAFETY
Species
Grey mullet ignore everything most anglers throw at them. The groundbait, bread flake and float tactics that actually catch them in Irish harbours and estuaries.
7 MIN · MULLET FISHING IRELAND
Beginners
The shore fishing gear worth buying for Irish beaches and what to skip: rod, reel, line and terminal tackle at three honest budgets, from first session to serious.
7 MIN · FISHING GEAR IRELAND
Seasonal
The Wicklow coast wakes up in spring: plaice from March, bass and garfish from April, smoothhound and mackerel by late May. What to target and where, month by month.
7 MIN · SPRING FISHING IRELAND
Beginners
No sea fishing licence needed in Irish tidal waters. Bass bag limits, minimum sizes and the one permit that does apply, explained for shore anglers in 2026.
5 MIN · SEA FISHING LICENCE IRELAND
Seasonal
Summer 2026 on the Wicklow shore: bass catchable Apr to Nov (peak Sep to Nov), plus smoothhound, mackerel and wrasse. Local marks, tides by ground type, and links to live conditions and today's plan.
7 MIN · SUMMER FISHING IRELAND
Tactics
Sandeel is the summer bait Irish bass and pollack are already eating. How to catch fresh sandeel, fish frozen launce properly and rig both so they swim right.
6 MIN · SANDEEL BAIT
Species
Squid are a real autumn target from Irish piers now. When the run starts, the egi jigs and technique that catch them, and how to cook what you land.
7 MIN · SQUID
Tactics
Eging is simple once someone shows you the rhythm: dart, sink, watch the line. The full technique for Irish piers, from jig choice to detecting the take.
6 MIN · EGING
Species
Garfish on float tackle from Irish harbour piers, April to September. Greystones and Wicklow float rigs, mackerel strip baits and calm-evening tactics for summer sport.
7 MIN · GARFISH
Species
Catch pollack from Irish pier walls and rock marks, May to September. Wicklow Head Long Rock and Greystones lures, jigs and tide windows for hard kelp-fighting sport.
7 MIN · POLLOCK
Species
Irish plaice from March to July on clean Wicklow sand. Beaded flapper rigs, ragworm baits and the beach marks where spotted flatfish feed close in.
7 MIN · PLAICE
Tactics
The biggest bass on Irish beaches feed after dark, close in. The night tactics, marks and bait approach that out-fish daytime sessions, plus the safety rules.
7 MIN · BASS
Spots
Wicklow Town has pier, harbour and rock fishing all within a walk of the car. The marks, what each produces through the year, and where to start in 2026.
8 MIN · WICKLOW TOWN
Tactics
The shore rods actually worth buying in Ireland for 2026: beachcaster, spinning and float picks at each budget, tested on Irish marks, with what to avoid.
8 MIN · SHORE FISHING ROD
Tactics
When to fish flood vs ebb on Wicklow beaches and rock marks. Read tide tables, plan spring vs neap sessions and match the tide state to your mark.
7 MIN · TIDES
Species
Are the mackerel in yet on the Wicklow coast? June opens the run, July and August peak. Piers and headlands, feather tactics and a responsible take.
8 MIN · MACKEREL
Species
Three pollack per day from 1 June 2026, then catch and release. What the 2026 bye-law means on Wicklow rock marks and how to stay legal shore fishing.
6 MIN · POLLACK
Seasonal
What is in season on the Wicklow shore right now: mackerel, bass, smoothhound, wrasse and garfish, with the marks and tactics for each through June and July.
7 MIN · SUMMER FISHING
Seasonal
Late August into autumn on the Wicklow shore: whiting nights building, flounder, autumn bass, tope on October springs, with marks and night tactics for September and October.
7 MIN · AUTUMN FISHING
Beginners
Irish bass rules for 2026: catch-and-release only 1 Feb to 31 Mar (Irish Sea / EU ICES 7a), no angling 15 May to 15 June, two per 24 hours at 42cm when retention is allowed.
5 MIN · BASS RULES
Beginners
The 2026 pollack bye-law explained for shore anglers: three pollack per day from 1 June 2026, then catch and release. Applies to boat and shore.
5 MIN · POLLACK RULES
Beginners
Which Irish sea species have statutory minimum landing sizes, which rely on voluntary catch and release, and how to measure fish correctly from the shore.
6 MIN · MINIMUM SIZES
Species
Whiting on Wicklow beaches from October to February: Kilcoole, the Murrough, Greystones South and Brittas tide windows, night tactics and the rigs that catch on sand.
7 MIN · WHITING
Tactics
Black lug on Wicklow beaches: where to dig on open sand, protected marks to avoid, named bait shops in Greystones, Wicklow town and Arklow, and how to keep worm fresh for whiting sessions.
7 MIN · LUGWORM