Dab at Killoughter Beach.

Quick facts

Mark type

Beach

Skill

Intermediate

Catalogue rank

Secondary target

Why fish Dab at Killoughter Beach

Reputed best Wicklow beach venue. Specimen homelyn, thornback, smoothhound and bullhuss in the catch record.

A shingle beach in the heart of the Greystones-to-Wicklow shingle belt.

Documented in the Eastern Regional Fisheries Board guide as the regard of many anglers as the BEST of all the Wicklow beach venues, the beach turns up quality fish with regularity.

Specimen-class homelyn ray, thornback ray, smoothhound, bullhuss and occasional spurdog have all been recorded here.

Short: Reputed best Wicklow beach venue.

Specimen homelyn, thornback, smoothhound and bullhuss in the catch record.

Clean sandy ground close inshore, often mixed with flounder on Wicklow surf and shingle beaches.

Reputed specimen beach for rays and hounds on spring nights, not a beginner mark.

The Eastern Regional Fisheries Board guide explicitly states 'many anglers regard Killoughter as the best of all the Wicklow beach venues' on the basis that it produces quality fish with regularity.

Specimen-class homelyn ray, thornback, smoothhound and bullhuss are all in the catch record, this is a serious species venue, not a casual beach.

Two practical local notes: (1) the road in is poor, and (2) weed can shut the beach down after onshore wind, one SAI session was abandoned for that reason and turned out to be the wrong call (the weed cleared shortly after).

Pair this mark with Five Mile Point and the Breaches as a Newcastle/Killoughter cluster, the same shingle belt with different micro-features.

Season and tide

On Killoughter Beach the catalogue season for Dab is October to February. Coast-wide, Dab runs Year round (Autumn through spring on clean sand).

Wider mark season notes: Smoothhound: May to October (specimen-class possible), Thornback ray: May to September, Homelyn ray: May to September, Bullhuss: summer evenings (specimen-class), Bass: April to November (peak autumn Sep to Nov), Codling: October to February, Dab: October to February, Flounder: October to March, Spurdog: occasional summer night, Whiting: October to February

Tide guidance for this mark: Falling tide for the shingle-belt pattern. Evening and night sessions for the predator species. Distance casting required for hounds and rays; close-in for codling and flatfish.

Species tide and time pattern: Two hours either side of high water. Any time of day or night.

Catalogue fishable phases: first-flood, mid-flood, high, first-ebb, mid-ebb. Peak phases: mid-flood, first-ebb.

Tactics on this mark

Fish short with two-hook flappers or simple ledgers, occasionally twitching baits along the sand to draw in inquisitive fish during the flood and around high water.

Pulley rig at distance (hounds/rays/huss); Standard flatfish rigs close in; Two-hook flapper

Gear class for this mark: open beach. Facing E. Confidence HIGH.

• Running ledger or two-hook flapper
• Size 2 to 4 hooks, dab have small mouths
• Short hooklinks keep baits on the bottom
• Pulley rig at distance (hounds/rays/huss)
• Standard flatfish rigs close in
• Two-hook flapper

Baits and lures

Dab baits and lures: Ragworm; Lugworm; Harbour ragworm; Sandeel strip.

What this mark typically holds: Hardback green crab (hounds, outlasts peeler against lesser species); Squid (rays); Lugworm (codling/dab); Mackerel head (bullhuss).

Hardback green crab (hounds, outlasts peeler against lesser species); Squid (rays); Lugworm (codling/dab); Mackerel head (bullhuss)

Access and ground

Access via the local road from Newcastle/Ashford direction. The road in is poor, described in SAI session reports as 'potholed' with limited improvement over the years. Small car park at the end. Railway crossing required for some access routes.

Parking: Small car park at end of access road; arrive early on quality conditions.

Safety: Railway crossing required for some access routes, designated points only. Standard shingle-beach safety. Weed can shut the beach down after onshore wind, judge the conditions on arrival.

Nearest tackle: Wicklow town or Greystones tackle shops.

Nearest town: Newcastle. Skill level: Intermediate.

Size and identification

Typical shore size around 100 to 250 g from East Coast beaches; specimen class from about Fish over 400 g are very good shore dabs.

Small oval flatfish, light sandy-brown upper surface with a distinctive curved lateral line above the pectoral fin (the best identification feature). Rough to the touch on the upper surface. Eyes on the right side. Much smaller than plaice or flounder.

Tip: Dab respond well to a moving bait, occasionally retrieve a foot or two and pause. In match fishing, dab are a reliable points scorer and teams actively target them alongside whiting. On quiet sessions when the bigger species aren't showing, a single ragworm on a size 4 Aberdeen is rarely ignored.

Irish shore context: record class around 0.74 kg.

Same-mark companions

Other ranked targets on the same mark include Smoothhound, Thornback ray, Homelyn ray, Bullhuss, Bass, Codling. Open those pair pages or the full mark guide when you want a multi-species session.

Live ranked advice for Killoughter Beach updates on Today's plan. Pair this page with the Dab species guide for coast-wide season bars and conservation detail.

Conservation

No current restrictions; keep only what you’ll eat fresh.

Guide conservation label: No Restrictions.

Confirm current bag limits and closures on the Dab species guide and /learn/rules before retaining fish.

Next steps

Live ranked session advice for this mark sits on today's plan. Rules and bag limits: learn / rules.