Cod at The Breaches, Kilcoole.

Quick facts

Mark type

Beach

Skill

Intermediate

Catalogue rank

Seasonal

Why fish Cod at The Breaches, Kilcoole

Kilcoole shingle-belt outflow under the rail bridge. Under-targeted specimen mullet; flounder, sea trout and bass at the same channel.

Marsh gullies and mountain streams from the Kilcoole shingle belt meet the sea under a railway bridge, on older maps marked as 'The Breaches'.

This is ERFB Site 23, not the Broad Lough / Vartry system at Wicklow (Site 28 Broadlough on the Murrough), which lies about 12 km south.

The single most under-targeted specialist mark on this stretch of coast, the Eastern Regional Fisheries Board guide explicitly notes mullet 'well over the specimen weight of 5 lb' present, with 'little attempt to catch them'.

Flounder concentrate at the freshwater interface; sea trout pass through on their run; bass at dawn/dusk on the outlet.

Deep harbour channels, pier-wall snags and the Greystones to Wicklow shingle belt in winter, anywhere young cod gather around tidal flow and coloured water after a blow. Codling is the usual Wicklow shore size class, not a separate target species here.

Kilcoole outflow specialist mark, specimen mullet and flounder, groundbait and finesse tactics required.

The Eastern Regional Fisheries Board guide points straight at this mark (Site 23): 'Some of these fish appear to be well over the specimen weight of 5 lbs but to date there has been little attempt to catch them.

Time spent fishing for both of these species may be well rewarded'.

Two tactical points: (1) the pool BEHIND the rail line is sheltered from open-sea conditions and fishes on days the open beach is unfishable; (2) flounder concentrate at the freshwater/saltwater interface at all tides, not just slack, this is reliable winter fishing.

Season and tide

At The Breaches, Kilcoole, Cod is worth targeting in Seasonal on this mark. Coast-wide, Cod runs October to December (peaks November to December on night tides at piers and shingle marks. Most Wicklow shore fish are young cod, or codling, rather than larger specimens.).

Wider mark season: Grey mullet: May to October (specimen-class possible), Flounder: year round at freshwater interface, Sea trout: July to October, Bass: April to November (peak autumn Sep to Nov; outlet at dawn/dusk), Dab: October to February

Tide guidance here: Mullet move into the pool behind the bridge on the flood and back out on the ebb, both windows fish the channel. Bass at the outlet on the flooding tide at dawn or dusk. Flounder concentrate at the freshwater/saltwater interface throughout the tide.

Night sessions on piers and the shingle belt from late autumn through winter. Wicklow Town Pier fishes the channel flow windows, and Bray Harbour produces on the fill and through the night on the outer wall. Check the mark before committing to one tide rule.

Fishable phases: first-flood, mid-flood, high, first-ebb, mid-ebb. Peak: mid-flood, first-ebb.

Tactics on this mark

Run strong ledger or pulley rigs with worm or crab cocktails after dark. Wicklow Town Pier fishes the last two hours of ebb and the first of flood in the channel, while Bray Harbour produces on the first two hours of the fill plus night sessions on the outer wall for codling and dabs. On Kilcoole and Greystones South the shingle belt favours a falling-tide edge for general fishing, but check the mark before committing to one tide rule.

Float-fished bread or flake (mullet, specialist technique); Light ledger with worm or crab close in (flounder); Surface lures or sub-surface plugs at the outlet (bass); Single-handed fly (sea trout)

Gear: vertical drop. Facing E.

• Strong ledger or pulley rigs with worm or crab cocktails
• Fish after dark, when codling are most active
• Scale your hook and bait size to the mark you are fishing
• Float-fished bread or flake (mullet, specialist technique)
• Light ledger with worm or crab close in (flounder)
• Surface lures or sub-surface plugs at the outlet (bass)
• Single-handed fly (sea trout)

Baits and lures

Cod baits and lures: Lugworm; Ragworm; Crab baits; Mackerel and squid cocktails.

What this mark typically holds: Bread/flake (mullet); Ragworm; Peeler crab; Small lures (bass/sea trout).

Bread/flake (mullet); Ragworm; Peeler crab; Small lures (bass/sea trout)

Access and ground

Long walk in from either Kilcoole (north) or Newcastle (south). The railway bridge with the freshwater channel is the singular landmark. No road access mid-beach. The pool behind the rail line is sheltered from open-sea conditions and fishes when the open beach does not.

Parking: Limited; Kilcoole station or Newcastle area as starting points.

Safety: SAC/SPA wetland, quiet behaviour required, bird sensitivities apply. Fast-flowing channel at peak ebb, never wade across. Long walk in, no facilities, patchy mobile coverage.

Nearest tackle: Wicklow town or Greystones tackle shops; specialist mullet bread/groundbait is BYO.

Nearest town: Newcastle. Skill level: Intermediate.

Size and identification

Typical shore size around 1 to 3 lb codling-class fish from pier channels and shingle beaches; specimen class from about Fish over 5 lb are notable from the shore on this coast.

Robust cod family profile: barbel on the chin, three dorsal fins, two anal fins, lateral line curving above the pectoral fin. Shore fish are usually codling-sized and can overlap with coalfish and pollack in poor light, use barbel, fin count and mouth shape.

Tip: Most Wicklow shore cod are young fish, or codling, so take conservation and size rules seriously and watch for the coloured-water windows after a blow.

Irish shore context: record class around See the IFI records. Most Wicklow shore fish are young cod, or codling..

Same-mark companions

Other ranked targets on the same mark include Grey mullet, Flounder, Bass, Sea trout, Dab. Open those pair pages or the full mark guide when you want a multi-species session.

Live ranked advice for The Breaches, Kilcoole updates on Today's plan. Pair this page with the Cod species guide for coast-wide season bars and conservation detail.

Conservation

Stocks fluctuate; keep only smaller eating fish and return larger spawners where possible.

Guide conservation label: Bag Limit Applies.

Confirm current bag limits and closures on the Cod 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.