Learn · Glossary
Shore fishing, translated.
46 terms you will meet on this site and on the beach, explained in plain English. No jargon left unexplained.
Terms
Tides and sea.
- Spring tide
- The bigger tides around new and full moon: highest highs, lowest lows, strongest currents. Big tides move more bait and often fish better.
- Neap tide
- The smaller tides around the quarter moons. Less range, weaker currents, easier to hold bottom with lighter leads.
- Flood tide
- The rising tide, from low water up to high water. On many marks the first two hours of the flood are the most productive window.
- Ebb tide
- The falling tide, from high water down to low water. Some Wicklow shingle beaches fish best on the ebb.
- Slack water
- The short pause in current around high and low water. Flatfish often bite well at slack; most other species prefer moving water.
- High water / low water (HW / LW)
- The top and bottom of the tide. Tide tables list HW and LW times per station; Wicklow runs about 18 minutes ahead of Dublin Port.
- Tidal range
- The height difference between high and low water on a given tide. Bigger range means stronger flow.
- Swell
- Waves generated by distant wind, measured in metres. Even on a calm day, leftover swell can make rock marks dangerous.
- Onshore wind
- Wind blowing from the sea onto the land. On the east-facing Wicklow coast an easterly is onshore: it stirs the surf and often switches beach fishing on.
- Offshore wind
- Wind blowing from the land out to sea. Flattens the surf, helps casting distance, but often means quieter beach fishing.
Terms
Rigs and tackle.
- Beachcaster
- A long rod, usually 12 to 15ft, built to cast weights of 4oz and up from beach or rock and hold line above the surf.
- Fixed spool reel
- The standard beginner-friendly reel: the spool stays still and a rotating arm wraps line onto it. Sizes 6000 to 8000 suit Wicklow beach work.
- Mainline
- The line filling your reel, typically 15lb mono for beach fishing. Everything else ties to it.
- Shock leader
- A short length of much heavier line (around 60lb) between mainline and rig. It absorbs the force of the cast so the lead cannot snap off. Never cast heavy leads without one.
- Snood
- The short length of line carrying the hook, tied off the main rig body. Also called a hooklink.
- Rig body
- The heavier backbone of a rig (often 60lb mono) that the snoods, swivels and lead clip attach to.
- Grip lead
- A casting weight with wire spikes that dig into sand and hold your bait still in surf and tide. Breakaway versions release the wires on the retrieve.
- Plain bomb
- A smooth casting weight with no grip wires. Rolls with the tide, useful in slack water or when you want the bait to move.
- Running ledger
- The simplest rig: the lead slides freely on the line so a taking fish feels no resistance. The first rig to learn.
- Pulley rig
- A rig where lead and hook share one line through a pulley bead. Protects big baits on the cast and helps lift fish clear of rough ground.
- Flapper rig
- A paternoster-style rig with snoods that flap freely in the tide. The everyday choice for whiting, dabs and flounder.
- Paternoster
- Any rig with the lead at the bottom and hooks on snoods above it. Presents baits just off the seabed.
- Clipped down
- A rig with bait clips that pin the hooks against the rig body in flight, cutting drag for longer casts. The clips release when the rig hits the water.
- Rotten bottom
- A weak link attaching the lead so that if it snags in rough ground, only the lead is lost, not the whole rig and fish.
- Disgorger
- A simple tool for removing hooks quickly and cleanly. Carry one from your first session.
Terms
Bait and lures.
- Ragworm
- The most reliable all-round shore bait on the Wicklow coast. Buy fresh from tackle shops and use within a couple of days.
- Lugworm
- A soft burrowing worm, deadly for flatfish, whiting and codling. Dug from muddy sand or bought fresh.
- Peeler crab
- A shore crab caught just before it sheds its shell. The top bait for smoothhound and a strong spring bass bait. Secure it with bait elastic.
- Sandeel
- A slim baitfish used fresh or frozen, and imitated by many lures. Strong for bass, pollack and ray.
- Mackerel strip
- A cut strip of fresh mackerel. Catches almost everything, and you can catch the mackerel yourself from a pier in summer.
- Feathers
- A string of small lures jigged from piers and rocks for mackerel, both for sport and to stock up on bait.
- Soft plastic
- A flexible rubber lure (paddle tail, shad or worm shape) fished on a weighted jig head. The modern bass lure staple.
- Eging
- Squid fishing with shrimp-shaped jigs called egi. An autumn method on east coast piers, including Greystones Harbour.
Terms
Marks and ground.
- Mark
- A named fishing spot: a stretch of beach, a pier, or a rock platform. This site maps twenty Wicklow marks.
- Clean ground
- Seabed of sand or shingle with little to snag on. You can fish grip leads and fine rigs without losing gear.
- Rough ground
- Seabed with rock, kelp and snags. Holds wrasse and conger but eats tackle: fish pulley rigs and rotten bottoms.
- Mixed ground
- Patches of sand between rock and weed. Often the most productive ground, fish it with snag-resistant rigs.
- Gully
- A deeper channel or trench in the seabed, often visible at low water. Fish follow gullies as the tide floods, so casting into one beats casting past it.
- Shingle
- Steep banks of pebbles, like the beaches around Greystones and the Murrough. Deeper water close in, so long casts are not always needed.
Terms
Fish and rules.
- Schoolie
- A juvenile bass, usually well under the legal minimum size. Handle gently and return quickly, they are the future stock.
- Codling
- A young cod. The winter target on Wicklow beaches from October onwards.
- Flatfish
- The flounder, dab, plaice and sole family. Reliable beach species, often feeding close in at slack water.
- In season / peak
- When a species is present on this coast, and when it is at its most catchable. The seasons calendar tracks both month by month.
- Minimum size
- The legal minimum length below which a fish must be returned alive. Bass and pollack carry specific rules, check the sea fishing rules page for current values.
- Bag limit
- The maximum number of a species you may keep per day. Bass and pollack both carry bag limits in Ireland, see the sea fishing rules page.
- Catch and release
- Returning fish alive after capture. Mandatory for some species in some windows, and good practice for anything you do not plan to eat.
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