SPECIES PROFILE
Dab
Dab fishing on Wicklow’s clean sand beaches, simple rigs, short casts and the best cold-season windows for these obliging flatfish.
Eric, Greystones · Reviewed Apr 2026 · IFI-aligned
See if dab are worth targeting todayIn season
Year roundIn season now
Typical size
100 to 250 g from East Coast beaches
Conservation
Release advised
Season on the coast
Peak and catchable months from the catalogue season window, parsed for Wicklow shore fishing.
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- Peak
- Catchable
- Off season
- Now
Where they live
Clean sandy ground close inshore, often mixed with flounder on Wicklow surf and shingle beaches.
What to use
Ragworm · Lugworm · Harbour ragworm · Sandeel strip
How to fish them
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.
Suggested gear
Starter searches matched to tactics above
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Two-hook flapper rig
Simple flatfish rig for clean sandy ground.
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Size 2 Aberdeen hooks
Small fine-wire hooks for dab and flatties.
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Lugworm bait pack
Reliable winter bait for dab on Wicklow beaches.
Wicklow marks
Arklow South Beach & FerrybankBeach
Avoca river-mouth shore complex (Ferrybank + South Beach). Bass, hounds, flatfish; historical specimen sole.
Bray HarbourPier
Dargle-mouth working harbour. LRF-style mixed-species pier; codling, dab, flounder and plaice with summer bass and mullet.
Brittas Bay (South End)Beach
Premier Wicklow bass beach. Specimen bass in storm conditions; smoothhound and rays in summer.
Clogga StrandBeach
Last Wicklow venue. Two-zone beach, deeper water north for flatfish/hounds; rock platforms south for bass on lures.
Ennereilly Strand SouthBeach
Remote, sandy, southerly-facing beach. Bass April to October, smoothhound on evening crab baits May to September.
Five Mile PointBeach
Specimen smoothhound run on spring nights, the single insight justifying this mark. May ray/plaice; nursery beach the rest of the year.
Greystones Harbour & PierPier
Sheltered marina pier, ideal for families and beginners. Good wrasse, pollock, mackerel and an established autumn squid fishery.
Greystones South BeachBeach
Accessible competition-grade town beach with reliable winter codling and close-in plaice in calm weather.
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Target dab on today's plan
Ranked marks, species windows, and gear for the Wicklow shore.