Species profile
Dragonet
Dragonet on Wicklow clean sand. Catchable Year round, peak May. How to identify them, handle the gill spine safely and tell males from females.
Eric, Greystones · Reviewed August 2026 · IFI-aligned
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Quick answer
Dragonet on Wicklow clean sand. Catchable Year round, peak May. How to identify them, handle the gill spine safely and tell males from females.
Dragonet · Running now · May peak on the Wicklow coast
In season
Typical size
Conservation
Season on the coast
Peak and catchable months on the Wicklow shore.
Peak May · catchable Jan to Dec
- Peak
- Catchable
- Off season
- This month
Where they live
Clean sand and fine gravel in shallow water, the same open ground that holds dab and small flatfish.
What to use
Ragworm · Lugworm · Small worm sections · LRF dropshot
How to fish them
Fish small worm baits hard on the bottom over clean sand with a short two-hook flapper, or drag an LRF dropshot slowly across open ground.
Suggested gear
Starter searches matched to tactics above
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12ft beachcaster rod
A solid all-rounder for surf, casting and tide runs.
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Size 40 fixed spool sea reel
Balanced line capacity for beach and mixed ground.
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Pulley rig ready-made pack
Fast setup for clean ground and snag avoidance.
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Crab fishing lure
Realistic crab lure for bass, works from piers, beaches and rock marks.
Wicklow marks
Premier Wicklow bass beach. Specimen bass in storm conditions; smoothhound and rays in summer.
Flat shingle beach, great for beginners. Reliable flatfish year-round; codling and coalfish through the colder months.
Reputed best Wicklow beach venue. Specimen homelyn, thornback, smoothhound and bullhuss in the catch record.
Surf-shared cove. Honest reality: dogfish-dominated beach. Bass potential off the south rock shelf in calm conditions.
Sheltered sandy cove. Spring/autumn surf bass and a rare-for-the-east-coast spurdog fishery on summer night tides.
Related guides and tools
Marks, tactics, bait, gear, and today's plan for this species
Read next
Bass Fishing Wicklow 2026: Best Marks, Baits and Tides
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.
Smoothhound Fishing Ireland: Beaches, Rigs and Bait
Smoothhound from Irish east coast beaches, May to October (peak July to August). Peeler crab rigs, evening flood tides and Wicklow sand marks that score.
Winter Flounder Ireland: Beach Marks and Rigs
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.
Eric
Based in Greystones, Co. Wicklow, fishing the Irish coast since 2018
Target dragonet on today's plan
Ranked marks, species windows, and gear for the Wicklow shore.