Species profile
Flounder
Flounder on Irish beaches and estuaries. Catchable Year round, peak February to March. Short casts, ragworm rigs and flood tides on Wicklow sand and shingle marks.
Eric, Greystones · Reviewed Apr 2026 · IFI-aligned
Is it good today?Quick answer
Flounder feed close in on Wicklow beaches and estuaries. Catchable Year round. Ragworm on a short hooklink, cast into the first gutter on a falling tide, is the most reliable winter tactic.
Flounder · Running now · February to March peak on the Wicklow coast · Good conditions today
In season
Year roundIn season now
Typical size
200 to 400 g from Wicklow beaches and estuaries
Conservation
Release advised
Season on the coast
Peak and catchable months on the Wicklow shore.
Peak Feb to Mar · catchable Jan to Dec
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- Peak
- Catchable
- Off season
- This month
Where they live
Estuaries, sandy beaches, muddy creeks and shallow inshore ground, especially around river mouths and drainage outflows.
What to use
Ragworm · Lugworm · Harbour ragworm · Mussel · Small fish strips
How to fish them
Fish short with running ledger or two-hook flapper rigs, slowly dragging baits across the bottom on flooding and high water to trigger takes in troughs and around estuary mouths.
Suggested gear
Starter searches matched to tactics above
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Two-hook flapper rig pack
Standard flatfish rig for beaches and estuaries.
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Ragworm bait pack
Number one bait for flounder on Wicklow beaches.
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Size 1 Aberdeen hooks
Fine-wire hooks perfect for flatfish fishing.
Need a full shopping list? Bait fishing gear buyer guide with comparison table, prices and Amazon picks.
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 November (peak Sep to Nov), smoothhound on evening crab baits May to October.
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.
Dublin Bay guides
Not live scored. Open a mark guide for access and tactics.
Skerries HarbourPier
North Dublin harbour walls for summer mackerel and pollack, with winter whiting, flounder and dogfish on ledger when boats allow space.
Howth PierPier
Busy Howth harbour piers with summer mackerel feathers, winter whiting and dogfish on ledger, and pollack or coalfish along the walls. Mullet cruise the inner harbour.
Red Rock, SuttonRock
Sutton channel and Martello rock ground: bass and flatfish into the channel, with peeler crab and mussel beds nearby at low water.
Dollymount StrandBeach
Long firm-sand beach on Bull Island for bass and flatfish, with evening autumn tides the classic window. Codling after winter colour.
North Bull WallPier
Long stone wall out from Dollymount / Clontarf into Dublin Bay. Flounder, dab, pollack, whiting and dogfish; bass possible but less consistent.
Sandymount StrandBeach
Wide Dublin Bay sand for bass and flounder from half flood to high, with lug beds below the promenade and cockle ground toward the low line.
Dún Laoghaire PierPier
East and west piers on Dún Laoghaire harbour: easy access summer mackerel, winter whiting nights, and pollack or coalfish on the walls. Inner harbour dab, plaice and mullet.
Killiney BeachBeach
Steep shingle and sand storm beach in Killiney Bay: bass and flounder after dark, winter codling and coalfish, summer mackerel when shoals push in.
Related guides and tools
Marks, tactics, bait, gear, and today's plan for this species
Read next
Species
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.
Seasonal
Winter Fishing Wicklow: What to Catch October to February
Wicklow beaches keep producing all winter: whiting, flounder, dab and codling. The marks that fish in a blow, the rigs to use and the gear that keeps you out.
Seasonal
What's Biting Now: Wicklow Shore, September and October
Late August into autumn on the Wicklow shore: whiting nights building, flounder, autumn bass, tope on October springs, with marks and night tactics for September and October.
Eric
Based in Greystones, Co. Wicklow, fishing the Irish coast since 2018
Target flounder on today's plan
Ranked marks, species windows, and gear for the Wicklow shore.