Step by step
How to fish it
- Use a light to medium spinning rod (7 to 10ft) and fixed-spool reel loaded with 15 to 20 lb braid
- Attach a 2 to 3ft fluorocarbon leader of 15 to 20 lb via an Albright or FG knot
- Clip your lure to a small snap link on the leader
- Cast across or uptide and retrieve at a steady medium pace
- Vary the retrieve, fast for mackerel, medium with pauses for pollack and bass
- For jigging, allow the lure to sink and jig the rod tip up and down as you retrieve
Tackle
Gear you need
- Rod: 7 to 9ft light spinning rod, 10 to 30g casting weight
- Reel: 3000 to 4000 size fixed spool with 15 to 20 lb braid
- Leader: 2 to 3ft of 15 to 20 lb fluorocarbon
- Lures: 10 to 30g metal slices for mackerel; soft plastic paddle tails for pollack and bass
Kit
Kit picks for spinning & jigging
Researched for Irish shore conditions on Wicklow marks. Where we have fished an item ourselves, we say so. Links go to Amazon.ie; skip anything you already carry.
Alwonder Dexter wedge metals
The classic 20g metal slice for mackerel, pollack and coalfish off Greystones Harbour. Cast, count down, wind.
View on AmazonUgly Stik Ugly Tuff spinning reel size 40
Saltwater-ready 4000-size fixed spool for pier spinning. Rinse after every session and it lasts years.
View on AmazonLight spinning rod, 10 to 30g
A 7 to 9ft light spinning rod covers mackerel, garfish and pollack from every Wicklow pier and harbour wall.
View on AmazonSeaguar Blue Label fluorocarbon leader
2 to 3ft of 15 to 20 lb fluoro between braid and lure. Saves lures and fools clear-water fish.
View on AmazonDaiwa J-Braid x8 300m
Fill the spool with 0.16 to 0.20 mm braid for Wicklow pier and rock lure work, then add the fluoro leader above.
View on AmazonMackerel feathers 7 hook (5 pack)
When the mackerel shoal is in, a string of feathers behind a lead out-fishes everything.
View on AmazonBuilding a full setup from scratch? See the complete gear guide.
Conditions
When to use it
Mackerel season (June to September) from harbour walls and piers. Year round for pollack from pier walls and rock marks. Bass on shallow surf beaches in calm, clear conditions.
Local knowledge
On the Wicklow coast
Greystones Harbour is the best pier mark on the Wicklow coast for spinning, mackerel from June, pollack and coalfish year round, and the occasional bass tight to the harbour wall. A 20g metal slice retrieved fast just below the surface produces fish constantly in the mackerel season.
