Bass at Bray Head Rocks, The Brandy Hole.

Quick facts

Mark type

Rock

Skill

Advanced only

Catalogue rank

Secondary target

Why fish Bass at Bray Head Rocks, The Brandy Hole

Serious rock mark below Bray Head. Quality pollack and wrasse for experienced anglers only, never alone.

Cliff-base rock ledges below Bray Head, named after the historical smuggling cave largely destroyed in the 1847 railway construction (the name persists locally for the area).

Deep, clear water with strong currents that concentrate pollack, wrasse and coalfish.

Single-figure pollack with occasional 6 to 8 lb fish is the realistic expectation from the rocks themselves; consistent shore-caught doubles are not well evidenced in modern reports (the published double-figure fish come from boat work on the Wicklow wrecks).

A mark for experienced rock anglers who understand the sea.

Surf beaches, rocky headlands, harbour walls, estuaries and sandy gutters, most reliably in coloured, wind-driven surf and around tidal rips or white water.

Serious rock under Bray Head, quality pollack and wrasse, experienced anglers only, never fish alone.

The original Brandy Hole was a sea cave used by 18th-century smugglers and was largely destroyed by the 1847 Bray-to-Wicklow railway construction (Bray Heritage / Ouzel Galley sources).

The name has carried through locally to the rock area beneath the railway tunnels where the cave once stood, anglers still use it.

Older guides claim pollack to double figures from these rocks, and recent shore records do not support it.

Season and tide

At Bray Head Rocks, The Brandy Hole, Bass is worth targeting in April to November (peak autumn Sep to Nov; occasional). Coast-wide, Bass runs April to November (peaks September to November autumn peak on Wicklow beaches).

Wider mark season: Pollack: year-round (fishes best from the rocks April to November, peak Sep to Nov), Wrasse: May to September, Coalfish: October to February, Bass: April to November (peak autumn Sep to Nov; occasional)

Tide guidance here: Slack water at low tide is the safest and most productive window. The currents run very strongly on the ebb and flood, making casting difficult and dangerous. Target the 30 to 45 minute slack window at low water. October and November produce the biggest pollack on the tide turn.

First two hours of the flooding tide in surf conditions. Dawn and dusk are most productive, bright midday sun switches them off. After a good easterly blow, any stage of tide can produce fish close in.

Fishable phases: first-flood, mid-flood, high, first-ebb. Peak: mid-flood, first-ebb.

Tactics on this mark

Target the first two hours of flood on surf beaches, casting short into coloured water with crab baits or soft plastics; in calm clear conditions, switch to lures around rock edges and harbour walls at dawn and dusk.

Float rig; Heavy ledger; Lure fishing, jigs and shads, weedless soft plastics for snags (pollack/bass)

Gear: rough rock. Facing E.

• Running ledger, 15 to 20 lb fluorocarbon hooklink, size 2/0 to 4/0 circle hook
• Pulley rig in heavy surf
• Soft plastics, paddle tails and shads on 10 to 20g jig heads
• Surface lures at dawn and dusk in calm conditions
• Float rig
• Heavy ledger
• Lure fishing, jigs and shads, weedless soft plastics for snags (pollack/bass)

Baits and lures

Bass baits and lures: Peeler crab (spring and autumn); Sandeel; Ragworm; Soft plastic lures; Surface poppers and walkers.

What this mark typically holds: Sandeel; Mackerel strip; Ragworm.

Sandeel; Mackerel strip; Ragworm

Access and ground

Access is currently closed. The cliff walk route to this mark is shut and unsafe. See the notice above.

Parking: Parking is available in Bray town near the seafront.

Safety: Access is closed via the cliff walk. Rockfall risk from above and swell wash on the ledges make this an expert-only mark when access is legal. Never fish alone here. If in doubt, do not descend.

Nearest tackle: Bray town has fishing tackle shops within walking distance of the seafront. Good selection of lures and terminal tackle for rock fishing.

Nearest town: Bray. Skill level: Advanced only.

Size and identification

Typical shore size: 1 to 3 kg from the shore on Wicklow beaches. Specimen class: Irish specimen weight is 4.5 kg; a bass over that is a fish of the season, not a routine surf capture.

Silver flanks with a blue-grey back and white belly. Two dorsal fins, the first with sharp spines. Mouth large and slightly upturned. Young bass show faint lateral spots. Unmistakable once you've seen one.

Tip: Bass feed into the wind and surf, don't be put off by rough conditions. A short cast (30 to 50m) into coloured water consistently outperforms distance casting into the clean water beyond the surf. In calm clear conditions switch to lures and work the edges of kelp and rock.

Irish shore context: record class around 8.08 kg (17 lb 13 oz), Doughmore Strand, 2000.

Same-mark companions

Other ranked targets on the same mark include Pollack, Wrasse, Coalfish, Mackerel. Open those pair pages or the full mark guide when you want a multi-species session.

Live ranked advice for Bray Head Rocks, The Brandy Hole updates on the daily plan. Pair this page with the Bass species guide for coast-wide season bars and conservation detail.

Conservation

Bye-Law No. 826 of 2007 applies: two bass per angler per 24 hours at 42cm when retention is permitted, catch-and-release only 1 Feb to 31 Mar (Irish Sea / EU ICES 7a), no bass angling 15 May to 15 June. Most serious anglers practice full catch and release.

Guide conservation label: Bag Limit Applies.

Confirm current bag limits and closures on the Bass species guide and /learn/rules before retaining fish.

Other species at Bray Head Rocks, The Brandy Hole

• Pollack
• Wrasse
• Coalfish
• Mackerel
• Tope
• Conger eel

Next steps

Live ranked session advice for this mark sits on Today's plan. Rules and bag limits: learn / rules.