Mark × species · Secondary target

Flounder at Greystones South Beach.

Flounder is a regular secondary target at Greystones South Beach near Greystones. Best window on this ground: Year round. Walk south from Greystones harbour along the seafront path.

Full mark guide Flounder species guide

Greystones South Beach, Wicklow shore fishing mark

Mark type: Beach
Skill: Beginner/Intermediate
Catalogue rank: Secondary target

Why fish Flounder at Greystones South Beach

Accessible competition-grade town beach with reliable winter codling and close-in plaice in calm weather.

A popular shingle/sand beach directly south of Greystones town with rock outcrops at the southern end and a council-installed boulder reinforcement at the Ballygannon section.

Hosts SAI/Henry's Tackle competitions, competition-grade venue.

Produces good autumn bass along the wave line, codling and coalfish through winter, and plaice close in during calm warm spells.

The southern end and the named hotspots at Hungry Acre and the Ballygannon stream are the productive ground.

Estuaries, sandy beaches, muddy creeks and shallow inshore ground, especially around river mouths and drainage outflows.

Falling tide after an easterly colours the shingle belt.

Town beach with real competition history, codling and plaice in winter, bass after colour in the water.

Two named local hotspots that don't show on any map, opposite the outflow pipe at the Hungry Acre, and at the Ballygannon stream where the council placed boulders to slow erosion.

Both work on the same principle: freshwater stir + structural break = flatfish concentration.

The clear-and-calm-day rule is INVERTED from elsewhere on the coast, Sea Angler reports plaice moving as close as 30 yards from shore in warm settled conditions.

Season and tide

At Greystones South Beach, Flounder is worth targeting in Year round. Coast-wide, Flounder runs Year round (peaks February to March and November to December on Wicklow beaches and estuaries).

Wider mark season: Bass: April to November (peak autumn Sep to Nov), Codling: October to February, Coalfish: October to February, Pollack: year-round (fishes best from the rocks April to November), Plaice: May to September (calm), Dab: October to February, Smoothhound: May to October, Mackerel: June to September, Tope: October to November (recent shore catches reported, low frequency)

Tide guidance here: Falling tide is the documented productive window for the broader shingle belt this beach belongs to. The hour either side of high water remains the bite-cluster window for close-in flatfish. Strong undercurrents, grip leads (4 to 5oz breakaway) are essential at all states.

Two hours either side of high water. The flooding tide pushes flounder onto feeding grounds. Slack water periods produce most bites. Night fishing in autumn and winter is particularly reliable.

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

Tactics on this mark

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.

Running ledger; Two-hook flapper; Worm cocktail with spoon attractor (plaice); Lure fishing (bass)

Gear: open beach. Facing E.

Running ledger with a short 6 to 8 inch hooklink
Two-hook flapper for covering ground
Small size 2 to 4 Aberdeen hooks, flounder have small mouths
Slow retrieve to cover ground after casting
Running ledger
Two-hook flapper
Worm cocktail with spoon attractor (plaice)
Lure fishing (bass)

Baits and lures

Flounder baits and lures: Ragworm; Lugworm; Harbour ragworm; Mussel; Small fish strips.

What this mark typically holds: Ragworm; Lugworm (winter); Peeler crab (summer); Sandeel; Mussel (cold months).

Ragworm; Lugworm (winter); Peeler crab (summer); Sandeel; Mussel (cold months)

Access and ground

Walk south from Greystones harbour along the seafront path. The beach begins just past the harbour wall. Two named hotspots: opposite the outflow pipe at the Hungry Acre, and around the stream at Ballygannon (where county council reinforcement creates a structural break). The most productive ground is the southern 300m near the rocky outcrops.

Parking: Best option is the Park and Ride on the outskirts of Greystones, it is free. From there it is a reasonable walk to the beach so pack light and only bring what you need for the session. Avoid overloading yourself with gear.

Safety: Rocky outcrops at the southern end can be slippery at low water. Busy with swimmers and walkers in summer; fish dawn and dusk. Longshore drift can be strong after a south-easterly blow.

Nearest tackle: Greystones town centre has a fishing tackle shop within a short walk of the harbour. Well stocked for sea fishing essentials.

Nearest town: Greystones. Skill level: Beginner/Intermediate.

Size and identification

Typical shore size: 200 to 400 g from Wicklow beaches and estuaries. Specimen class: Fish over 700 g are notable shore flounder.

Brown or grey-brown upper surface with orange-tipped spines along the lateral line. Eyes on the right side. Can develop reddish blotches, easily confused with plaice but lacks the vivid orange spots. The rough, prickly lateral line is the key identification feature.

Tip: Flounder are suckers for movement. Slowly dragging your bait across the bottom and pausing it triggers far more bites than static fishing. In estuaries, cast uptide and allow the bait to trundle downtide, the disturbance in the sand draws flounder in.

Irish shore context: record class around 2.71 kg.

Same-mark companions

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

Live ranked advice for Greystones South Beach updates on the daily plan. Pair this page with the Flounder species guide for coast-wide season bars and conservation detail.

Conservation

No current restrictions but handle with wet hands and return small fish.

Guide conservation label: No Restrictions.

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

Other species at Greystones South Beach

Full mark guide lists all 15 catalogue pair pages.

Next steps

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

NEXT STEP

Open the full mark or species guide.

Pair pages assemble mark and species catalogue facts for this ground. Depth sessions live on today's plan.