What fish can you catch at Killoughter Beach?

Killoughter Beach produces Smoothhound, Thornback ray, Homelyn ray, Bullhuss and Bass. Which of those are actually feeding depends on the month: the season grid on this page shows the peak and catchable months for every species listed here.

What bait works at Killoughter Beach?

Hardback green crab (hounds, outlasts peeler against lesser species), Squid (rays), Lugworm (codling/dab) and Mackerel head (bullhuss) are the baits that work at Killoughter Beach, fished on pulley rig at distance (hounds/rays/huss), standard flatfish rigs close in and two-hook flapper.

Do I need a licence to fish at Killoughter Beach, and what can I keep?

No State rod licence for ordinary sea angling. Salmon and sea trout need one. Retention rules do apply to some species here. Bass: retention allowed, 42 cm. Check the linked authority before keeping a fish.

Wicklow coast

Killoughter Beach

Beach, Killoughter. The usual tide here: the first of the ebb into the run of the ebb.

Smoothhound
Thornback ray
Homelyn ray
Bullhuss
Bass

Now until 04:07

Hard work

The first of the ebb into the run of the ebb after dark. Yellow Small Craft warning covers some or all of this window.

Wind: SW 28 km/hGusts 28 km/h
Waves: 0.6 mLight surf, over the window
Tide: Low 04:350.3 m

Small Craft warning for all coasts of Ireland, in force. Read it in full

The coast’s call for these hours: effort from the wind, gusts and rain read at Greystones. Not a call on this mark, and whether the fish are there is not called.

Illustration, made with Adobe Firefly.

Sunrise07:10

Sunset17:05

Moon, calculatedFull moon (100%)

Small Craft warning for all coasts of Ireland, in force for the Wicklow coast. Checked 00:22.Hazards not checked on site. No hazard record yet; the guide’s safety notes are below. Tide now: falling, low water at 04:35, 0.3 m. No record of whether it cuts off.

Next 24 hours at Killoughter

Tide, light, wind and sea conditions for your session. The wind is read at Greystones; which way this mark faces is not verified yet, so it is not judged against its shore.

View detailed forecast

Sunrise 07:10Sunset 17:05High 11:102.7 mHigh 23:252.8 mNow

The next 24 hours: the next tide window 00:23 to 04:07, Hard work; low water 04:35, 0.3 m; high water 11:10, 2.7 m; low water 17:00, 0.4 m; high water 23:25, 2.8 m; sunrise 07:10, sunset 17:05.

Wind, gusts and rain by the hour, read at Greystones
Hour	Wind km/h	Gusts km/h	Rain mm
00:00	21 from SW	27	0
01:00	17 from SSW	25	0
02:00	17 from SSW	22	0
03:00	19 from S	23	0
04:00	28 from S	28	0.4
05:00	40 from S	40	1.1
06:00	45 from S	49	1.3
07:00	47 from S	57	2.0
08:00	48 from S	60	1.2
09:00	41 from SSW	60	0.3
10:00	35 from SSW	55	0
11:00	37 from SSW	50	0
12:00	41 from SSW	53	0
13:00	45 from SSW	59	0.1
14:00	45 from SSW	64	0
15:00	46 from SSW	65	0
16:00	47 from SSW	66	0.1
17:00	48 from SSW	69	0.2
18:00	48 from SSW	73	0.2
19:00	52 from S	76	0.5
20:00	55 from S	80	1.1
21:00	57 from S	82	1.6
22:00	56 from S	81	0.4
23:00	53 from SSW	78	0.3

Wind and rain at Greystones: MET Norway. Gusts: Met Éireann. Tide: Marine Institute, predicted. Light from the sun’s position; the moon, full moon, about 100% lit, calculated.

The coast north to south

Check the latest wind at each stretch of the coast.

View all areas

Illustrations, made with Adobe Firefly.

Safety here

Beaches today: Caution. A Met Éireann yellow warning covers this coast for the time judged. Waves 0.5 m, under the beach caution threshold.

Not verified · no fact on this mark has a dated check yet

Hazards: not checked on site. Assume the worst footing and tide cut-off, and read the hazard notes below as a starting point.

Fishing permission: not checked. No bye-law, harbour rule or landowner permission has been read for this mark.

No hazard record for this mark yet. From its guide:

Railway crossing required for some access routes, designated points only. Standard shingle-beach safety. Weed can shut the beach down after onshore wind, judge the conditions on arrival.

Railway. Getting here crosses an active railway line. Use only the pedestrian crossing, obey the signals and close the gates behind you.

Met Éireann warnings

Yellow Small Craft warning until 23:59 Tue

Small Craft warning for all coasts of Ireland

Level: yellow
Event: Small Craft
Severity: Moderate
Certainty: Likely

Onset: 00:00, Monday 26 October
Expires: 23:59, Tuesday 27 October
Issued: 06:51, Sunday 25 October

Areas

EI811 (Wicklow Head to Carnsore Point)
EI822
EI817
EI806
EI812
EI819
EI820
EI821
EI807
EI808
EI810 (Howth Head to Wicklow Head)
EI805
EI813
EI814
EI815
EI816
EI818
EI809 (Carlingford Lough to Howth Head)

Southerly winds will reach force 6 or higher, veering westerly on Tuesday.

Yellow Gale warning from 09:00 today to 02:00 Tue

Status Yellow - Marine Gale warning for all coasts of Ireland and on the Irish Sea

Level: yellow
Event: Yellow Gale
Severity: Moderate
Certainty: Likely

Not yet in force. Onset: 09:00, Monday 26 October
Expires: 02:00, Tuesday 27 October
Issued: 13:07, Sunday 25 October

Areas

EI811 (Wicklow Head to Carnsore Point)
EI822
EI817
EI806
EI812
EI819
EI820
EI821
EI807
EI808
EI810 (Howth Head to Wicklow Head)
EI805
EI813
EI814
EI815
EI816
EI818
EI824
EI809 (Carlingford Lough to Howth Head)
EI823
EI825

Southerly winds, veering westerly on Tuesday, will reach gale force 8 or strong gale force 9.

Yellow Wind warning from 17:00 today to 23:59 today

Status Yellow - Wind warning for Carlow, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Kilkenny, Mayo, Waterford, Wexford, Wicklow

Level: yellow
Event: Yellow Wind
Severity: Moderate
Certainty: Likely

Not yet in force. Onset: 17:00, Monday 26 October
Expires: 23:59, Monday 26 October
Issued: 11:39, Sunday 25 October

Areas

EI01
EI10
EI20
EI03
EI11
EI30
EI06
EI04
EI13
EI31 (Wicklow)
EI27

Very strong and gusty south to southwest winds.

Be aware of potential impacts:

Debris, loose objects displaced
Difficult driving and cycling conditions
Large coastal waves
Some fallen trees, branches

Other warnings in Ireland

Met Éireann weather warnings for other parts of Ireland, as issued.

Status Yellow - Rain warning for Cork, Kerry

Level: yellow
Event: Yellow Rain
Severity: Moderate
Certainty: Likely

Not yet in force. Onset: 01:00, Monday 26 October
Expires: 09:00, Monday 26 October
Issued: 10:39, Sunday 25 October

Areas

EI11
EI04

A spell of rain on Sunday night and Monday morning, turning heavy at times.

Be aware of potential impacts:

Difficult travelling conditions
Localised flooding possible
Outdoor events impacted

Status Yellow - Rain warning for Cork, Galway, Kerry, Mayo

Level: yellow
Event: Yellow Rain
Severity: Moderate
Certainty: Likely

Not yet in force. Onset: 16:00, Monday 26 October
Expires: 22:00, Monday 26 October
Issued: 11:41, Sunday 25 October

Areas

EI10
EI20
EI11
EI04

A spell of heavy rain.

Be aware of potential impacts:

Difficult travelling conditions
Localised flooding possible
Outdoor events impacted

Status Yellow - Marine Gale warning from Slyne Head to Bloody Foreland to Belfast Lough

Level: yellow
Event: Yellow Gale
Severity: Moderate
Certainty: Likely

Not yet in force. Onset: 02:00, Tuesday 27 October
Expires: 10:00, Tuesday 27 October
Issued: 13:09, Sunday 25 October

Areas

EI822
EI806
EI819
EI820
EI821
EI805

Southwest to west winds will reach gale force 8 or strong gale force 9.

Checked at 00:22 today.

The usual tide here, the next three days

The first of the ebb into the run of the ebb, from the predicted highs and lows. Each with the coast’s call for those hours: how hard the wind, gusts and rain make fishing.

Yellow Small Craft warning covers this window.
Nowuntil 04:07The first of the ebb into the run of the ebb after dark.
Hard work
- South-west 28 km/h
- Gusts 28
- Some rain
A Status Yellow Met Éireann weather warning for the Wicklow coast covers this window, so the band is no better than hard work.
Yellow Small Craft warning, Yellow Gale warning covers this window.
Today11:38 to 16:32The first of the ebb into the run of the ebb in daylight.
Too rough
- South-south-west 47 km/h
- Gusts 66
- Some rain
SSW wind 47 km/h over 11:38 – 16:32: too rough on sustained wind.
Yellow Small Craft warning, Yellow Gale warning, Yellow Wind warning covers this window.
Tonight23:53 to 04:47The first of the ebb into the run of the ebb after dark.
Too rough
- South-south-west 53 km/h
- Gusts 78
- Some rain
SSW wind 53 km/h over 23:53 – tomorrow 04:47: too rough on sustained wind.
Yellow Small Craft warning covers this window.
Tomorrow12:12 to 17:02The first of the ebb into the run of the ebb in daylight.
Too rough
- West-south-west 37 km/h
- Gusts 59
- Some rain
WSW wind 37 km/h over tomorrow 12:12 – 17:02: hard work on sustained wind.
Wed00:37 to 05:27The first of the ebb into the run of the ebb after dark.
Hard work
- South-west 34 km/h
- Gusts 47
- Dry
Wed12:57 to 17:47The first of the ebb into the run of the ebb in daylight., dark from 17:01
Workable
- West-south-west 22 km/h
- Gusts 31
- Rain not given
Part of this window is read from six-hourly wind steps, so its wind is less exact.

Fishing it

A shingle beach in the heart of the Greystones-to-Wicklow shingle belt. Documented in the Eastern Regional Fisheries Board guide as the regard of many anglers as the BEST of all the Wicklow beach venues, the beach turns up quality fish with regularity. Specimen-class homelyn ray, thornback ray, smoothhound, bullhuss and occasional spurdog have all been recorded here.

In season here this month

All the species recorded here: Smoothhound, Thornback ray, Homelyn ray, Bullhuss, Bass, Codling, Dab, Flounder, Dogfish, Spurdog, Whiting, Coalfish.

The law for its species

Bass: Retention allowed. At most two bass per 24 hours; the rest go back. Minimum size 42 cm for any bass kept. Rules checked 29 June 2026.

How it is fished

The tide. Falling tide for the shingle-belt pattern. Evening and night sessions for the predator species. Distance casting required for hounds and rays; close-in for codling and flatfish.

Methods. Pulley rig at distance (hounds/rays/huss); Standard flatfish rigs close in; Two-hook flapper.

Baits. Hardback green crab (hounds, outlasts peeler against lesser species); Squid (rays); Lugworm (codling/dab); Mackerel head (bullhuss).

Local knowledge. The Eastern Regional Fisheries Board guide explicitly states 'many anglers regard Killoughter as the best of all the Wicklow beach venues' on the basis that it produces quality fish with regularity. Specimen-class homelyn ray, thornback, smoothhound and bullhuss are all in the catch record, this is a serious species venue, not a casual beach. Two practical local notes: (1) the road in is poor, and (2) weed can shut the beach down after onshore wind, one SAI session was abandoned for that reason and turned out to be the wrong call (the weed cleared shortly after). Pair this mark with Five Mile Point and the Breaches as a Newcastle/Killoughter cluster, the same shingle belt with different micro-features. Bullhuss specifically is undertargeted on the east coast and Killoughter is one of the more reliable east-coast marks for it on summer evenings with mackerel-head baits.

From the mark’s guide, not checked on site.

Getting there

Access. Access via the local road from Newcastle/Ashford direction. The road in is poor, described in SAI session reports as 'potholed' with limited improvement over the years. Small car park at the end. Railway crossing required for some access routes.

Parking. Small car park at end of access road; arrive early on quality conditions.

Nearest tackle. Wicklow town or Greystones tackle shops.

Questions about Killoughter Beach

What fish can you catch at Killoughter Beach?: Killoughter Beach produces Smoothhound, Thornback ray, Homelyn ray, Bullhuss and Bass. Which of those are actually feeding depends on the month: the season grid on this page shows the peak and catchable months for every species listed here.
What bait works at Killoughter Beach?: Hardback green crab (hounds, outlasts peeler against lesser species), Squid (rays), Lugworm (codling/dab) and Mackerel head (bullhuss) are the baits that work at Killoughter Beach, fished on pulley rig at distance (hounds/rays/huss), standard flatfish rigs close in and two-hook flapper.
Where do you park for Killoughter Beach?: Small car park at end of access road; arrive early on quality conditions.
How do you get to Killoughter Beach?: Access via the local road from Newcastle/Ashford direction. The road in is poor, described in SAI session reports as 'potholed' with limited improvement over the years. Small car park at the end. Railway crossing required for some access routes.
Do I need a licence to fish at Killoughter Beach, and what can I keep?: No State rod licence for ordinary sea angling. Salmon and sea trout need one. Retention rules do apply to some species here. Bass: retention allowed, 42 cm. Check the linked authority before keeping a fish.