Mark × species · Occasional
Thornback ray at Magheramore Beach.
Thornback ray is an occasional catch at Magheramore Beach near Wicklow. Best window on this ground: May to October. Access via the Bellvue Farm gateway off the coast road between Wicklow and Arklow, gravel driveway with big black gates.
Quick facts
- Mark type
- Beach
- Skill
- Intermediate
- Catalogue rank
- Occasional
Why fish Thornback ray at Magheramore Beach
Surf-shared cove. Honest reality: dogfish-dominated beach. Bass potential off the south rock shelf in calm conditions.
Small surf cove (~1/4 mile across) between Wicklow Head/Silver Strand and Brittas Bay, with a rock shelf and deep-water coves on the south (right) side.
Predominantly a surfing beach (Brittas Bay Surf School operates here), honest catch profile from local SAI reports is 'medium-size dogfish in numbers, not much else'.
The south rock shelf has tactical bass potential on lures in the right conditions but the tide rip makes bait fishing difficult.
Short: Surf-shared cove.
Clean to slightly mixed sand off open beaches where sandeel, crab and small fish are present, often at long range.
Honest dogfish beach, bass only on the south shelf in calm conditions, do not expect a busy session.
Magheramore is more of a surfing beach than a fishing beach, the honest catch profile from local SAI reports is 'loads of medium-size dogfish and not much else'.
Do not oversell it.
The south rock shelf has tactical potential for bass on lures in the right conditions but the tide rip makes bait fishing difficult, in those conditions, lures are the only practical approach.
Season and tide
At Magheramore Beach, Thornback ray is worth targeting in May to October. Coast-wide, Thornback ray runs May to October (peaks June to August late spring through midsummer on clean sand).
Wider mark season: Dogfish: year round (the dominant species in honest local reports), Bass: April to November (peak autumn Sep to Nov; off rock shelf on lures, conditions-dependent), Flounder: October to March, Mackerel: June to September (off rock shelf), Pollack: small fish off rocks
Tide guidance here: Standard surf-beach windows. Tide rip on the south rock shelf is significant, fish around it on lures rather than bait in those conditions.
Late spring through midsummer on clean sand. Fish the flooding tides and high-water soaks with baits anchored at long range on pulley or pennel rigs.
Fishable phases: first-flood, mid-flood, high, first-ebb, mid-ebb. Peak: mid-flood, first-ebb.
Tactics on this mark
Cast pulley rigs or up-and-over pennel rigs long over clean ground, leaving baits anchored to soak on flooding tides and around high water.
Standard ledger from the beach (dogfish dominant); Lures off the south rock shelf (bass, conditions-dependent)
Gear: general shore. Facing ESE.
- Long-range pulley or up-and-over pennel rigs with fish strip or sandeel
- Crab and fish cocktails on hound sessions
- Leave baits to soak; strike only when the classic ray nod builds
- Standard ledger from the beach (dogfish dominant)
- Lures off the south rock shelf (bass, conditions-dependent)
Baits and lures
Thornback ray baits and lures: Sandeel; Bluey or mackerel strip; Crab and fish cocktails.
What this mark typically holds: Lugworm; Ragworm; Crab (incidental).
Lugworm; Ragworm; Crab (incidental)
Access and ground
Access via the Bellvue Farm gateway off the coast road between Wicklow and Arklow, gravel driveway with big black gates. Documented as one of the worst access roads in the area. Small car park overlooking the cove. Surfers use the same access (Brittas Bay Surf School operates here). Lane is privately owned. Two more small beaches further down the same road per OS Discovery Series Map 62, local-knowledge dependent access.
Parking: Small car park at the end of the lane.
Safety: Very exposed; check forecast carefully. Rock shelf currents. Beach is shared with surfers, surf school activity affects daytime access.
Nearest tackle: Wicklow town tackle shops.
Nearest town: Wicklow. Skill level: Intermediate.
Size and identification
Typical shore size: 2 to 5 lb from Wicklow beaches. Specimen class: Rays over 8 lb are considered good shore fish locally.
Kite-shaped ray with thorn-like spines dorsally, often grey-brown with lighter mottling; underside pale. Thornback is the common large skate/ray label on Wicklow clean-sand beaches at range.
Tip: Read each beach's safety and distance notes before copying one tide rule across marks. Brittas Bay, Killoughter and Silver Strand each fish slightly differently and carry different hazards.
Irish shore context: record class around See the IFI records. Locally, 8 lb plus is a good shore ray..
Same-mark companions
Other ranked targets on the same mark include Dogfish, Bass, Flounder, Dab. Open those pair pages or the full mark guide when you want a multi-species session.
Live ranked advice for Magheramore Beach updates on the daily plan. Pair this page with the Thornback ray species guide for coast-wide season bars and conservation detail.
Conservation
Heavily pressured in some areas; unhook carefully in the shallows and return larger breeding fish.
Guide conservation label: Catch & Release Recommended.
Confirm current bag limits and closures on the Thornback ray species guide and /learn/rules before retaining fish.
Other species at Magheramore Beach
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.