The sea angler in the Southern Region can fish from Hook Head in the east to Ballycotton in the west and always be in with a chance of the fish of a lifetime.
Most of the Region's sea angling is along the shores of County Waterford. There are three main centres, each coinciding with one of the three major estuaries which have broken gaps in the ramparts of cliff. Starting in the east, the massive estuary of the ‘three sisters’, the Barrow, the Suir and the Nore, has a major commercial fishing and angling centre at its mouth - the harbour of Dunmore East. This part of the county has charter boats, tackle shops and angling clubs as well as plenty of accommodation.
Heading west, there is a long stretch of beautiful and relatively undeveloped shoreline with a few long strands at places like Tramore and Clonea but a lot of cliffs, small coves and little tidal harbours with boat slips. This is a coastline which is well worth exploring by the enterprising shore angler or a dinghy owner who is experienced and understands the dangers of an exposed Atlantic coast. I have family connections with this part of the country and have spent many happy summer holidays catching Bass and Ray in the little sandy coves, Pollack from the rocky headlands and Mackerel from my dinghy.
At Dungarvan, a much smaller estuary where the River Colligan meets the sea has created a safe harbour out of which charter boats operate, including the most easterly Blue Shark fishery in Ireland. There is also famous Flounder fishing in the estuary and some Bass locally. Helvick Head, to the west of Dungarvan, seems to deflect the North Atlantic Drift offshore and species like Blue Shark follow it.
The stretch of coast between Helvick and Ardmore is largely inaccessibe. But once you get to Ardmore things change quite dramatically. After all, this is where in April 1977 an English angler took Southern Region rod-caught record Bass - 17 lbs I ~ oz - from the shores of Whiting Bay!
Ballycotton is one of those magical names in Irish sea angling. And it’s a name with a great pedigree. Back in Edwardian times, when sport angling in salt water was very young, a club called the Dreadnoughts was formed in London. Their aim was to search the wild Atlantic fringes of these-islands for monstrous fish to capture on rod and line... and Ballycotton was the base from which they had much of their success. In particular they pioneered the capture of huge Skate on rod and line.
Ballycotton has other claims to fame. At one time it held no less than seven Irish records. There is still marvellous boat fishing for Pollack (up to eighteen pounds in recent years) and Conger, though the big Skate have become scarcer. And it also offers some very serious shore fishing. For me, the Mullet in the harbour are a constant distraction because I’m totally addicted to them as a species. They occur in most Irish fishing ports and there is natural groundbaiting from all the fish waste dumped by trawlers and lobster boats. In a situation like this, they’re not as difficult to catch as you might think from their reputation, provided you use the right tackle and small scraps of fish or bread soaked in fish oil as a bait.
Download maps of sea angling marks [.doc files 400KB each]: