June 21, 2026
Early Summer Bass and Mackerel: Ireland's Coast-to-Coast Fishing Report
This is Artificial Lure with your coast-to-coast Ireland fishing report.
We’ve a settled, early-summer pattern along much of the Irish coastline tonight. Light westerlies to south‑westerlies on many coasts, a bit fresher and cooler up along Donegal and the North Coast, milder and more humid from Wexford round to Cork. Cloud is drifting through but there are long clear spells in the south and east. According to Met Éireann’s coastal outlook, seas are slight to moderate and barometric pressure is fairly steady, which usually keeps the fish on a steady feed.
Tides are running on decent mids. Around Dublin Bay and the east coast, high water falls roughly around the middle of the night and again late morning, with lows in the early evening. Over on the south coast – Cork Harbour, Youghal, Dungarvan – high water is a touch earlier than the east, with good flooding tides lining up nicely with first light. On the Atlantic side – Galway Bay, Clare, and Mayo – there’s a bit more range and the push on the flood is strong over reefs and headlands. These building or dropping tides are giving the best bites, especially in the two hours either side of high water.
Sunrise is creeping in very early, about quarter past four to half four depending where you are, and sunset hangs on toward ten in the evening. That long low‑light window is tailor‑made for bass and pollack close in, so dawn and dusk sessions are where you’ll get the most action.
In terms of recent catches, local reports along the Wexford and Waterford surf beaches mention schoolie and slot‑size bass moving in tight on the flooding tide, with the odd better fish nudging 7–8 lb. Anglers around Cork Harbour and the outer estuary are seeing good numbers of mackerel and scad, plus a pick of pollack and coalfish over rough ground. Out west, from Clare up through Connemara, shore lads are finding pollack, wrasse, and the first better runs of mackerel off the rocks. The odd ray and dogfish are showing on clean ground marks, and there are whispers of a few early tope from deeper surf beaches and boat marks, especially where the tide pulls hard.
For lures, I’d be packing:
- Slim, shallow‑running hard plugs in natural silver or sandeel patterns for bass over reef and surf tables.
- Soft plastic paddletails and straight tails, 4–6 inches, in olive, white, and blue for both bass and pollack. Fish them slowly just above the weed.
- Small metal jigs and casting wedges, 20–40 g, for mackerel and schoolie bass when they’re chasing bait near the surface.
Bait anglers should do well with fresh lugworm and ragworm for bass and flatties on surf beaches, sandeel or mackerel strip for rays and tope, and peeler crab where you can get it – still one of the best big‑bass baits on rough ground marks. A simple two‑hook flapper on clean ground and pulley rigs over rough stuff will cover most bases.
A couple of hotspots to think about:
- Along the south coast, the general area from Youghal to Dungarvan has been fishing well for bass on evening surfs and for mackerel and pollack off the rocks when the tide is moving.
- On the west coast, the rock marks around north Clare and into south Connemara are producing pollack, wrasse, and mackerel, especially on the evening flood and again at first light for those willing to make the walk in.
Fish the changing light, line your sessions up with those stronger parts of the tide, and keep mobile until you find the bait.
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