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Keem Bay, Achill Island, Co. Mayo Past the village of Dooagh on the R319 road heading west on Achill, drive up the sea cliffs for spectacular views across to Clare Island and beyond to Galway, and down to the small car park at the beach.  On this day the sun was out and the car park was jammed with cars parked halfway back up the hillside.  Access is down a good (two car wide) road.  There are toilets and a life guard station in summer. A picturesque spot, it is sheltered on three sides and faces south east, although a chill breeze can filter down from the peaks on all sides.

There are in fact three seperate marks and I have seen people fishing from rock marks almost all the way out to the point, accessible only from extremely steep and dangerous paths that can be found at the old ruins on top of the hill.  It is some climb and only for the healthy and on a calm day, but the views are amazing.

The first mark is directly out in front of the stream (in front of the large rock - see Main Beach Mark), with Dabs and Flounder the main attraction.  This sandy mark has produced the odd shore caught Tope, and also produces Thornback Ray on warm still evenings - it is reputedly an excellent venue for night fishing.  We even have one dodgy report of a Tub Gurnard!  Fishing the beach is only possible on poor weather days and outside the summer season.  Forget July and August.  A local told me that it fishes best in calm conditions for flatfish, contrary to popular ideas, and I have taken the odd plaice here.  Given they rely on sight maybe calm water is better.  A strong surf is rare.  Coalfish of around .5-1 kilo (1-2 lbs) are endemic, especially in the winter and will hound anything, including bare hooks.

From the rocks on the right hand side you need to clamber down to the first "point" and you can fish out past the weedy margins onto sand, or float and spin from the rocks. Bear in mind that the path back will flood at high tide.  There is another possible escape route but it is very steep and up a ravine full of broken rock.  There are lots of small Ballen Wrasse from April onwards, good fun on light float tackle, and you will pick up Mackerel, Greater Launce and the odd Garfish in season on feathers and to spinners, especially at dusk.  Casting past the weed margin, not more than fifty metres, puts you into contact with Flatfish and Rays. Until recently I thought Dabs were rare on this mark - it was mainly Flounders with the odd Plaice thrown in, and then we took eight Dabs in one session in May 2004.  Some Sea-Trout can be taken at dusk on a flooding tide, mainly on small spinners mimicing sand eels.  Pollack will avail of these too. Mullet have been known to cruise in and around the bay, following the natural current. This rock mark only fishes on the flooding tide, from around four hours out. 

One minor irritation is that you may find your swim disturbed by snorklers and scuba divers - there is a watersports and scuba diving centre in purteen harbour.  The bay is very safe for small craft, with the nearest slipway being in purteen harbour, but bear in mind that the trip there and back is across the Atlantic Ocean.

On the left hand side, a very steep climb down from the "Ametyst Mine" through bracken leads to a small cove/beach marked with two tidal rocks on the right hand side. It can not be accessed from the main beach except at very low tides, and fishes best for the last two hours of the ebb and first two hours of the flood.  Flatfish is the main quarry, but recent reports are very poor.

Although the main beach is popular with holiday makers you can fish reasonably well from the left of the large rock.  Some people feel the beach marks fish best at low water - the three hours down and back up again.  If you plan on a night session, then store everything edible in tins as there are large rats resident in the area..

You can dig vast amounts of lugworm on the strand beside Rosturk House on the N59 road from Newport to Mulranny.  Look for a small wild track down to the beach.  You can also collect peeler crabs in the rocky margin and there are clams further out on the channel.  There is almost no bait available for purchase or collection on Achill Island itself, which will make for an awful long drive back if you do not bring enough with you...

It is a fabulous place to fish, spectacular, sheltered from almost all directions, and wonderfully peaceful.  Just make sure to bring enough bait, not to mention provisions and boots for the rock mark.

The nearest tackle shop is Sweeneys - the hardware store in Achill Sound.  Some of the local shops in Dooagh may have some basic kit but it is best to stop in Sweeneys first.  The picture shows my brother's first encounter with Achill's menacing small coalfish - known locally as "ribble".  He started to reel in one fish and by the time the flattie rig was in, the coalfish had obligingly set up a "full house"!

Probabilities: Coalfish, Flounder, Conger Eels, Dabs (resident), Ballen Wrasse, Mackerel (summer)

Possibilities: Plaice (resident); Mullet, Thornback Ray, Garfish, Greater Launce, Pollack (summer)

Rare Exceptions: Sea Trout, Tope, Cuckoo Wrasse (summer)