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Waterford may be smaller than Cork but it has three excellent centres for shore angling: Youghal, Dungarvan and the vast Waterford Harbour, okay I lie... in fact Youghal has been "borrowed" from Cork for the sake of convenience!  In fact all the marks listed here are in Waterford rather than Cork East.  A really heartfelt thank you to Chris, Tony and Dave for passing on all their current and expert advice on the Youghal marks.  A red spot indicates a known mark with recent reports available, whereas a yellow spot indicates a known or suspected mark with no recent data but where you can get lucky!

Introduction to Youghal and Ardmore:

Heading east from Cork, the first set of marks centres on the old fishing village of Youghal, from the far side of the river up past Ardmore into the local Irish speaking area called Ring (known as a Gaeltacht).  Waterford is something of an undiscovered shore angling dream - the beaches are rarely busy and the rock marks are often deserted... and yet it continues to produce excellent returns, including superb bass fishing.  Sincere thanks to the lads for adding four new marks around Youghal town itself and for the up to the minute reports on the venues listed below.

5 - The Ferry Point   The Ferry Point and the shoreline which runs down to Monatra House, is a popular match venue, situated directly across from Youghal town. It is about a kilometre from the bridge on the Waterford side.  NB: You fish this side of the estaruy on the ebbing tide and fish the far side (Youghal) on the flood...  with thanks to DrSeaFish off the forum.  Species & Techniques: The main target is Flounder with Coalfish, Whiting and Codling in winter. Bass are a possibility as well.  A small mussel bed sticks out toward Monatrea - this hotspot is marked by an aluminium pole on the beach that this known locally as dead mans pole!  You can catch Bass there on a plug or spinner. The tide is fast and 100-175 grams of lead will be needed to hold bottom. The locals use long flowing traces with crab or lug as bait. Although it hasn't fished well for Codling in the last couple of years, fish to double figures were taken in really cold weather. This is one of the few steep shingle beaches in Ireland.  March 2004.

6 - Whiting Bay No points for guessing how it got its name! This is an excellent mark and offers a wide variety of species and fishing techniques.  Species & Techniques: Spinning and float fishing from the rocks will account for Bass, Wrasse, Pollack and Mackerel in season.  Surf fishing will generate lots of Flatfish and the odd Bass, even a Sea-Trout, with bottom fishing taking Dabs, Plaice, Cod (one of the few marks from shore that produce Cod as well as Codling), Dogfish and the odd Ray, but no Whiting! Accoridng to the forum, DrSeaFish reports a 9 lb plus bass taken in March 2004 with a squid and lugworm combination.  March 2004.

10 - Ardmore Beach   The beach itself is not fished that much, but the side close to the roundabout in the town fishes well.  This can be a popular beach at weekends during the summer so best to leave it late or avoid the weekends.  Species & Techniques:  Flounder, Dab, Bass, and Dogfish will be taken off the beach.   Whiting and Codling will show in colder snaps during the winter and it is a great Mackeral venue in high summer at dusk. Our thanks again to DrSeaFish for this commentary. 

7 - Ardmore Head   Not as prolific a mark as you might think, this promontary offers rock platform fishing, with spinning or float fishing over foul ground. Species & Techniques: Spinning or float fishing for Pollack and Mackerel is augmented by some decent Wrasse fishing, with Conger and Dogfish available.  It might fish better in winter but it is little used given its exposed nature and the better marks available locally. 

8 - Ardmore Pier   A lovely little fishing village with a small strand, in danger of being swamped with holiday homes, Ardmore has a fine pier and offers excellent sheltered fishing. Species & Techniques: Spinning or float fishing for Sea-Trout, small Pollack and Mackerel, with Mullet in the summer around the harbour itself.  Bottom fishing will produce Bass, Flatfish (Plaice and Sole both recorded) and Dogfish.

9 - Ballyquinn Strand  We always leave the best til last!   This little used beach is one of the premier shore fishing venues in Ireland, and certainly along the south coast.  You can fish either side of the Black Rocks that characterise the mark.  Species & Techniques: Surf fishing will produce Bass, Dabs, Flounder, Painted Ray (no Thornbacks) in summer and quite close in, the odd Sea-Trout and Dogfish.  Coalfish reported recently to a decent size and some Whiting showing too.  Crab is the ideal bait but lugworm, squid and mackerel will work. More specimen fish have been recorded here than on any other beach or mark in Ireland - quality not quantity! Recent reports suggest that fishing is best done at night and that the middle section in between the rocks is a decent spot as well (thanks a la DrSeafish off the forum). November 2003 

Introduction to Dungarvan:

Heading east from Youghal, via the main road or the more scenic coast road, you reach past Helvick Head and reach the shelter of Dungarvan Bay.  A lovely town with lots of tourist infrastructure for the visiting angler, the bay is full to bursting of excellent fishing marks, mostly beaches.  Fresh bait is readily available and can be dug or collected on several massive mudflats and rocky foreshores. There are severel excellent charter boats available locally, testament to the fertile seas around it.

1 - Helvic Head   A bit of a walk down from the road to the next mark, this marks offers standard rock fishing over very foul ground.  Species & Techniques: Spinning and float fishing will produce Mackerel and Garfish in summer, with Wrasse, Pollack and Coalfish also available.  Bottom fish for Conger and a Bull Huss.  There is also a mark to the right of the Harbour that will produce Bass an hour either side of high water if you are up for a bit of scrambling over the rocks...

2 - Helvic Pier   The road up Helvick Head terminates at the pier and this mark offers sheltered fishing when other marks are too windy or wet - that happens even in the sunny south-east! Species & Techniques: Spinning and float fishing will produce Mackerel and Garfish in summer, with Mullet taken outside the harbour sea wall (rarely inside the harbour itself).  Bottom fishing will find relatively small Conger under the pier walls (at night), Flatfish, Codling and Whiting recorded on cold winter nights and finally you could lucky and catch the odd Bass or Ray, both of which are reported caught here.  Got to the end of the pier and fish at 45 degress at the end off the steps... and thanks to DrSeaFish off the forum for his expertise.  November 2003.

3 - Cunnigar Spit   The road stops a long way short of this excellent mark but the walk can be worth it! Fishes best at high water. Species & Techniques: Spinning off the extreme point will take Bass in the channel, with Flatfish the main reason for the walk.

4 - The Railway Bridge   A tricky enough place to find and only accessible on foot, the bridge offers good fishing at high water, but mind the trains! Species & Techniques: Spinning will take Bass in the channel, with Flatfish the main reason for being there.

5 - Ballinacourty Pier   Right across on the other side of the estuary from Dungarvan, this small pier is rather exposed in any wind and adjacent to the local golf course and hotel.  There is a car park alongside for easy access.  It works best on the flood and up to high water. Species & Techniques: Spinning off the pier and rocks behind the golf course will take Bass, but most anlgers bottom fish for Flatfish, Bass and Dogfish into the main channel behind the pier.  We have also been told of the odd Ray here, again with thanks to DrSeaFish...

6 - Clonea Strand   A lovely spot and next to several golf courses and excellent hotels, this is a popular fishing mark, even if there are better marks elsewhere. It is very popular with holiday makers in the summer so fishing it during the day is impossible.  Stick to the rocky coves and outcrops for the best fishing.  Species & Techniques: Surf fishing will produce Bass, Dabs, Flounder and the odd smallish Plaice, maybe a Ray in summer.  There have been precious few Bass taken off the strand in recent years.

7 - around Stradbally   Driving along the coast road from Clonea you will find yourself faced with a superb choice of marks. It starts with the beach below Stradbally and moves on to the Dalligan river estuary, with access being a decent walk along the beach. Moderate to good surf conditions with an offshore wind is ideal - judge it by the colour of the water - if it is gin clear, then you should probably wait for another day! Species & Techniques: Surf fishing will produce Bass, Dabs, Flounder and the odd Dogfish... and the Dalligan is remarkably shallow so you can wade it.

Introduction to Waterford Harbour:

This is a massive piece of water and coastline in every sense and it is popular especially with anglers from Dublin and Waterford city itself.  It offers a remarkable range of fishing with Tramore beach and the surrounding mini-marks reknowned for the quality of its Bass even if the numbers caught have dropped in recent years, through to Dunmore East, a famous fishing village and holiday centre.  As for the ferry point at Passage East... this is truly an amazing fishing mark!  It gets its fair share of unusual catches too and the Codling move all the way into Cheek Point (9)...

1 - Bunmahon & Annestown Beaches, Kilmurrin Cove   It is a bit further west of Waterford City than might appear on the diagram but do not let this deter you.  There are several marks here, including a really beautiful cove (popular with surfers due to the massive surf) alongside the road between Bunmahon and Annestown named Kilmurrin, not to mention Annestown itself, another wonderfully sheltered (in any wind) mark nestled between two rocky headlands that just screams "Bass on Peeler Crab" at you!  Off Bunmahon itself, specimen Ray and Flounder have been recorded.  Species & Techniques: Surf and bottom fishing is usually done for Bass, Flatfish, Dogfish, with Thornback Rays in summer and Codling possible in winter. In Kilmurrin and Annestown there is the possibility of fishing off rocks and islands accessible at low water into rocky ground for Wrasse on the float, with Mackerel and Pollack in Summer, and Coalfish, the odd huss and Conger Eels all year round.  A head for heights is essential and the grass is slippery, wet or dry.  March 2004.

2 - Westtown Rocks   This is a popular spot for bathing so make sure not to interfere with swimmers or leave tackle behind you.  By law the swimmers get precedence so don't argue! Bottom turns to sand beyond the rocky margin but no reports of Bass or Flatfish. Donagh Molloy adds that he has seen large shoals of mullet snuffing around in the shingle bottom just past the sand margin around Westtown Rocks. Species & Techniques: Spinning and float fishing will find Mackerel and Pollack, with Wrasse plentiful although to no great size, mostly under 500 grams with the odd one up to 1 kilo - not an often used mark.  December 2003.

3 - Tramore Strand  Right on the sea front past the amusement park and arcades, you have the vast Tramore Strand. It fishes best in a moderate to strong surf, perferable after dark, and ideally outside summer when it is very popular with holidaying families - you will not get a minute's peace on a sunny day. It tends to fish best at high or low water but not in between, and best on evening or night tides.  A popular mark.  There are several mini-marks or hotspots on this vast beach, one beyond the town called the "Slipway" for obvious reasons, one called the "White Pole" for equally obvious reasons, at the the dune end, there is a series of deep gullies in the beach that look certain to hold fish on a flood tide.  Species & Techniques: Surf fishing will take Bass (often large fish), with Flatfish supporting their predatory neighbours.  Sea-Trout were once a common by-catch, but mostly at the dune end, opposite Saleens...  Spinning with white eddystone eels and silver spinners has also accounted for bass and sea-trout. 

3b - Tramore Back Strand   Most people associate the Back Strand, in particular the section behind the dump, with bait.  Lugworm, Ragworm and Clams are certainly plentiful, if lacking substantial size.  A strong feature is a breakwater that runs almost completely across the entire flats.  This can be accessed from the car park and you can walk the length of it in anything except a spring tide.  Species & Techniques: Mullet are often found in the channel or pool left at low water.  These can be taken on the float and also through bottom fishing, which will equally put you in contact with rafts of Flounder.  Forget about Bass however except possibly, just possibly, on a flooding tide.

4 - Saleens   The name comes from the big salt marsh inside the natural breakwater, and this mark, at the far end of Tramore Strand is thankfully accessible by road from outside Tramore and has a decent car park.  Its main benefit is that it fishes at all stages of the tide, although the top or very bottom is preferred, ideally after dark.  The current is ferocious, with 6 oz grip leads being swept aside.  Species & Techniques: Spinning will take Bass and Sea-Trout in the channel, with Mullet also taken on the float.  Bottom fishing will take Bass and Flounder.  There are little or no Plaice reported and do pay attention to the signs indicating shifting sands and strong currents... bait collectors must pay attention to the speed at which the sea come in over these flats.  You have to use crab as bait - forget everything else bar the spinners.

5 - Rathmoyland Cove  A little known and rarely fished mark, on the one day I got there, kitted out and ready to go, it blew a howling gale and I thought the better of it. Species & Techniques: Spinning off the rocks at the point to the east will produce Pollack, with Wrasse on the float and Mackerel in season.  Bottom fishing onto sand will take the odd Bass (often big solitary creatures), lots of Flounder and some Dogfish.

6 - Dunmore East   A name synonymous with fishing in Ireland, and once a key commercial fishing port, the charter boats now bring anglers out to marks in the Harbour itself and further afield out around the Saltee Islands.  Species & Techniques: You can bottom fish from either pier but recently there has been little caught apart from small Flatfish and lots of crabs!  Float fishing will take Mullet and Mackerel in season.  A better mark is the flat rocks just past the harbour heading west.  There is a small informal car park and worn paths down to rock platforms offering deep water access over very foul ground.  Spinning will take Mackerel and Pollack.  Wrasse will fall to float fished worms. Locally it is well known and can get crowded when the Mackerel are "in"! On a recent visit (October 2003) I had wrasse under my feet to 1.5 kilos, with the average far smaller, a strap Conger Eel on a float fished rig (!) and a fine Plaice and small Dab from off the sand at distance, all on fresh lugworm dug from the beach at Duncannon, Wexford.  Lines of lobster pots are a particular casting hazard.

7 - Woodstown Strand   An enormous beach running for miles along the western shore of the harbour, it needs moderate to good surf conditions and only fishes two hours either side of high water. Access is from the main road to Dunmore East, and a seaside car park is found close to a small fresh water stream.  Walk as far as you can north, to the left of the stream. Species & Techniques: Surf fishing will produce Bass, Dabs, Sole (small hooks required) Flounder and the odd Dogfish.  Last year it accounted for big bags of Codling, but distance casting was required as it is a big (are you a horizon casting monster?) shallow beach.  A mini-mark is the headland covered by the woods... you can find the tracks from the southern access point.  Bass reported.

8 - Passage East   If you take the ferry across to Wexford then you will begin to see why this is such an excellent mark - it gives immediate access to very deep water and a bit like the Shannon Estuary, you can be surprised by how far inland salt water species are taken (often very unusual ones). Species & Techniques: Recent changes in the channel have altered the fishing patterns and swept away most of the muddy mussel beds on which ragworm could be dug.  You need to venture out at low tide to get some and watch the channel filling very fast.  Bottom fishing no long produces Bass (except at the rocks at the end of the beach towards the south) but there is still Flatfish and Dogfish available two hours either side of high water.  Codling and Whiting can be taken in the channel and Coalfish are also taken.  Grip leads essential and only on slack water.  Mackerel can be caught on feathers during the summer.  The seal population has exploded and they will drive away all fish but they tend to stay in the main channel; - south of the pier, bottom fishing has produced Gurnard and even Wrasse!  Try baits other than the local ragworm however since I found lugworm dug at Duncannon in Wexford very effective.  February 2004

9 - Cheekpoint   A matter of a few kilometres down the road from Waterford City and yet often deserted, this corner mark is readily accessibly by car (parking is limited but there is some around the harbour) and it provides an excellent high water and sheltered fishing mark. You can fish into the channel marked by the big green and red buoys from the harbour but the current is severe.  There are no Bass left here but there are plenty of small to medium sized Flatfish.  Whiting and Codling often run up the estuary and will feed during the day thanks to the permanently muddy water.  The best option is to walk down (to the right of the harbour) and fish from under the trees on the foreshore off the point. A shingle beach can also be accessed from above the harbour  Species & Techniques: Bottom fishing will produce the odd Bass, Flatfish and Dogfish.  In winter fishing this mark with lug / rag is known to produce Codling, Whiting and Coalfish.  Freshwater Eels are common here and will often take sandeels presented on long traces.  January 2004