MACHROES BAY
Take the steps down to the beach in the right-hand corner of the car park and walk towards the boat compound and slipway. This is a good mark for flatfish and bass, and can be fished from low water to high water.
Expect a fair walk out to the spring tide low-water line. It can produce over low water on smaller neap tides too.
If you walk along below the seawall, look for a freshwater outfall pipe; fish here two hours up to high water for flounders, with some good ones taken either side of Christmas.
Most anglers fish two rods – one in close, maybe a lighter bass rod, targeting bass, turbot and flounders, with a second rod fished at range to pick out an occasional summer spotted ray. The latter show best on bigger tides, with the two hours after low water and the middle flood best.
In winter, switching to a two-hook clipped down rig with size 2 Aberdeen hooks finds good numbers of whiting, also dabs and dogfish at medium range. In winter you’ll pick up flounders and bass in daylight, if the sea carries a little colour. Night, especially in summer, always gives the best fishing.
TOP TIP: Fish a three-hook rig with size 2 Aberdeens no more than 25 yards out in the edge of the surf for the best flounder and turbot catches, plus bonus bass.
BAIT: Use lug and crabs for bass and flounders, but in autumn, frozen razorfish can be deadly. Mackerel strip is underestimated as a flounder bait here, and also gets whiting and dabs. Try bigger mackerel and squid cocktails or a sandeel for rays.
BEST TIMES: Fish the last hour of the ebb and all of the flood, plus an hour back. Night tides with low water in darkness give the best results.
GROUND: Clean sand with some slightly deeper parallel gullies.