With its thatched cottages, lively bars and excellent seafood restaurants, the picturesque village of Kilmore Quay in south Wexford is well deserving of the title of ‘Sea Angling Centre of Excellence’.
Whether fishing from a boat or the shore, the sea angler has the opportunity to target fish to specimen size from a variety of interesting marks and locations. Forty-one species have been caught on rod and line off Kilmore Quay, ranging from hard-fighting bass and fast-running tope, to the sleek blue shark.
A 55-berth marina is home to a fleet of purpose-built licensed charter vessels which operate on a daily basis and work the fish-rich waters off the Saltee Islands. For the small boat angler, a wide slipway, accessible at all stages of the tide, opens the door to a host of sea-angling opportunities.
Well-known offshore marks here are the Brandies, Barrels and Conningbeg Rock. Codling, pollack, wrasse, pouting, conger and ling abound on these offshore reefs, with ray, flatfish, smooth hound and tope resident over the inshore banks.
Shore angling is equally varied. Local storm beaches are home to bass, smooth hound, and flatfish, with night tides being particularly good. Nearby estuaries such as Cullenstown and Bannow provide autumn and winter sport for anglers targeting specimen flounder, while big tides and settled weather in the spring and summer offer the serious lure and fly fisherman superb conditions to target sea trout and bass.
Knowledgeable charter skippers, angler-friendly accommodation, good local food, and cosy pubs complete the picture. As a base for an all-round sea angling break, Kilmore Quay has few equals. When the wind blows, sheltered estuary and beach marks beckon. As for those calm days out riding the swell with the gannets diving, when the specimen pollack hits your lure, it’s heaven!