◀ Locations

Crookhaven

Mizen Peninsula · shore · ⭐ Beginner-friendly

Fish you'll catch here

PollackBallan WrasseLesser-spotted DogfishBull HussFlounderConger EelDab

How to fish it

SpinningFloat FishingBottom Fishing

Gear & bait

Beginner spinning setupBass Beachcaster Metal luresRagwormPeeler CrabMackerel StripLugworm

When to go

June–December · High water for spinning; slack water for bottom species

Crookhaven sits at the westernmost tip of the Mizen Peninsula, one of the most remote and atmospheric fishing venues in the south-west of Ireland. The season here runs from June through to December — the window when Atlantic conditions allow consistent fishing from this exposed corner of the coast. The sheltered harbour wall and pier are the most accessible positions and suit anglers of all experience levels, offering bottom fishing for flounder and dabs on lugworm and ragworm, and after-dark sessions for dogfish and conger on mackerel strip presented on a running leger or paternoster. Slack water around high tide is the most productive state for the bottom species.

The rock marks a short walk from the village bring a different fishing experience. Spinning and float fishing from the headland ground at high water brings pollack and mackerel within reach on lures and feathers, and ballan wrasse are a consistent target on float-fished crab tight to the rock faces. These positions must be treated as fair-weather marks only — the Mizen coast faces the full fetch of the Atlantic and conditions here can change quickly; always check the marine forecast before walking out to exposed ground and never attempt rock marks in any significant swell.

Bull huss — the larger relative of the lesser-spotted dogfish — are encountered on the rougher ground around the rock marks after dark, taking fresh mackerel presented on the bottom. A genuine specimen target by Irish standards, bull huss add another dimension to the night session at this end of the Peninsula. Nearby Dunmanus Bay and the broader Mizen shoreline offer similar fishing for those willing to explore further from the village.

Where it is