Best time to fish in Ballycastle
Today, Wednesday, October 28, 2026 · local time (GMT) · Causeway Coast and Glens, United Kingdom Today, Wed, Oct 28 · GMT- High tides
- 7:23 am and 7:50 pm
- Major periods
- 12:48–2:48 am and 1:19–3:19 pm
- Solunar activity
- High
- Sun
- 7:21 am–4:56 pm
Today, Wednesday, October 28, the best time to fish in Ballycastle is 1:20 pm to 2:30 pm, with the 1:30 pm low tide and a major period, though with rising pressure, moderate wind and rough seas. It's a fair day (4/10). The best day this week is Thursday, October 29, at 8/10.
Bad weather during the best window: strong wind or big waves. If you go out, be very careful and stay off rocks and jetties.
Your day in Ballycastle at a glance
The strip runs from midnight to midnight, local time. Night in gray, daylight in yellow; the blue curve is the tide; below, the solunar periods and the best windows.
Fishing forecast for the next 7 days
| Day | Rating | Best times | High tides | Moon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 4fair day | 1:20–2:30 pm4:50–5:30 pm | ▲ 7:23 am ▲ 7:50 pm | Waning gibbous |
| Thu 29 | 8good day | 2:20–3:20 pm7:10–8:20 am | ▲ 8:07 am ▲ 8:38 pm | Waning gibbous |
| Fri 30 | 6average day | 3:30–4:10 pm | ▲ 8:57 am ▲ 9:34 pm | Waning gibbous |
| Sat 31 | 6average day | 4:30–5:30 pm | ▲ 9:59 am ▲ 10:57 pm | Waning gibbous |
| Sun 1 | 4fair day | 6:30–7:30 pm5:00–8:00 am | ▲ 11:58 am | Last quarter |
| Mon 2 | 5average day | 2:10–2:50 pm7:40–8:20 pm | ▲ 1:12 am ▲ 1:51 pm | Waning crescent |
| Tue 3 | 7good day | 6:50–8:30 am2:20–3:20 pm | ▲ 2:24 am ▲ 2:57 pm | Waning crescent |
Each day's rating comes from the tide, the solunar periods, the light and, when we have the forecast, the weather.
What can you catch in Ballycastle?
Sport fishing species with the most records within about 19 mi of Ballycastle: small-spotted catshark, whiting, pollack, ballan wrasse and haddock.
- Small-spotted catshark Scyliorhinus canicula · shark · 1,189 records Photo: Hans Hillewaert · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Whiting Merlangius merlangus · fish · 434 records Photo: Georges Jansoone ( JoJan ) - · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Pollack Pollachius pollachius · fish · 275 records Photo: Citron · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Ballan wrasse Labrus bergylta · fish · 215 records Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus · fish · 196 records Photo: Wikimedia Commons · public domain
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- European plaice Pleuronectes platessa · fish · 145 records Photo: Hans Hillewaert · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Veined squid Loligo forbesii · cephalopod · 130 records Photo: Comingio Merculiano (1845–1915) · public domain · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Atlantic cod Gadus morhua · fish · 117 records Photo: Wikimedia Commons · public domain
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
These are sightings and catches recorded since 1970 (reports from divers and anglers, scientific surveys and museum collections), not a promise that you will catch them. The months come from sightings only, adjusted for how many there are each month; hatched months have too few to tell.
Source: GBIF.org, which also gathers OBIS data. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY 4.0, from 1,130 datasets (retrieved October 24, 2026). Where the data comes from
Photos: each species' image on Wikidata (Wikimedia Commons) or, if there isn't one, one from GBIF; only licences that allow this use, each with its author and licence.
Piers, ramps and tackle shops nearby
Map: OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles · © OpenStreetMap contributors
- Cooraghy Pier 6.2 mi
- Jetty 0.3 mi
- Jetty 6.3 mi
- Lough Fadden Fishery 4.3 mi
- Boat ramp 0.3 mi
- Boat ramp 5.7 mi
- Rathlin Island 6.4 mi
- Boat ramp 6.4 mi
- D. McAuley 0.3 mi
Within 9.3 mi. A spot may be missing or closed. Open the map on OpenStreetMap · Missing one? Add it to OpenStreetMap
Spots: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Overture Maps.
Artificial reefs and wrecks to fish from a boat
Artificial reefs and wrecks draw fish, so they make good spots to fish from a boat. The nearest ones, within 16 mi.
- Templemore 0.7 mi
- Lord Rank 2.8 mi
- Santa Maria 3.8 mi
- Lochgarry 5.0 mi
- HMS Brisk (bow Section) 5.3 mi
- Lugano 5.6 mi
Check the rules before you go: some have closed seasons, protected zones or banned gear. Wreck and reef positions are approximate and not for navigation; a wreck’s depth runs from the top of the hull to the seabed.
Wrecks: EMODnet Human Activities (AND-International), from UK Hydrographic Office data, CC BY 4.0. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
How we work out the best time
We score every moment of the day, every 10 minutes, with simple rules anglers have used for decades:
- Tide: 2 to 3.5 points in the hour before and the hour after each high and low tide. Spring tides (high coefficient) score more, because the water moves faster.
- Solunar: 2.5 points in the major periods (moon overhead or underfoot) and 1.5 in the minor ones (moonrise and moonset).
- Light: 2 points at dawn and dusk, from first light to the end of the morning golden hour and from the evening golden hour to the end of twilight.
- Weather: falling pressure adds 1 point and rising pressure takes 1 away; wind takes points away from force 4 (about 12 mph), up to 5 points in a gale; waves of 1.6 ft to 4.9 ft add half a point (they stir up the water) and from 8.2 ft they take points away (up to 4).
- Best windows: the stretches of 40 minutes to 3 hours with the most points, at least an hour apart.
- Day's rating out of 10: the best window (up to 5), the moon (up to 2, near new or full moon), the tide coefficient (up to 2) and whether a solunar period lines up with sunrise or sunset (1). Without a tide, we score out of 8 and scale it to 10. Good weather adds up to 1 point and bad weather pulls it down.
Today: best window 4.3 of 5, moon 1 of 2, coefficient 2 of 2 and lineup 1 of 1; the weather multiplies the rating by 0.43.
It's a guide, not a guarantee: fish don't read tide tables. Always check the sea conditions and local fishing rules before you go.
Learn more
Fishing rules in Ballycastle
Licenses, size limits, bag limits and closed seasons are set by the authorities and change often. We don't copy them here: check the official website before you go.
Questions about fishing in Ballycastle
What's the best time to fish in Ballycastle today?
1:20 pm to 2:30 pm, with the 1:30 pm low tide and a major period, though with rising pressure, moderate wind and rough seas. Also 4:50 pm to 5:30 pm and 6:40 am to 8:20 am. Today's rating: 4/10 (fair day).
What about tomorrow? When's the best time to fish in Ballycastle?
Tomorrow, Thursday, October 29: 2:20 pm to 3:20 pm, with a rating of 8/10.
Which day this week is best for fishing in Ballycastle?
Thursday, October 29, at 8/10. Its best window is 2:20 pm to 3:20 pm.
What can you catch in Ballycastle?
Sport fishing species with the most records within about 19 mi of Ballycastle: small-spotted catshark, whiting, pollack, ballan wrasse and haddock. These are sightings and catches recorded in GBIF and OBIS, not a promise that you will catch them.
When are the solunar periods in Ballycastle today?
Major: 12:48–2:48 am and 1:19–3:19 pm. Minor: 10:40–11:40 am and 4:52–5:52 pm. Solunar activity today: high.
Does the tide affect fishing in Ballycastle?
Yes. Today high tide is at 7:23 am and 7:50 pm and low tide at 1:02 am and 1:30 pm, with a tide coefficient of 108 (big spring tides). The hours around each tide change tend to fish best, because moving water carries food.
How is the rating worked out?
From the tide, the solunar periods, the light at dawn and dusk, the moon phase and, when we have the forecast, the pressure, the wind and the waves. Each factor gives a fixed number of points and the rating sums them up out of 10.
Does it take the weather into account?
Yes. During today's best window: rising pressure (+0.49 inHg in 24 h), moderate cross-shore wind (15 mph) and rough sea: 8.4 ft waves. Strong wind and big waves lower the rating; falling pressure raises it a little.
What are the fishing rules in Ballycastle?
Recreational fishing rules in Ballycastle (licenses, size limits, bag limits and closed seasons) are set by the authorities: Northern Ireland Government (nidirect). They change often: check the official website before you go.
More about Ballycastle today
Our own calculation: tide from Portrush (Environment Agency), sun and moon with astronomy-engine and, when available, weather and sea from Open-Meteo (ECMWF, NOAA GFS and Copernicus Marine, CC BY 4.0). This uses Environment Agency tide gauge data from the real-time data API (Beta): Portrush (E73924), https://environment.data.gov.uk/flood-monitoring/id/stations/E73924. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/). Modified: harmonic constants fitted by TidePlanet from the 15-minute sea levels of 2025-10-29 to 2026-10-22 (356 days).