Text page
  1. Home
  2. Clew Bay

Fishing & Sightseeing Trips

The White Seahorse is a registered Angling Boat which has all safety equipment on board. A 36ft, 300 horse power Bullet custom built boat with a cruising speed of 18 knots is skippered by experienced local man Austin Gill. All fishing rods etc are supplied. The fishing season starts in late Febuary and runs until early November with the main event , The Helm Skate Festival, featuring on the 1st weekend of October every year. Clew Bay which is home to 365 different islands and drumlins offers a wide range of fishing.

On the not so glorious days Clew bay has the advantage of shelter from the different islands where you can fish for Mackerel, Dogfish, Bullhuss, Thornback Ray, Tope, Conger Eel & Common skate. The deeper waters offer Pollack, Cod, Houting, Whiting, Ling, Red gurnard, Cuckoo Wrassa and Ballen Wrasse. As well as day trips the White Sea Horse also operates a shorter evening trip in the summer months. These trips are ideal for the younger seafarer and family outings.

Example blog post alt.
Photo of the White Seahorse on Clew Bay
The Helm in Westport hosted their annual Skate Festival over last weekend, and once again it was a roaring success for Vinny and his crew in the Helm. 100 anglers competed over the two days, all vying to catch the biggest skate in the bay, with a massive €2,000 prize on offer for the best fish. The fishing this year was excellent, and a new record was set with 8 skate landed over the weekend, plus 2 lost, as well as large numbers of dogfish, in addition to thornback ray and bull huss.
Photo of the White Seahorse on Clew Bay
Vinny Keogh at the helm of the White Seahorse

Every year, on the first weekend in October, The Helm hosts the largest fishing festival of it's kind in Europe when seventy to a hundred fishermen and their families come from all over Ireland, the UK and further afield to compete for a €2000 prize aimed at conserving and promoting the research of marine life in Clew Bay.