Cuckoo Ray

Habitat Distribution

• Native to Irish and UK waters; relatively common around the Irish coast, including the Irish Sea and Celtic Sea.
• Found over most bottom types from around 30m down to beyond 150m, though most Irish angling encounters happen in the 20–60m range over deep shelving sandbanks.
• Shares habitat with Blonde Ray and Homelyn Ray — fast tidal runs over mixed and sandy ground are the typical setting.
• Recorded from Mulroy Bay and Red Bay in Donegal and Antrim, along the North Antrim coast, and occasionally from Wicklow shore marks further south.

Key Locations

• Causeway Bank, off Portrush, Co. Antrim — holds the Irish record and produces specimen fish regularly from boat marks.
• Offshore sandbanks out of Ballycastle and Portbalintrae, North Antrim coast — the most consistent area in Ireland for deliberately targeting this species.
• Red Bay and Glenarm, Co. Antrim — boat and occasional shore catches; Red Bay produced a notable specimen for local angler Dessy Young.
• Mulroy Bay, Co. Donegal — recorded catches, though less consistent than the Antrim coast marks.
• Wicklow and Greystones shore, Co. Wicklow — summer catches alongside Homelyn and Thornback Ray on distance-cast bottom rigs.

Specific Spots

• Deep shelving sandbanks with fast tidal currents — the Causeway Bank out of Portrush is the most productive single mark in Ireland and holds the current Irish record.
• Offshore banks out of Ballycastle and Portbalintrae on the North Antrim coast consistently produce specimen fish; boat access is needed to reach the productive depths.
• Shore marks along the Antrim coast — from Cushendun south through Waterfoot and the ledge mark south of Waterfoot into Glenarm — occasionally produce fish to shore anglers.
• On the east coast, clean to mixed sand off Wicklow and Greystones beaches can produce Cuckoo Ray alongside Homelyn and Thornback during the summer window.