West Sussex Catch Report - 14th December 2025

Report by David Lewis

Good evening, the fishing remains quite good for the time of year with Congers up to 20lb still around in numbers, nice sized Bass are still frequent catches and there are other species such as Dogfish and Whiting that can keep the rod tips rattling so why not get out and give it ago. 

Here are Worthing high tides times for the week ahead:

• Monday 15th December: 07:44 (5.0m), 20:10 (4.8m)
• Tuesday 16th December: 08:33 (5.1m), 20:58 (5.0m)
• Wednesday 17th December: 09:17 (5.3m) 21:43 (5.2m)
• Thursday 18th December: 09:59 (5.5m), 22:24 (5.4m)
• Friday 19th December:  10:36 (5.6m), 23:04 (5.5m)
• Saturday 20th December: 11:13 (5.6m), 23:40 (5.6m)

The weather during the past week has seen plenty of rain, cloud and strong winds although the weekend was decent with even some sunshine and the winds eased. The sea remains choppy and coloured. 
 
Most anglers venturing out recently have been targeting Congers with Worthing Pier producing the most consistent catches with numerous doubles caught and it’s a venue always likely to see occasional larger Eels hooked. With Whiting present, they make good Conger baits either dead or alive whilst other baits such as squid and mackerel will also catch. Most other venues and beaches will also see Congers caught when the sea is choppy and coloured or by fishing during darkness. 

Whiting are still about with some venues seeing lots caught whilst other seem “Whiting free” but they can be caught in big numbers when they do turn up in their usual vast shoals. Again, most of the Whiting are sizable and will be caught to majority of baits. 

Dogfish, like Whiting are usually plentiful in the recent conditions and can be caught both during the day and at night whilst the water is coloured and both can be hard to avoid as they will eat most baits they come across regardless of size. 

Anglers wishing to target flatfish should find Flounders present in the local rivers along with a few from the beaches in settled conditions. Dabs can be caught mainly from East Sussex and there are still the occasional Plaice about along with a few late Sole. 

Bass are showing no signs of disappearing yet with plenty more sizable fish caught including a 7lb Bass landed from Worthing Pier midweek. Smaller but still sizable fish in the 2 to 3lb range are regularly being caught from the beaches to mainly worm baits whilst there are still lots of Schoolies in the rivers along with the odd bigger fish. 

The Ray fishing locally remains slow with Thornbacks the best chance of catching one with venues at Eastbourne, Seaford, Hove, Bognor and Pagham all liable to produce a few whereas Bognor to Selsey is the best area to target Undulates with them seemingly scarce lately. 

With the current sea conditions other species likely to occasionally be caught may include odd Codling, Pout, Silver Eels and small Bull Huss.  When there is a settled spell and water clarity improves Herring and Shad can be caught to Sabiki lures. 

Prime Angling opening times are 8am till 5pm Monday to Saturday and 8am till 4pm Sundays. With Christmas approaching please see in the pictures the opening hours during the Christmas and Holiday period. We are located at 26 Marine Parade, Worthing, BN11 3PT, just to the east of Worthing Pier with limited customer parking available at the front of the shop. For bait availability it is advisable to phone us on 01903 821594. We also stock a large variety of frozen sea baits as well as a wide range of freshwater baits and tackle. 

Visit our online website at primeangling.co.uk with plenty of new stock regularly added so keep an eye on our Facebook page for updates. 

Please send us pictures of your recent local catches via our Facebook page messenger or email and we will aim to publish them for you in the weekly report. Please note we DO NOT claim ANY FISH used and mentioned in our reports are caught on our baits or tackle, it is a report to show what has and is likely to be caught locally.