West Sussex Catch Report - 12th April 2026

Report by David Lewis

Good evening, the fishing locally remains fairly good with some decent catches reported and plenty of species are showing and there is a nice mixture of both big and small fish worth targeting and the fishing should improve even more once some of the summer species return and the weather warms further so why not get out and give it a go. 

Here are Worthing high tides times for the week ahead:

• Monday 13th April: 08:59 (4.5m), 21:28 (5.0m)
• Tuesday 14th April: 09:47 (5.0m), 22:13 (5.4m)
• Wednesday 15th April: 10:29 (5.5m), 22:53 (5.8m) 
• Thursday 16th April: 11:09 (5.8m), 23:33 (6.1m)
• Friday 17th April:  11:49 (6.1m)
• Saturday 18th April: 00:13 (6.3m), 12:31 (6.2m)

The weather during the past week started off sunny with light winds and reasonably warm before as it seems most weekends saw a return of strong winds and occasional rain and cloud. The sea at the start of the week had good clarity with calm conditions before turning coloured and choppy at present. As bigger tides approach next week lighter winds are predicted. 

Brighton Marina has reopened recently, and this venue has seen some of the best local catches of Plaice lately when the water was calm and clear. Local beaches should also produce Plaice in the right conditions and there will be a few Flounders, Sole and the occasional Turbot. 

Good catches of Rays have continued with Thornbacks and Undulates being reported along with the occasional Small Eyed Rays. With temperatures noticeably increasing expect a few Stingrays to show anytime soon with venues from Climping through to Pagham most likely to see the first Stingers appear. 

Coloured water means Dogfish are still about in reasonable numbers and night tides tend to produce more fish. In amongst the Dogfish the occasional Bull Huss has also shown up. Small Smoothounds are being caught with bigger ones more likely to appear next month or further west towards Hampshire is likely to see the odd better sized fish first. 

The first of the Mackerel made their appearance from Brighton Marina midweek although in small numbers, more frequent catches are likely once the sea calms and clears out again. A few Herring are also possible to Sabikis and Garfish should show soon. Black Bream will not be too far away in terms of moving inshore with decent sized fish usually the first to show around late April into May. Gilt Head Bream have been caught already with a few from the East Arm at Brighton Marina.

Congers remain a worthwhile target in the present conditions both during the day and at night, but when the water settles and clears nighttime fishing will more likely offer your best chance of catching one. Brighton Marina is worth trying and has seemingly seen good numbers within the past fortnight. 

Some good size Bass have shown this week, and numbers should slowly increase as we approach the summer and Bass will respond to different baits depending on the venue fished and same with lures once the clarity improves. 
 
Other species featuring in catches including Whiting, Pouts, Rockling and Silver Eels plus smaller species such as Blennies and Bullheads.  

Prime Angling usual opening times are 8am till 5pm Monday to Saturday and 8am till 4pm Sundays. 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 which will include plenty of new items from Japan. 

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.

Good luck & Tight Lines!