West Sussex Catch Report - 12th January 2025

Report by David Lewis

Good evening, admittedly January is never the best month for fishing locally, but it won’t be long till we see signs of improvement and there is always plenty to look forward too and pleasingly there are still plenty of the smaller species to keep your rod tips rattling so why not get out and give it ago. 
Here are Worthing high tides times for the week ahead:

• Monday 13th January: 10:34 (5.7m), 23:13 (5.8m)
• Tuesday 14th January: 11:24 (5.8m)
• Wednesday 15th January: 00:00 (5.9m), 12:09 (5.8m)
• Thursday 16th January: 00:42 (5.9m), 12:49 (5.8m)
• Friday 17th January:  01:20 (5.9m), 13:28 (5.7m)
• Saturday 18th January: 01:57 (5.8m), 14:04 (5.6m) 

The past week has seen some very cold weather arrive and generally light winds and this will continue throughout next week with settled and dry conditions. The sea is still coloured, but water clarity should improve the longer the sea remains calm. 
 
Again, worth noting due to the regular storms towards the end of last year with strong winds means vast areas of local seabed has been stripped of sand and the majority of Worthing is now rocky as has large parts of Lancing beach so worth checking beforehand if planning a session on the beach and this has also caused a shortage of areas worth bait digging too. 

With light winds and building tides next week it could be possible that the deeper venues water clarity improves which could see even more flatfish showing including possibly a few early Plaice.

Dabs are being caught in reasonable numbers although most fish are small and Shoreham Harbour and nearby beaches have produced a few fish in the last week, and this should continue in settled weather and calm seas. Dabs are usually caught more frequently from the sandy beaches in East Sussex to bait such as black lug.

The River Adur is still producing some Flounders and during a match fished in daylight last week a nice fish of 41cm was caught. Generally fishing in darkness is more likely to produce better catches to baits such as White or Red Rag. Flounders will also be caught on local beaches and there could be a chance of an early Plaice which could appear from beaches at Shoreham, Hove and Brighton. 

The most prolific species locally remains Whiting with a mixture of sized fish from small to some fish exceeding 40cm. Although Whiting can be expected from most venues some areas do seem to hold larger quantities of fish than others. Whiting can be used as live baits with the possibility of hooking a Conger or Bass especially from Worthing Pier or Shoreham west arm. 

Dogfish are also a probable catch from most venues with fishing in darkness likely to see greater quantities caught. Venues such as Worthing Pier, Pagham or Selsey should see plenty of fish caught to fish baits. 

Slight improvements with the Ray fishing with the occasional Thornback appearing and venues worth targeting them would include Pagham, Eastbourne or Seaford. Undulate Rays remain scarce with Selsey east beach possibly best area to try. 

Majority of Bass which are being caught are mostly Schoolies although the occasional sizable fish are still a possibility. Some fish still likely to be in the local rivers in the lower stretches.

A surprise Codling was caught this weekend and other species that could feature in catches will include small strap Congers, Rockling to small worm baits, a few Silver Eels, Pout, plus if the water clears species like Herring could show from deeper water venues. 

Prime Angling 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. 

Please feel free to 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!