West Sussex Catch Report - 12th July 2026

Report by David Lewis

Good evening, another week where the weather has certainly not helped anglers to find fish locally especially in daylight although it does improve slightly during the evening high tides. If ever the case was “we need a good blow” it would be now to liven the fishing up and bring it back to what it should be expected for this time of year. Despite this, anglers are still finding a few fish and with sea fishing it can be unpredictable so it’s always worth getting the rods out and giving it ago.

Here are Worthing high tides times for the week ahead:

• Monday 13th July: 10:53 (5.7m), 23:14 (5.9m)
• Tuesday 14th July: 11:54 (5.9m)
• Wednesday 15th July: 00:11 (6.0m), 12:53 (6.2m) 
• Thursday 16th July: 01:08 (6.1m), 13:47 (6.3m)
• Friday 17th July:  02:01 (6.1m), 14:36 (6.3m)
• Saturday 18th July: 02:48 (6.1m), 15:20 (6.2m)

More hot, dry and sunny weather for the previous week although yet again the winds did pick up from a north easterly direction through the weekend. For much of the week the water has been very calm and almost crystal clear. 

Despite not many reports of Mullet being caught locally there have been some huge shoals of fish spotted in the shallows from the beaches plus fish have also been seen cruising around Worthing Pier. Best places to try for Goldies would be Lancing, Shoreham and Tide Mills using red rag as bait whilst Thin and Thick Lip Mullet can be caught from structures such as the Marina or from the local rivers. 

Smoothounds have shown up randomly and conditions have not been ideal although nighttime tides and using baits such as crab should still see a few fish landed. Tope are a realistic target from beaches at Selsey, Bracklesham and Witterings. 

Black Bream are showing in numbers but unfortunately most are now on the small size. The occasional better fish can be caught from Brighton Marina or Selsey East Beach. 

There is a mixture of summer species featuring in local catches yet in no real numbers with fish such as Gilt Head Bream, Red Mullet, Gurnards, Wrasse and Pollock. 

Mackerel remain scarce with occasional catches made from Brighton Marina and Shoreham Harbour although Scads can show during darkness. Garfish are also a species which seems to have seen a big decline in catches in recent years. 

Bass are still showing with a mixture of fish sizes and caught to various methods and to a variety of baits. Worms will pick out mainly Schoolies from the beaches with crab still finding some sizable fish from around Brighton and from local rivers. Lure fishing can be worthwhile at dawn and dusk, and live baiting can work from structures such as Marina or the Harbour. 

With the current weather conditions night fishing will probably offer best chance of catching fish with plenty of small strap Congers caught to fish baits. Best opportunity of an Undulate or Thornback would be in darkness from Hove, Bognor or Pagham although Stingers should still show in the daytime from beaches in West Sussex. Other fish likely include Dogfish and odd Silver Eels.  

Best of any flatfish fishing will as usual be from around Shoreham and Brighton with worm baits finding a few small Plaice, Flounders and a good chance of some Sole in darkness. 

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!