West Sussex Catch Report - 18th October 2026

Report by David Lewis

Good evening, locally the fishing at present is still producing plenty of the summer species and there are decent numbers of fish being caught and next week there is strong winds forecast which could help entice some of the bigger species to move inshore and in some cases when the weather is considered “bad” the fishing is often good so whatever the weather why not get the rods out and try your luck.

Here are Worthing high tides times for the week ahead:

• Monday 19th October: 05:27 (4.3m), 17:55 (4.1m)
• Tuesday 20th October: 06:53 (4.2m), 19:31 (4.1m)
• Wednesday 21st October: 08:18 (4.5m), 20:45 (4.5m) 
• Thursday 22nd October: 09:13 (5.0m), 21:32 (5.0m)
• Friday 23rd October:  09:55 (5.4m), 22:12 (5.5m)
• Saturday 24th October: 10:33 (5.8m), 22:49 (5.8m)

The past week has seen mixed weather with some cloud, rain and even some sunshine and moderate winds. The sea has been mainly calm and clear although inshore has been coloured at some venues. Next week’s weather looks more unsettled from mid-week onwards with stronger onshore winds and spells of rain which should turn the sea choppy and coloured. 

Recently its noticeable with improvements with the local Ray fishing and Small Eyed Rays have been caught in reasonable numbers along with a few Undulate and Thornback Rays. Usually, night fishing tends to offer the best chance of catching a Ray locally although they will show during the daytime especially if the water holds some colour and Worthing Pier can produce Undulates when the sea is choppy and dirty. Venues that maybe worth trying when targeting Rays includes Eastbourne, Seaford, Hove, Shoreham, Bognor and Pagham. 

It will not be long till Dogfish return in numbers once the onshore winds increase and the sea turns choppy and coloured and there is a chance of a Bull Huss appearing in amongst them and possibility of a late Hound. 

Bass of a decent size are still being reported with good numbers of fish regularly showing to up to around 7lb with plenty of fish in the 2-4lb range to baits. If the winds are as predicted low tide fishing in the surf is likely to see Bass show and the usual venues such as Shoreham Harbour and Brighton Marina can see some larger fish caught and the local rivers are still holding plenty of Bass in the lower stretches. 

The change in the weather could see some bigger Congers move inshore especially if the Whiting numbers increase but there are still lots of small straps about in darkness presently. Brighton Marina east arm has tended to produce the best Eels recently to around 28lb. 

The Codling fishing remains slow, but conditions could see a few more show and there was a 61cm fish caught from Shoreham Harbour last week and there could be some Whiting and Pout about and increasing in numbers. 

Whilst the sea has good clarity and relatively calm there are still reasonable numbers of summer species being caught including Black Bream, Gurnards, Red Mullet, Mullet, Garfish and there have been a couple of large Wrasse caught from Brighton Marina. 

Again, whilst the sea is calm and clear there are Squid and Cuttlefish being caught mainly from Brighton Marina or the deeper water beaches.

Anglers specifically targeting Flatfish are finding good numbers of Sole about with fish coming in darkness from the beaches although Brighton Marina can see them caught in the daytime too and the water being coloured improves chances of catching one. Plaice and Flounders are about, and it won’t be too long before a few Dabs start appearing. Generally, Shoreham through to Brighton is best areas to target flatties with worm baits. 

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!